Lillian visited Kana every day for the next week after scouring the mountain, looking for Mikhail's present. Exasperated she finally asked Kana, "Do you know Mikhail?"
He nodded, "Yeah he comes and performs in town every year, why?"
"Well I heard his birthday is coming up and I wanted to give him a present."
Kana raised an eyebrow. "Have you even met him yet?"
Lillian shook her head.
"Don't you think that's being a little forward since you don't know him?"
Lillian blushed "Well um maybe, but you see, I um just want to be friendly." Lillian ground her toe into the ground as she spoke.
Kana shrugged. "Well he always drinks tea at Yun's when he's here so I guess she would know."
Lillian's eyes lit up. "Oh thank you Kana! I'm gonna go ask her now!"
Kana felt a twinge of something in his chest when Lillian ran off. Was it jealousy? No, he barely knew her; there was no way it could be that. Kana sighed and hopped over the fence to visit with Hayate.
~~
"Thank you Yun!" Lillian called out as she left the teahouse, clutching a bag of tea leaves and instructions for brewing them. She had bought enough to make Mikhail tea everyday for a month, but some of would have to be brewed for practice. Lillian retuned to Kana's and found him in the barn talking to Hayate. "Hey I'm back Kana, thanks for the tip. I got lots of tea so maybe I can use it as an excuse to get to know him first." She giggled and Kana smiled back at her.
"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." He was silent for a moment before tentatively
saying, "Hey Lilly?"
"Mmhmm?"
"Ah try not to get too worked up over something until you experience it alright?"
"Ok Kana-ey." She giggled and stuck her tongue out. No one ever called her Lilly before and she was secretly a little embarrassed that Kana had given her a pet name.
He nodded and scratched the back of his head. "So ah, do you wanna go on a walk with me?"
"Sure, can I leave the tea in your house?"
Kana nodded and Lillian ran to put the bag inside. Kana jumped the fence and met her at the door. They walked down to the bridge together and threw stones in the river.
Kana decided to start a conversation the only way he could think of. "So you have a horse right?"
"Well it's a pony and I'm renting it for now. I try not to put too much strain on him since he's so small. I really want a larger horse to help out on the farm and to take on rides in the mountains. It will probably be a while before I can afford one though.
Kana nodded understandingly. "I can help you pick one out once you have the money. You seem like you know a lot about horses already."
Lillian nodded and decided not to mention that Georgia was already looking for the perfect horse for her. "I'm still learning though."
"Well I can teach you whatever you need to know."
"Ok, thanks Kana. You've helped me out a lot today."
Kana grinned and slight blush crossed his cheeks.
~~
Lillian's heart raced when she saw Mikhail walk onto the stage. He was even more handsome than she had imagined. His music was enchanting and the festival seemed to end too soon. Georgia and Laney each grabbed one of Lillian's arms and drug her up to the stage where Mikhail was putting away his violin.
"Hey great show," Laney cooed.
Mikhail looked up at the girls and smiled. "Oh thank you Laney."
"You're welcome. This is Lillian, she's our new farmer!"
Georgia and Laney pushed Lillian forwards and she held out her hand to Mikhail. "Hi," she said blushing.
He smiled and gently kissed the top of her hand. "My, your voice is a beautiful melody."
"Oh, thank you." Lillian nervously glanced behind her to see that the girls had disappeared. She sighed before summoning up the courage to ask, "Would you like to come to my house for tea? I would love to get to know you since we're both from the city."
He nodded. "I would love to. I know it can be hard to relate to people who grew up here. Everyone is really nice, but they can't help being naive about some things."
Lillian gave an understanding nod. It was true that sometimes even Georgia would respond with a blank stare when she talked about her old home.
They walked together to Lillian's house after Mikhail returned his violin to the room he stayed in at the town hall. She made him the tea that she bought from Yun and he smiled. "Oh what a pleasant surprise! I usually can't get tea like this here. Did you buy it in Konohana?"
"Yeah, I was looking forwards to inviting you over to talk so I asked around and found out from Yun that you always order this."
He chuckled. "Well how sweet of you. I've never had someone go so far out of their way to welcome me."
Lillian blushed. As the two of them continued to talk, she was glad to discover that Mikhail was even sweeter than she had imagined he would be. She started to feel like her little crush on him could develop into something more.
~~
The next day Lillian snuck off to watch Mikhail perform in Konohana's music festival. She sat with Kana and he couldn't help but notice the way she drooled over the musician. He found it a little irritating, but didn't say anything to her. When the concert was over she barely said bye to him before running up to talk to Mikhail. Kana waited a few minutes, talking to his friend Hiro to pass the time, but eventually gave up on Lillian and walked home.
Lillian didn't come to see Kana for the next few days; she was too caught up in pursuing Mikhail. Kana missed her more than he imagined he would but tried his best to keep her off his mind. He was failing miserably.
