This is actually inspired by Chinese New Year. Updates are gonna be less frequent now though...tests are coming. :( but i'll try to write something for V day. but i still think that its an over-rated day...
It was supposed to be simple: just sell all the flowers.
But this place was killing me. It was just so noisy and smelly and crowded. I couldn't stand it. All the bodies pressing against me made me feel choked and claustrophobic. The loud shouts and noises pierced my eardrums. I felt people brush up against me and automatically cringed, only to bump into other people. Abandoning the post entirely, I shouted for my mom to man the stall and ran off to a secluded spot to clear my thoughts.
I gasped for air, my lungs burning after sprinting and pushing my way through the throng of people to reach my favourite spot.
I loved the silence and serenity of the place. It was basically just an empty area with a tree towering over a bench and a lamppost to one side of the tree. At night, the tree cast dark shadows over the bench, shielding it from view. My feet tread the familiar path to the bench and I collapsed into the safety of the bench, sighing.
I pulled my feet onto the bench and hugged my knees, calming myself down. My eyes slipped shut. This kinda put me at risk from strangers, but whatever.
"Hey."
My eyes flew open as I peered into the darkness. Searching for the voice.
He was standing beside the tree, his face cast in shadow by his hair. I couldn't see his features.
"Can I sit with you?" Such a casual question. But his voice sent my pulse racing, and not in a bad way.
I shrugged, then realized he probably couldn't see it. "Sure."
The boy moved over to my bench and sat down beside me.
"How come you're not joining in the festivities on the other street? Hiding from something?" His voice held a note of teasing, but there was a hint of genuine curiosity in it.
"I could say the same for you."
"True. I'm Haku. And you're...?" he questioned. Turning to face me, his eyes looked directly into my face. Even with the little light from the streetlight, I could see his eyes glinting brightly, like little stars in the sky.
"Chihiro." He nodded in response and I realized I wasn't being the most talkative person. Huh, well, too bad for him then. I just wasn't into the Chinese New Year mood that everyone seemed to be in.
"I think I'd better get going. My mom won't be able to handle the stall all on her own, what with CNY and all that." I stood up. To my surprise, Haku stood up too.
"You're working here? Would you mind if I walked you back to the stall then?" he asked quickly.
I shrugged in response. I didn't know what to make of this strange boy. But if he turned out to be a thief or something then I wasn't going to be too happy.
We walked back to the flower stall in companionable silence. As we walked back into the throng of people, I winced. Now I remembered why I had left in the first place. Haku gave me a concerned look from the corner of his eye.
"No, I'm fine. I just don't like crowds much. I prefer wide open spaces better, with fewer people."
"Ah, I see. Then you don't mind if I stick with you? Would you like it better if I left you alone?" he asked me, looking into my eyes.
For the first time, I noticed that his eyes were a beautiful shade of green. My favorite color.
"No, you're different. I don't mind you," I replied with a slight smile.
His eyebrows went up. "Huh." A smile of his own spread across his face. Feeling weird, I looked away from his face.
The flower stall came into sight and I saw my mom talking to several customers. I stopped walking and turned to face him.
"My mom's stall is here. So are you...leaving now?"
"It depends. Do you want me to stick around? I can come back tomorrow, seeing as I live around here and that you work here. You are coming back here tomorrow, right?" he questioned and shot me a look.
"Maybe? Why? Do you want to see me?" I smirked.
"Do you want to see me?" he countered.
"Maybe."
"Okay then. Wait here," he added mysteriously before turning around and running off.
"Haku! Wait! Where are you going?" I frantically looked around for him and spotted him in front of the flower stall talking to my mom. I swore and turned around before either of them saw me. I tried to distract myself by staring directly into some bright lights on the opposite side of the street. When I closed my eyes, I could see little patches of light on my closed eyelids.
Suddenly, I felt someone tap my shoulder. I spun around, only to look directly into Haku's face.
"Here."
"A flower?"
I took the purple rose from him. Oh, the language of flowers.
I understood.
I don't know what went wrong here, so pls comment k? I think all my inspirations are dying out... but i hoped it was still passable. Thanks! :) btw, the language of flowers is real ok? it wasn't just some random thing I made up. it's actually kinda cool- so many meanings! go google it if you're really free...
