Chapter Eleven
I left Konohana in a rush. Kana stared at me as though I was crazy the entire time I mounted my horse and sped out of the village. I decided that he was probably right, but I also decided to attempt the impossible: resolve the feud between the two villages, and restore their friendship.
I don't know what clicked in me as Kana explained the argument between the villages, but I suddenly felt as though it was my life goal to fix their broken bond. If I didn't, no one else would. I needed to go home and think of ways I could slowly help the villagers befriend one another. My horse seemed unwilling to hurry, and was walking leisurely, much to my frustration.
I nearly laughed at myself as my thoughts of reuniting Konohana and Bluebell ran through my head. It can't be done. The villages have hated each other for hundreds of years. What makes you think that you'll be able to bring the villages back together? I asked myself.
"You're a breath of fresh air," a singsong voice said, seemingly in reply to my thoughts. But that was impossible.
I swung around, my horse halting immediately. I found myself just a couple of feet away from a tall, slender woman with glowing white skin and a silky braid of thick, emerald hair.
"Who are you?" I asked, almost afraid. "Why were you following me?"
"I don't follow anyone, Lillian. I live here. I'm the Harvest Lady!" she declared proudly. "There's nothing I don't know about the two villages, yet no one seems to notice me. They choose not to see me, I think. I'm an invisible woman."
"Am I imagining you, then? How do you know my name?" I asked, hopping off of my horse to get a closer look at the beautiful woman, wearing a shimmering silver gown.
"There's nothing I don't know about the two villages. You're a breath of fresh air," the Harvest Lady repeated. "You can see me because you're new to these villages. You haven't been blinded by prejudice so that all you care about is what concerns you on your path to the top."
"That's not all the people in these villages care about!" I argued. "It's bigger than that!"
The Harvest Lady laughed. "There's a boy, isn't there?" she asked mischievously, a twinkle in her silver eyes.
"It's not about a boy," I said angrily. "The people in these villages care about more than just food. They care about their friends and families and livestock and crops and-"
"You haven't been ignored for hundreds of years. I don't expect you to see what I see," she cut me off. "If there's nothing more you want to talk about-"
It was my turn to interrupt her. "I want to reunite the villages," I blurted out, expecting her to laugh at me.
She simply smiled, as though she was pleased. "I want you to, too. I can tell you how."
"That would be great, actually… I've got a party to get ready for, and I don't have a lot of time to brainstorm," I admitted.
"That's fine. I have a list for you, Lillian. Here it is," she said, slipping me an envelope. "Now, I must be on my way. The life of a Harvest Lady is quite busy, actually. If you need me, I dwell near the spring on the mountaintop."
With the blink of an eye, she was gone.
"That's… This is… Impossible!" I muttered to myself. "Impossible! I must've imagined-"
The envelope waited expectantly in my hands. I shoved it into my rucksack, thinking it would disappear by the time I arrived at my home. Suddenly, I noticed the darkening sky; the sun was setting.
"But it was hardly afternoon! I was only talking to the Harvest Lady for a minute!" I said out loud. "Am I going crazy?"
I rushed home, afraid I was late for Rutger's birthday party.
Something odd was going on; I was sure of it.
I sprinted to the town hall with the flowers I had purchased for Rutger, praying I wasn't late. I had cleaned up nicely; I had a sparkly, champagne-colored, fitted dress on with matching wedge heels. My hair was braided to the side. I knew I'd likely be overdressed, but I couldn't resist; I had bought the dress and shoes in Chicago, and never had a chance to wear them.
There was a sign on the door that directed me to go to the second door on the right; I opened it to find most of the town sitting at long wooden tables under dimly-lit chandeliers.
Rutger stood up to greet me; he, Rose, Jessica, Grady, Eileen, and Howard were sitting at a table together. I noticed the food had not been served yet, and thanked the heavens.
"Happy birthday, Mayor Rutger!" I said, handing him the beautiful white bouquet.
"Thank you, Lillian! That was hardly necessary! You're too kind," the old man said with a wrinkly smile. "Now, take your seat with the other young ones. They've been waiting for you!"
My eyes widened. How late am I?
"Lillian! Over here!" Laney called from a table in the corner of the room. She was sitting with Georgia, Cam, Cheryl, and Ash. There was still one seat open for me.
I rushed over and grabbed the seat between Laney and Georgia. "What time is it?" I asked anxiously.
"I don't know, maybe a quarter past six. Why?" Laney asked. She looked perplexed.
"I lost track of time. Never mind. Thanks," I said, greeting everyone else at the table quickly. Cam looked especially gorgeous - he wore a purple tie with a black vest over a white button down with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His purple hat made his brunette hair brush his eyelashes adorably.
"You look nice, Lillian," Cam said with the traces of what could have been a smile.
I blushed a deep red. "Thanks, Cam. You, too."
He gave me a small nod of thanks, and Ash looked at me oddly.
"Mayor Rutger and Rose are so cute!" Cheryl said abruptly, craning her neck so she could see their table. Rutger had his arm around his petite, frail wife protectively. "They've been married for a bajillion years!"
"Cheryl!" Ash admonished her with a small smile. "They're not that old!"
"Why, Mayor Rutger's older than Texas itself, I'd 'spect," Georgia remarked jokingly.
"Ma was just a toddler when he gave Rose her blue feather," Ash said with wide eyes. "Rose was the prettiest girl in the village!"
"What's a blue feather for?" I asked, confused.
Jaws dropped all around the table, except for Cam's. He just laughed.
"I can't believe we never told you!" Laney exclaimed, looking guilty.
"A blue feather is how you propose marriage to someone," Ash explained.
"It's just like an engagement ring," Georgia added.
"Why do they use blue feathers? That doesn't make sense," I replied, immediately regretting my words. I was sure I sounded rude, but I couldn't stop myself.
"Why do you city people use engagement rings? Tradition," Cam answered plainly.
"Are you supposed to wear them as a necklace?" I inquired, hoping I didn't come off as ignorant.
"Why is everything about jewelry with girls?" Cam said with a tiny grin. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but I blushed nonetheless.
"If you wear it, you might lose it! You're supposed to keep it somewhere safe and treasure it forever," Cheryl elucidated.
I thought that sounded boring, but I didn't say so. "Thanks for explaining," I said.
We continued to make interesting conversation; we talked about which seasons were our favorites and why.
"Summer, of course," I said as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. Georgia nodded in agreement.
"Spring," Laney and Ash said in unison; she blushed at this while Ash remained oblivious.
"Autumn," Cam said, much to my surprise. "Although the flowers are dying, the trees turn such a beautiful color."
How poetic, I thought to myself before I could help myself.
Cheryl's shrill voice brought me back to earth. "Winter! Snow!"
We talked about animals, and everyone made sure I was handling my livestock and crops well. I was touched by their concern, and assured them that I was handling everything nicely. Next, we spoke of the cooking festival; who would be entering next time?
"You didn't hear it from me, but Rutger wants you to enter, Lillian," Ash whispered.
"But I can't cook!" I groaned.
"You can make a mean hot milk, and maybe the theme next month will be beverages! Who knows?" he said hopefully.
"Speaking of food, it's time to eat," Laney interrupted, pointing to the line forming at the buffet table. We all dashed into the line as quickly as possible and dug into the delectable steak sandwiches, tomato soup, Italian-style salad, and steamed vegetables.
This was my kind of food.
After we sang happy birthday to Rutger, Eileen set up some music on a severely outdated record player, and the dancing began. Howard asked her to dance, and soon, they were twirling to classical music next to Rutger and Rose. Grady and Jessica joined them shortly after, much to Cheryl and Georgia's disgust.
"Let's get out of here. Show me your ponies!" Cheryl demanded, and Georgia did not protest.
"Cheryl can be immature sometimes," Ash said to me, "but this isn't one of those times. I'm out. Laney, how can you stand watching this? Parents aren't supposed to dance!"
"I can't. I'll go with you, wherever you're going. I don't care," Laney responded desperately, leaving me and Cam alone at the table.
"That was quick," I noted, rolling my eyes.
"Imagine your parents dancing," Cam said.
"I'd rather not. Imagine yours," I mumbled.
"I don't have parents," Cam replied emotionlessly.
I decided not to ask what had happened to them. "I-I suppose I don't, either. I'm probably not going to see them for quite a while."
"Let's dance," he demanded rather than requested, extending his hand to me.
I gladly accepted, and before I realized what was happening, he had pulled me to a quiet corner of the large room, far from the embarrassing adults, and his hands were on my waist, and my hands were on his shoulders, and we were swaying back and forth…
"Claire De Lune," Cam whispered, unbelievably close to me.
"It's a pretty song," I said, unable to reply with constructive, intelligent comments.
"Your eyes are the color of French lilacs. They're one of my favorite kinds of flowers, but not a natural eye color," Cam informed me almost accusingly.
"My eyes are natural," I said honestly, staring into his almond-shaped eyes of bright green.
"Okay." He didn't sound sarcastic, but didn't sound like he believed me, 100%.
I didn't care.
His chest was nearly pressed against mine.
I tuned out the music completely; all I could see was him - his shining eyes, his perfectly tousled hair, his clear skin…
His face was so close to mine that an accidental push could send our lips crashing into each other.
Why not kiss him?
He was so close to me.
I could have sworn he was leaning in, and then-
"I have to wake up early tomorrow. I'd better go home and get some sleep. Goodnight, Lillian," he said unexpectedly - hastily, even - and with that he was gone.