"She is falling for him, sister," the redhead exclaimed.

The blonde smiled. "She always has, dear sister. Since the very beginning."

The brunette agreed. "Yes. She just doesn't know that yet."

And then, the blonde sighed in dismay, causing her sisters to glance at her with curiosity.

The blonde then murmured, "But of course, what is a relationship without a quarrel?"


It was foggy all around me, and I couldn't see anything. Not even the skies. But somehow, I didn't feel the little bit scared. To be honest, I actually felt at peace. As though I was at home.

As the fog cleared slightly, I finally realized that I was in some sort of forest. But for some reason, this forest only had one sort of tree.

Around me, there were many weeping willow trees.

I've always loved those trees. The way the leafy branches drooped made it seem like a thick curtain, a perfect hideaway if one ever wanted to be alone. And probably, a romantic place for couples to have some alone time.

But as I looked around the willow trees closely, I noticed that there were flowers growing on the branches of each tree. The flowers were in all sorts of colour, some with colours that I didn't think could be seen on a petal. The colorful flowers stood out well against the dull green leaves of the willow's branch. It's as though they were the only things bringing life in this strange place.

However, I was confused. I knew very well that willow trees do not produce flowers. And this seemed entirely impossible.

I walked slowly to one of the drooping branches, this one holding an army of dark pink flowers that looked like azaleas. Wanting to make sure that it was real and not an illusion, I lifted a hand to gently cup a flower, running my thumb on its petals. It felt like good quality velvet on my skin.

Slowly, I leaned in to the flower and inhaled its scent. I was breathless. It emanated the most sweet-smelling floral perfume I have ever breathed in. I didn't think that such a flower could give off perfume that lovely.

I plucked the flower and pushed back my hair behind my ear. I placed the flower behind my ear, hoping that it looked nice.

But suddenly, as I was feeling the velvet of the petals, I caught a whiff of his scent.

The woodsy scent laced with smoke, warm earth after rain and peppermint.

I turned around immediately, and saw him.

Aiden was dressed in a black shirt and black jeans, which I knew would always look good on him. With his hands in the pocket of his jeans, he approached me slowly, a mysterious smile on his lips.

I then looked down at what I was wearing, consciously wanting to make sure I looked good. It was then I noticed I was donning a simply white strapless dress that started to flow from the waist to my ankles. I then began to realize that I was barefoot, feeling the soft dull green grass between my toes.

When I looked up again, he was standing right in front of me, the mysterious smile still there.

My breath caught by how close we were. If I leaned in a few more inches, I would be able to touch my lips to his….

GAH! Why was I thinking like that?

Suddenly, Aiden lifted a hand to cup my cheek. I gasped softly at his touch, again amazed by how silky smooth it felt. It felt so nice. It felt so natural.

His other hand rose to cup my other cheek, his thumbs skimming my cheekbones. I actually smiled at the touch and my own hands rose to grip his wrists gently, as though to tell him that I didn't want him to let go.

Suddenly, the mysterious smile disappeared as his lips parted to speak. In a hushed whisper, he breathes only one word.

"Remember…"

And just then, I woke up.

I remained still, lying on my bed. I stared up at the ceiling as I listened to the ringing of the alarm on my phone.

Sometimes, whenever I had a good dream, it would disappear the minute I opened my eyes. But not this time. The dream remained imprinted on my mind. Every little detail.

The shadowy world.

The weeping willows.

The colourful flowers.

Aiden.

Everything.

Finally, the ringing of the alarm was getting a bit too annoying now, and I slowly sat up as I reached for it. After disabling the alarm and setting my phone back down on the night drawer, I remained seated on my bed with the comforter tangled around my legs and I ran my fingers through my russet hair as I remembered the dream once again.

What was that dream about? What was the significance? What was that shadowy, foggy world with all the colourful flowers on the dull willows?

And most importantly, why was Aiden there, and why did he say 'Remember'?

Remember what? I don't know.

So many questions, and not even one single answer.

A knock on the door broke me off my thoughts. I jumped a bit at the abruptness, but regained my cool quickly.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Come on, Spring. We have to get to work."

I sighed and tiredly got off the bed to go to the bathroom. But never once did the dream leave my head. I kept on replaying it all over again, as though it was a broken record. Each time I think of it, I kept on trying hard to find the significance and meaning of the dream.

But I still had no answer.

I was silent and deep in thought as I dressed and as I ate breakfast. I still tried my best to keep up with the conversations with my mother, just so that she wouldn't ask me if something was wrong.

Business was usual in the flower shop, since it was a Tuesday. And this time, I manned the register while my mother was making a personal call in the back room. I wasn't like her when it comes to handling customers. She would go up to them and ask them what type of flowers they liked and explained the bouquet structure that she would recommend, whereas I would ask once if they needed any help, and if they declined, I'll let them roam on their own. It gave both me and the customer some personal space and it avoids any unnecessary awkward situation.

After the last customer left and I was putting in the cash he had paid me into the register, I looked up at the clock on the wall. It was three o'clock now. Maybe I could go for lunch, just to ease my boredom.

But just as I was about to get off my stool and head to the back room to tell my mother that I'm going for lunch, I suddenly heard a gentle but clear knocking on the glass window beside me. And when I turned…

I nearly fell off the stool in shock.

Aiden stood outside the shop, looking directly at me with a grin on his face.

At the sight of him, I suddenly recalled the dream I had in the morning. My mind instantly flashed to the very last moments of the nice dream.

Aiden standing in front of me and cupping my cheeks gently, breathing, "Remember…"

Without taking my eyes off his smiling black orbs, I got off the stool and silently walked out of the shop. The bell jingled, but let Mom think that it was another customer I would have to deal with.

I approached Aiden, who was still standing at the exact same spot, only now he had turned to face me. With a smile, I asked, "What brings you here?"

I watched as his black eyes assessed me and the smile never once faltered from his face. And then, he said, "Take a walk with me."

I blinked in surprise. Really? He came all the way here just to ask if I wanted to take a walk with him?

"I'd be more than happy to accept," I answered. "Just hold on a minute."

He gave one brief nod and I walked back into the shop. I headed straight into the back room to see that my mother was just finishing up her phone call.

"I'm going to get lunch. Is that okay?"

She looked over to me and gave a quick nod, still engrossed with her conversation with whoever it was on the other line. I nodded in return and reached for my purse and cell phone before heading back outside to meet Aiden, who still stood in front of the shop window.

"Ready to go?" I asked him.

He flashed a grinned and offered me his arm. This time, I didn't hesitate to take it.


The park has plenty of patrons today.

Most were parents who were walking with their children, who had just returned from school. Some of the children would stop by to buy ice cream or play at the playground while their parents watched and waited until they were ready to go home.

Other than that, the other patrons mainly consisted of people walking their dogs, joggers or those who simply want to walk around, like Aiden and I.

"It's really a nice day out, isn't it?" I commented as I strolled alongside him.

He looked up from the cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream in his hand to the bright blue sky with puffy silver-lined white clouds, though he was careful to avert his eyes from the bright sun. He smiled and commented back, "It is."

"Apollo really does a great job," I said before I ate another spoonful of my raspberry ripple.

"Indeed he does," he replied heartily.

It was so easy to just randomly mention ancient Greek characters in the middle of my conversation with him. He never got annoyed with it. Instead, he would do the same and pile up the fun of it.

As we walked, we chatted about how our days had been since we last saw each other, all while eating our ice cream. It was another nice, unexpected date; just enjoying each other's company.

We spotted a lone bench and took a seat there. This time, we sat until our arms touched, but we both smiled at the contact. Neither of us moved away.

I was consuming more of my cool and delicious ice cream when he suddenly said, "You're not like other girls."

I turned to look at him and cocked my head to the side in question.

"Every single time any other girl comes up to me, it would either be because they want to know my number or if I would be interested in getting to know them. It sucks. A lot. But you. You're an entirely different story."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

Suddenly, he reaches out to put his arm on my shoulders. My breathing hitched at the sudden contact. I know that if my mother was here, she would have chased Aiden away. I didn't know if it was right for us to do this.

But I let him, because somehow, I felt somewhat safe with him. I felt comforted. It was like my own haven.

He took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "You always manage to bring a smile to my face. Just by seeing you, I feel happy. I feel as though my day had gotten a lot better. Every time I see you, it's as though the sun is only shining on you. It's showcasing your beauty; both on the inside and out. I've never met anyone like you before, Spring Korey. And I'm really glad I did."

I blushed at those words and felt my heart soar in my chest. Those were the most beautiful words anyone had ever said to me. It was so sincere, and beautiful.

Then, he took another deep breath, and I thought he was going to continue on.

"I have to tell you the truth."

My heart is racing. I feel as though I could literally melt into a puddle right now as I thought about how this could be the most perfect moment in my life.

With a small smile, I said, "Anything, Aiden."

But then, I noticed the way he bit his bottom lip nervously.

With a heavy sigh, he said, "I actually came to Heatherton because I was searching for a lost love. I found her, but she doesn't remember me. But-"

And in just that very minute, my heart crumbled into pieces. And my mood immediately began to sour.

What was this? Here he was, going all Mr Romantic on me and swaying me with beautiful words, and now he was admitting that he was actually here because of another girl who doesn't remember him? So what? He was using me? For what? To forget about this 'lost love' and find another girl to be with?

Oh my God. I felt like a complete idiot! I suddenly had the urge to cry when I realized that I was nothing more of a tool to him. A tool to just make him forget about this other girl that he was here for in the beginning.

He must have seen the sadness and anger in my eyes, because he immediately started to panic.

"Spring… Wait. Let me explain."

But I didn't bother to wait for him to explain. Instead, I just got up from the bench and walked away.

But not before I angrily threw my cup of ice cream at him.

As I continued to stomp further and further away from him, I could hear him calling out for me, and I could sense that he was running.

So I took off running too. I ran and ran until I finally found myself quite far away from the park. I looked around me to see if he was still on my tail. But luckily, he wasn't.

I slowed my running, but I continued to walk fast. I didn't feel like going back to the flower shop. That would be the first place he would start looking for me. No. I wanted to go home.

I pulled out my cell phone to call my mother and tell her that I got sick all of a sudden and decided to go back home. As I listened to the ringing, I felt tears stream down my cheeks.