She would turn beet red if she was the center of attention, but she never complained about it.

"Oh, Annie, it's good to see you!" Lillie greeted the farmer, rushing to the entrance where she stood. "What are you up to?"

"Nice to see you too," Annie smiled widely at her. "I'm here to see Kamil! I picked up some coffee for him and he said he was going to explain some flower meanings?" She jutted out her chin towards the cardboard tray that was in her hands, holding two cups of coffee.

"His horoscopes?" Lillie guessed in excitement. When her friend nodded in confirmation, she clapped her hands together. "You'll love them! Kamil once gave Melanie, Nadi, and I horoscopes! It was so fascinating and, I don't know, I'm usually not one to listen to those kinds of things, but I enjoyed it!"

Annie giggled, "That's great! I'm excited now."

"You've been spending a lot of time with Kamil recently, Annie!" Melanie voiced as she entered the main floor where the two stood. The small girl leaned on the door frame to her room.

Annie's face flushed with colour at the girl's comment. However, her reply was rather calm. "Well, we kind of had a rough start because we were so awkward around each other… but I think once I got to know Kamil, we really get along now. I feel like I've known the guy for a long time."

"I thought I heard your voice," Kamil spoke up, as he made his way downstairs to join them.

Annie jumped in surprise. "K-Kamil! How long were you there for? Did you hear anything?"

He furrowed his eyebrows suspiciously. "Ah… no, why?" he answered honestly.

"Nothing!" Melanie and Lillie replied in unison, making Kamil even more skeptical.

"We should go," Lillie said to her sister, receiving a quick "Yeah!" in response. The sisters rushed to their room, leaving the pair alone on the main floor.

"What am I going to do about those two," Kamil sighed, running a hand through his honey blonde hair. "Anyway, I'm glad you could make it." He turned around to go back upstairs to his room, with Annie closely following him.

"So, Lillie told me you've given them horoscopes before?" Annie asked, as they made their way to his room. She placed the tray down on the available space on his desk, looking around. The curtains were drawn, allowing plenty of sunlight, his room was decorated with bouquets that were still in the works, and there was a textbook lying at the foot of Kamil's bed which was open and bookmarked with a flower. It was definitely not the most organized room, but the vibrant flowers usually distracted Kamil's guests from the mess.

"Yes, and they seemed to like it a lot, so I thought you would enjoy them as well. It also gives me an excuse to make you go on a coffee run for me," Kamil said, sipping his coffee with a smirk on his face.

Annie scoffed, "Oh, that's great, so you're using me?"

"I would never use you," Kamil teased, "maybe I also want to spend more time with you." Something inside Kamil hitched. More and more, their conversations and banter sounded too similar to ones he had before with Lillian. He pushed the thought away. "Anyway, I'm just teasing," he assured her shortly after. "How much do I owe you?"

Annie's face reddened slightly. She laughed it off. "Nothing… just a flower horoscope, Kamil."

Kamil smiled. The tension he felt vanished. "Of course." He grabbed a seat beside her, extended a bouquet towards her, before picking a single flower. "Here's the flower of the day…" He paused, and met eyes with Annie, who was nervously trying to keep eye contact. "Wait, Annie, this is your first time hearing flower horoscopes, right?"

But she also had the habit of blinking a lot and it only happened if Kamil asked about her.

She had a pure heart and a helpful hand. The villagers felt safe and comfortable around her, they could tell her almost anything.

It was Kamil's turn to visit her house. He walked to her farm, flowers in hand. He never went past the trees on the left, which almost blocked off the other farm area.

"Hey," her voice sounded softer than usual, almost weak, "come on in."

Kamil wordlessly extended his hand, revealing the flowers he had prepared for her. She accepted them with a thankful smile. He had brought her flowers that were meant to cheer her up after he noticed how unusually upset she looked. Her house was especially clean and tidy that day, too. She probably cleaned to keep herself occupied. Kamil took a seat and watched as she placed his flowers in a clear vase which was on the centre of her dining table.

The sharp sound of her alarm clock broke the silence. Both of the young adults jumped in surprise. When Kamil stood up to follow, she shook her head.

"No worries, it's just a reminder for something I need to check up on. I'll be quick. Excuse me," Annie said with a faint smile, as she went to the kitchen area. Kamil discretely observed her from behind the flowers, peeking through the spaces between the petals. She was taking something out of a drawer. He's seen that bright orange container before, the one she tried so hard to hide. Annie forced a small cough, but just loud enough for him to hear, before her hand swiftly covered her mouth, and she took a sip of water.

"How's your day so far, Annie?" he asked gently from the other room, trying to act like he didn't witness anything or knew what she was really doing. She was clever to take her pills that way, but Kamil was more observant.

She shrugged and let out a long sigh.

"Not good?" Kamil presumed.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, ignoring his question.

That was so like her. Why she refused to confide in others and treated her problems like a burden, he couldn't wrap his head around. He waved his hand. "I'm good, thank you." He paused, and jumped right back to his question. "You know, it doesn't hurt to let others know how you feel. These flowers aren't enough to make you feel better."

Annie scratched the back of her head nervously. "Kamil…"

Kamil didn't like forcing her to talk. He knew he would get nowhere – or if anything, more confused.

Finally, Annie sat down. "Do you know of Eda, the farmer who used to live next to me? I guess you could say she took care of me when I first moved here."

Kamil tried to hide the surprise on his face. He was getting somewhere. "Yes, Fritz told me about her."

"Well, I just started thinking about her again recently… With it being over a year since her death, and all," Annie admitted.

"What was she like?" Kamil encouraged her to speak, to express herself more. "From what I hear from Fritz, I would've loved to meet her."

She leaned back in her chair. "She treated everyone like they were her own children… I only knew her for almost a year, yet she felt like a mother to me. She would check up on me, make sure I wasn't overworking myself, even stopped by to just talk to me… She told me about her family – her son and grandson. Both left her and the farm to pursue a life in the city, but not once did she resent them for it. She was happy for them and was always ready to welcome them back with open arms. I wondered, 'Is this what a caring mother is like'?" She hitched after her last sentence, shocked at the words that slipped out of her mouth. Kamil tried to show little reaction to it.

"Do you miss Eda?" he simply asked.

Annie nodded without hesitation. Her eyes started getting misty, causing her to gasp. It seemed like she was getting surprised at her own reactions. "Oh Goddess, I'm sorry, why am I acting like this…?"

"You can cry," Kamil said bluntly. "There's nothing wrong with missing someone you love."

She started laughing nervously through her tears, "I'm not one to cry in front of people, it just makes everyone so uncomfortable."

"No, it doesn't," he constantly reassured her, "and you're safe here."

The girl was now crying in front of Kamil, a sight he's never seen before. He couldn't help but feel bad – for some reason, whenever she was nervous, or awkward, or crying, he was there. He was the reason. And he was being so, so careful with her.

But this was better than her faking a smile.

Kamil stood up from his seat, walking over to her. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I've been afraid," she said with a shaky voice, and not raising her head, "I've always been afraid of losing the people I love."

He soothed her. "I've lost people too." He remembered when he lost his parents. He told her the words he, at that time, wanted to hear, "You're not alone. I understand."

"Not just from death," Annie replied, "death is a part of life. We can never change that… It's not like Eda chose to die, she's been sick… but just the thought of someone leaving… it's painful."

Her words hit Kamil and he pressed his lips together in frustration. Oh, the irony.

"It can happen," Kamil said, "but sometimes there are reasons… unexplainable events… and, if they really love you, they'll come back, one way or another."

Annie began to wipe her cheeks with her sleeves, breathing deeply and slowly. Kamil's hand never left, stroking her shoulder with his thumb. She spoke up again, regaining her composure. "When you left Bluebell, Kamil, how was it going back to them?"

This conversation was getting too risky. He was walking on egg shells with her. "For a few moments, it took some time to adjust, but they're like my family… I was back home when I went to them." He brought it back to her. "They're as loving as Eda. They welcomed me back with open arms like she would."

"Those are the kind of people you need in your life," she murmured.

"Do you think you have those people in your life?" Kamil asked, taking the risk.

"That's another thing, Kamil," Annie said, her voice still thick from her tears, but it was also covered in bitterness, "I'm so bad at keeping people with me. I try so hard. I put on a front for people."

"I'm sorry," Kamil said softly. That was all he could muster. He found her arms wrapped around her.

She continued to speak, motionless in his embrace. "I think I did have those people in my life, I just didn't see it at the time."

Kamil wasn't sure who she was referring to. He remained silent.

"Kamil, you said that if someone really loved you, they would come back to you," she said.

He didn't say anything.

"But would you forgive them for leaving, I wonder?"

I forgive you.

"I have a feeling they would," Kamil said under his breath, his words almost inaudible.

Kamil held Annie for a little while longer before Annie gently pushed him away to grab his hand. She had a new idea – Kamil was going to meet Eda. They walked past the trees on the left, to the other farm, where the snowy gravestone sat, and Eda's soul rested. Later on in the day, Annie was able to smile again. And her happiness made him feel better, too.

But she would fumble on her words on certain topics and never brought up her parents or hometown, unlike Kamil and the other villagers.

This was the Annie Kamil got to know over the past few months. As time passed, Kamil felt like he witnessed a side of her not everyone saw.

Just as happiness had crept over Kamil gradually in Oak Tree Town, so did his feelings towards Annie. He grew fond of her. He found himself seeking her out throughout the day, wondering how she was doing. He never forced himself to like her – he tried his best to be objective around her, to not compare her to Lillian of Bluebell when he was around her – but he realized his feelings after he found himself wishing for her happiness. He liked seeing her happy. Now that Kamil, himself, was able to accept and heal from his ugly memories, he wanted to do just as Marian told him – to help others see how beautiful and precious their memories are. To help Annie… properly.

Annie, Lillian, it didn't matter. How strange, but so, so like him to fall for this girl twice.

a/n: i hope this chapter wasn't too heavy. reviews are always appreciated. thank you for reading!