THAT PLEASANT... THING
"Iduna!"
He called out her name, a bit breathless from the excited sprint from downhill where he and and his father's men unloaded. He looked around for signs of her, any minuscule sound, any sight of those bouncy chocolate curls. But there was nothing.
He was back precisely where he left, where he had such fun, magical moments with her. The entirety of last night was spent reliving those short moments, elevating the excitement of spending another day with her.
"Iduna! It's me, Agnarr." He called out again, keeping his search both up high in the tree branches, and behind each sturdy trunk.
Then something caught his sense of smell, something familiar, something… nice. He snapped to his side, thinking she might be sneaking up on him again like she did yesterday, but she wasn't there. She would probably be laughing if she was, he thought.
"Iduna!"
The wind shifted and flowed, and it carried with it that same delightful scent. But he couldn't quite place where he's getting it, nor why it was causing his chest to tighten – in a good way. It frustrated him, and the tone of his search became desperate.
"Iduna – are you out there?"
He had been looking forward to today, so many questions to ask her, so many things he wanted to share with her. Why she doesn't show, he couldn't understand. Perhaps she doesn't frequent this place like he assumed she did. Or perhaps she didn't want to play anymore.
That last thought disheartened him greatly.
"Iduna." He said again, this time in a whisper, dejected but not nearly giving up. Her name makes his heart skip, and like the sudden liveliness of the wind, it gave him renewed endurance.
The flow of the wind around him felt like it was giving him hints. To what, he did not know. Only that the hint shrouded his prize under a wonderful faint smell of forest fruits and sunshine. He raised his head and decided to make use of his nose instead of his eyes. Putting his sight into darkness, his other senses magnified, and oddly, gave him a much clearer vision of the forest.
Without his sight, his mind conjured such vivid memories of yesterday.
He took steps around him, around trees, around rocks, reaching out for something.
He remembered the sound of her laughter, her breathing.
He remembered the feel of her lips on his skin.
He remembered her scent.
He halted from his position, and stood perfectly still. As if telling him he was on the mark, the air around him steadied as well.
He found her.
In one swift motion, he leaped, turned, and with eyes still closed, grabbed the waist of the unsuspecting brunette who had been floating above and behind his head all along.
"Gotcha!"
"Eek!"
The startled girl was captured in a bear hug, and they both fell to the ground, laughing. As they slowly caught their breaths, Agnarr noticed how they were lying next to each other, his arms still around, and her hands keeping him in place.
He finally discovered where that nice smell was coming from, and he confirmed it further be secretly and shamefully taking a slight waft of her hair when he thought she was oblivious.
She wasn't.
The warmth of his breath tickled the young girl, and she squeezed down her neck.
"Sir, you're sniffing my hair." she accused playfully, while pulling her hair away from him in a demure manner.
"I-I-I am sorry, it was…"
His stammer triggered another wave of laughter from her. She turned to her side so she was facing him, leaned forward and proceeded to return the gesturing by sniffing him back.
"Lemon tea, fresh cow's milk, poached egg, whole wheat bread roasted with garlic and sugar-rock sprinkles, and…" she stopped, learned even closer, her nose almost coming into contact with his face which was burning red at this point. "Old parchment."
"Whoah."
Despite the breath he held as she was so close to him, he found it amazing how she technically narrated his morning routine, from the tea waiting for him upon awakening, to his breakfast, to the books he held before joining his father's men back to the forest.
"I was calling for you." He said softly, shyly, childishly. "I thought you didn't want to... see me."
There was a sincere insecurity in his voice.
"I DID want to see you. Sorry." She said, and decided to get up from their position. She pulled him up with her this time instead of leaving him on the ground. "It's just that – well, hearing you say my name – was making me feel… happy."
She said, the description freshly thought of from her mind. She said it without any reservation, but there were still clues of bashfulness on her rosy cheeks as she looked down and smiled at nothing on the ground.
"It did?" Agnarr asked.
Iduna shrugged, but the way she tucked a few escapee strands of hair behind her ear, and that signature lip-biting smile told Agnarr it was a definitive truth.
She placed a hand on his chest. "When I hear you say my name, there's that pleasant thing. It feels warm… here."
Oh, so that's what happiness feels like.
"It feels like…"
"…like the sun."
He stood there, "happy" that he found her, happier still that she was there with him all along, and that he could make HER happy in a lot of ways. They stared at one another in quiet contentment, her hand still on his chest. Until that sweet, honest smile of hers widened in yet another playful, toothy grin.
She gave him a mild push using the hand on his chest.
"Tag! You're it!" she declared.
She was already a good distance away before the boy finally reacted into chasing her, his own huge smile successfully forged, his new friend no longer hiding, and his heart getting a new filled warmth.
The end.
Thank you for reading