"Mulan...?" I called out curiously watching her every movement.
"Yes?" Mulan asks still looking as we walked.
"Do...do...you..." I stopped my words immediately afraid of what Mulan would think of me if I asked her:
Do you love me?
I suddenly felt the urge to ask her, but throat constricted and kept me from speaking anymore. I felt my head rush with thoughts and memories from all the time we had spent together, and only now did I realize my subtle feelings. It burst out now into the word that I thought I had felt for Phillip.
Mulan noticed my peculiar words and immediately stopped her searching and looked at me with worry, "Is everything alright?" I saw the anxiety and worry that flooded her eyes from my words, but also a hint of warmth. Or what I wanted to see of warmth.
"I was just wondering, Do you- like trees?" I felt my shoulders slump from the idiotic question I had asked. Of all the things!
Mulan gave a small smirk, she knew it wasn't what I was going to ask but she replied kindly, "I do. I feel that you can learn a lot from them." Mulan again left my gaze pacing as she talked on, "Yes. You can learn patience, companionship, and love from trees." I saw Mulan head nod a bit from her deep thinking as she almost seemed to be responding to her own question.
But, as I listened to her words, I smiled from the humor that she talked with. "You act as though they are a person!" I laughed, a bit jokingly from how Mulan described trees. It was almost surreal.
"In my village we believe that a tree contains a person's soul."
I slightly parted my lips with a gasp only now realizing she was serious.
"I-I'm sorry, I—" As I tried to apologize, Mulan raised her hand to show that I wasn't doing any harm to her reply. We stood in silence for a moment, only watching each other then excitement fell upon me. This had been the first time she had talked about her home town with me. In this moment, all I wanted to do was to cherish this moment.
After what seemed like centuries inside the cave, we decided to leave and search again in the morning.
I kept teasing Mulan as we set up camp because of my early suggestion to set up camp.
"l told you! We should have set up camp!" Mulan just shook her head every time I reminded her that I had been the first to bring camp up. I kept stealing glances Mulan's way as she set up the fire pit, the tents, the bedrolls, and even tonight's meal.
We sat around the crackling fire warming our bodies with the stars and moon's bright light upon us, I started to ask Mulan questions.