They made one more right turn and found themselves standing at a swirling metal gate opening up into a bright park with soft green grass. There were colorful flowers all around the fenced area, and a great, strong tree sitting atop a sunlit hill. A butterfly flew right in front on Gilbert's face and he dropped Elizaveta's hand to chase it.
Elizaveta watched him run around in circles and jump up and down, trying to catch the fragile insect.
"Gilbert!" she laughed. "You aren't going to catch the poor thing, just leave it alone!" she set down the picnic basket and chased after him, smiling.
"No way, Lizzie!" he called over his shoulder. "I'm not stopping until I catch it!" he ran faster and Elizaveta had to speed up just to keep behind him. Gilbert really wanted to catch that butterfly, and nothing was going to stop him until he did. He was stubborn like that.
"Well," Elizaveta began, "you come up on top of the hill with me when you catch that thing. I'll be waiting." Gilbert nodded and Elizaveta walked back over to the gates that they had just come in, picking up the basket and wandering over to the base of the hill. From down here, the sun reflected off of each leaf covering the tree's twisting branches and made them sparkle. Elizaveta smiled to herself and began climbing the hill. She reached the top and for a moment she just stood in the sun, letting the wind ruffle her dress and hair. She inhaled deeply though her nose, taking in the different scents around her and simply enjoying nature.
Setting the basket down carefully, she sat down next to it. She ran her hands through the grass. It was soft and thick and warm. A few strands came out in her fingers, and she held one between her thumbs, making sure it was taught. She blew forcefully into it, making the grass screech loudly. She giggled, not having done this since she was a child. Roderich certainly wouldn't approve of her immature behavior, but there was something about today that made her want to be a kid again. She couldn't explain it.
"Lizzie!" Gilbert yelled from right behind her. He had snuck up when she was distracted. Elizaveta jumped and turned around.
"Gilbert! Don't scare me like that!" she yelled!
"Sorry Lizzie, but look!" he said. His smile was so wide it looked like his mouth would just split, and there was a childish pride in his eyes as he opened his clamped hands. A small, white butterfly gently fluttered out of his palms and off into the afternoon sky. "I caught it." Elizaveta watched the small creature float off into the distance until it was nothing more than a tiny white speck by the fence.
"Nice job, Gilbert. I didn't think you'd be able to catch it." She said, smiling at him. The look of pure joy on his face was priceless. All this because of one little butterfly. Gilbert never really did grow up; he just got older. Elizaveta couldn't help but giggle at him as his silver hair fell into his face. "You hungry yet?" Gilbert just snickered.
"No, you're Hungary." He said, poking her in the shoulder.
"Haha," she mocked. "you're so funny. Seriously, do you want food or not?"She unlatched the lid on the picnic basket and held out his sandwich. The tomato had almost soaked through the plastic, and the whole thing was a soggy mess, but Gilbert snatched it from her happily anyway.
"Finally! I'm starving." He said as he pulled the plastic off his sandwich. Elizaveta reached back into the basket and threw some napkins at his feet.
"You're going to want those…" she said and pulled out her own sandwich, still neatly wrapped in plastic and not at all soggy. She opened it and took a large bite out of the side. "Mmmm." She smiled.
"Lizzie, how the fuck did yours stay so dry?" he asked as he wiped the excess of tomato juice from around his mouth onto his sleeve.
"I've done this before, and now you're sleeve is all dirty." She pointed to the stain on his arm. "It's such a nice shirt too…" she grabbed a napkin and pulled Gilbert's arm over to her, trying to wipe at the stain. It was stubborn and her excessive rubbing didn't do much to take it off, but it did dry off Gilbert's arm a little. She sighed and sat back down, taking another bite of her sandwich.
"Ya know," Gilbert said with his mouth full, "this isn't half bad for a sandwich soaked in tomato juice." He shoved the last half of it into what little space was still available in his mouth. He swallowed and grabbed a beer. "Makes it easier to eat more at one time." Elizaveta chuckled.
"Of course that would be your first concern." She said as she grabbed a beer of her own. The two popped off the caps, but before they had the chance to drink any, Antonio and Lovino came running up the hill to meet them.
"Gilbert! Elizaveta! Hola!" Antonio yelled to them, waving like a madman. He had no trouble at all running up the hill, but Lovino was further behind, breathing heavily.
"You bastard, slow down!" he yelled, but the Spaniard did listen. He just ran up to Gilbert and Elizaveta without even breaking a sweat. Lovino managed to catch up, but when he reached the top, he threw himself to the ground, gasping for air. He wasn't the fittest man on the planet.
"Ciao…" he gasped. Elizaveta was confused as to why all of their friends from the coasts were so far inland today, but she didn't complain. It was nice to see them. Antonio crouched down to where Lovino was panting and helped the Italian sit up, laughing the whole time.
"You should really get into shape, Lovi." He said. "It'll make things a lot easier." Lovino just coughed at him. Antonio chuckled one last time and faced Gilbert. "How are things going, amigo?" he asked him. Gilbert smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile. He seemed a bit nervous.
"Everything's fine. What brings you two here?" he asked. Lovino stopped panting just long enough to answer.
"We just wanted to say hi. Got a problem?" he looked past Gilbert to Elizaveta. "Oh, and ciao Elizaveta." he added. She just nodded at him, watching Antonio and Gilbert exchange stares. All at once, Antonio stood up to leave.
"Well, nice seeing the two of you." He said. He grabbed Lovino by the arm and yanked him to his feet. "Ready to go?" he asked. Lovino stuck his tongue out in Antonio's face. "I'm going to take that as a no." he laughed and lifted Lovino up into his arms. "I'll see you later, Gilbert!" he called back as he ran down the hill with Lovino in his arms.
Gilbert watched them go and took a swig of his beer.
"Antonio's crazy." He mumbled.