The next morning I braced myself. As I finished up washing my face, I heard a little knock at my door. My intuition told me to ignore it...but my mother's voice ringing in my head told me to answer it. I chose the latter option and sighed loudly.
"Haru!", she chimed so early in the morning. Kaname slid out from behind her with a smile and chuckle.
"What???", I complained as I left the door open for them and went to dry my hair. She plopped herself right into my corner chair and looked around as if it wasn't a big deal. Kaname followed suit and joined her in the chair next to hers.
"Guess what we're doing today Haru?", she excitedly asked me. I closed my eyes and covered my face with the towel.
She didn't bother to ask again as she ran to me and held onto my hands, making me drop the towel.
"We're going to explore!" she said with a smile. I raised my eyebrows at her sudden physical touch.
Quickly I retracted my hands from her hold.
"Wh-what are we even got to explore?!!" I blurted out in disarray. Kaname laughed and she just stood there smiling at me.
"Well there's lots silly Haru.", she teased.
"First of all, I need a proper tour of this manor. Kaname said it's a rather large area so I want to be prepared. Secondly, Kaname said there's a garden! And forest!! And Meadow!!", she shouted with glee. I sighed.
"Dont you have all of this at your manor too?" I asked. She looked out to the window for a split second.
"Yes, but it's more fun when you can explore with other people…" she began to say in a whisper.
"And" she started as she turned to look at me with a cheerfulness again,
"It'll be fun cause this place is new to me!" she said as she grabbed my arm to pull me up. She held my hand and made her way to Kaname to hold his as well. I silenced myself in defeat.
With our hands in tow, she guided us out to the back. As she wanted, we gave her a tour of the mansion- well Kaname did most if not all of the talking. I just listened and complained in my head. She had so much energy and joy that exploded whenever she found a place to her liking like the library and the parlor room that Kaname and I would play and relax in. I also noticed that she was rather kind to the servants and maids that we would pass by. Her parents didn't bat them an eye so I just thought she would be the same, but it was refreshing that she too treated them as we did.
The tour of the manor actually took us most of the day. After a late lunch break, everything on the inside was completed. We just had to finish touring the outside.
"I'm sure you've been waiting all day for this." Kaname smiled as he led her to the garden area.
Great. Just great. A garden. I'd be with flowers all day long. I sighed. Even though I didn't do much talking, I was getting tired.
It was entertaining really- curious as well. She had such an amazed look upon her face it was as though she had never seen a garden before. And to be honest, our garden wasn't that great or grand.
"Have you never seen a garden before?" I muttered as we made our way through the rose bushes.
"No no, I have. It's just that, seeing so many flowers together always takes my breath away." she confessed as she smelt the roses and hydrangeas.
Kaname nodded and followed her. I crossed my arms and sat on the ground. Would we have to smell all of them? There were so many flowers in this garden, it would take days! I nearly cried as I thought to myself.
Haruka noticed my absence as she was further down with Kaname and hopped her way over with a basket filled with flowers.
"Haru haru, look!", she said as she grabbed one to show me.
I put on the fakest smile ever. She didn't seem to notice as she caressed the flower gently.
"Blue pansy. It's my favorite flower." she said to me. Kaname sat down beside us and asked her why.
"Pansies are derived from a word that means "thought" or "remembrance". So different colors remind you of certain things or people. Blue actually means "a trust in love". Or honesty and loyalty." she explained.
"Why not red or pink?" I asked. Mother usually liked only light colored flowers with hues of pink or red.
"Oh yes! Those are pretty too. But their meanings are different. Pink mostly means innocence whereas red means love and passion." she said as she looked at her flower again.
Suddenly Kaname got up and walked down towards the roses again.
"So who are you trusting in love with?", I asked as I looked at her pile of flowers in the basket. She looked up at me and had a smile on...but it was distant.
"I don't have a crush or lover or anything like that so I can't really trust in love with someone right now…" she started with a blush.
"But if that day were to come, I would like to give them this flower to tell them that I trust in our love. Even if we weren't able to see each other or speak...at least this flower and its meaning will hold true and speak for us." she said confidently. I shrugged. She was so romantic at the age of 11.
"Maybe you'll use this flower too, for your lover", she added. I looked up at her in surprise.
"Does every girl know the meaning of each flower like you?" I asked, sort of scared. She laughed and shrugged.
"I'm not sure...I only know some by the way. But I WOULD love to know more and share my knowledge…" she explained. I nodded.
"You are the flower teacher now." I muttered. She smiled.
"If you were a flower, which one would you be Haru?" She asked me curiously. I shook my head.
"I'm not sure...what's a tough flower?" I asked. She chuckled.
"Hmm...well in terms of being tough? Marigolds are pretty resilient."
"Yeah, that's me then." I said with a nod.
"Haha, are you resilient?", she asked.
"I'm getting there." I confessed.
"If you're a marigold, then Kaname is…." she thought aloud.
"A rose." I said. She turned with a surprised look.
"Everyone wants a rose. They look elegant don't they? That's how Kaname is...elegant and everyone likes him" I explained. She looked on towards her flowers in thought.
"Lavender." She finally said. I looked up at her in question.
"Kaname is Lavender...and in a garden you two actually complement each other very well." she added with a smile.
"Marigolds are often planted with Lavenders. One doesn't steal the show over the other in this case because they're both so beautiful to look at."
I was going to ask her what she would be when suddenly
"Here" Kaname called from behind her as he held a yellow rose to her face. She gasped.
"A yellow rose?" she exclaimed as she grabbed it gently. Kaname nodded.
"A yellow rose means--" she started to explain to me.
"Great friendship." Kaname finished with a smile. She nodded quickly and gazed at the flower.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"I hope our great friendship will continue on with this summer," Kaname gently added. I was gonna puke. He was so corny right now. These were just flowers.
"Since when were you a flower fortune teller too?" I asked. Haruka chuckled.
"There's a plants and flowers anthology book in our library that I dabbled in when I was bored." Kaname explains casually.
"Wow flower boy, you impress me every day", I tease. Kaname looks down at the flowers and goes through them.
"Sadly, I don't think we have a great representation here of what Haru is, though he's not necessarily a flower." he starts. I give him the eye.
"And what would it be Kaname?" Haruka asks, totally hooked.
"A fungus." Kaname replies with a smile to her. She laughs as I grimace and turn my head away from them.
"That's it, I'm done!" I shout as I get up to leave. Haruka and Kaname come laughing and try to stop me.
"Oh c'mon Haru!" Kaname laughs.
"Fungus are good! They can be quite delicious!" Haruka tries to persuade me. I get even more annoyed.
"I don't want to be delicious!" I boom to their still laughing faces as we walk out of the garden.