A few hours have passed and the night went away. The next day came to switch it.
It was just as the sun peaked by the horizon that the first of the birds were heard singing.
The rising sun also spilt its light upon the fields that were owned by Claire's and Garrett's parents.
Along with working in a bar, their father also made wine out of their own, home-grown, grapes. Though he almost did all the work, Claire and Garrett liked to help him with whatever they could. They liked to help him, they liked to hear others compliment the alcoholic beverage. Compliment their father's hard work, because somewhere, somewhere there, alongside his hard work were also the immense helping efforts given by Claire and Garrett.
They also owned a field that was used to grow olives. For now, they were utilized by being eaten alone but also mixed in with other foods, such as pizzas, salads and whatever else went well with olives. Their mother said that she was to attempt making olive oil, or at least her version of olive oil.
As the sun rose higher into the sky, its rays only basked more and more of the land exposed.
And it was at 6, only sometime later, that Claire woke herself up.
6 in the morning was her usual wake-up call. She had to wake up by this time to go and help her parents harvest anything ready. They were constantly on the clock, they had to complete tasks like these and head for a shelter before the deadly heat of the Summer and Autumn was to have arrived.
Claire and her family lived in such a location, it was one of the closest points to the equator in the whole kingdom.
The sun was strong enough that the daily average temperature during the Summer, and the beginning of Autumn, was to have easily gone up and beyond 35 degrees Celsius. Today's forecast was 38 degrees.
Claire yawned before she sat up, and with a stretch, she looked towards her closed curtain. A small frown formed on her lips. Today, in only two or so hours, Garrett was due to go.
Deciding to set that thought aside, she didn't want it to rain on her parade. She wanted to see this as a time of growth for Garrett. A new opportunity for him.
'But... but what if all the war talk turns out to... to be true?' Claire thought to herself. She cursed herself for allowing such a thought to cross her mind. 'No matter what, Garrett will be okay...' she tried to reassure herself. "My brother will be just fine.".
To stop any more thoughts from dwelling on her mind, she slid herself to the very edge of her bed, before she stood up. And with that, she walked over to her window. Opening up the blinds, she let the early, morning sun flood her dark room with the fresh, morning light.
And at that exact moment, she widened her eyes. 'I have to hurry before the sun gets too strong and the heat becomes unbearable.'.
She dressed up into her everyday clothes before putting on her slippers. Opening the door, quietly, she headed downstairs. Everything seemed quiet.
'Others seemed to be asleep...' she thought. Was a strange site and sound, silence, until recently. Maybe it was the old age her parents approached, or maybe... maybe it was something unknown to Claire, but recently, it was only herself up every morning when Garrett was away in the military.
She went downstairs, and upon her entrance into the kitchen, she was surprised when she saw Garrett, having his breakfast.
"When did you come back?" Claire asked. Last night and this early morning, Garrett stayed with Meghan. They shared his final night before he had to go off to the military again.
"Not too long ago. As you can see, I am just about to finish my breakfast. When I came in, I went and checked up on you, mam and dad and whatnot. And then, I prepared myself some food.". Then a pause, he took a final spoonful of his food into his mouth. "When did you wake up?".
"Literally like a few minutes ago," she replied. With that, Claire approached her brother, and from behind, she hugged him.
He too embraced her, right before kissing her hair. "Are you going out into the field for some grapes?".
Claire nodded against him. Then, breaking their embrace, she took a step back. "You know, better do it now. If I leave it till later, it'll get too warm.".
"Hey, in that case, wait for me. I want to go and help you out," Garrett voiced, standing up onto his feet. Placing his plate into the sink, he looked at Claire. "Can you get all the baskets ready, I just have to get dressed up.". He picked his army clothes from a chair that was tucked under the dining table.
"Are you going to wear your military attire to go out into the field and collect grapes??".
"It's fine. It's not like it's my actual uniform or anything. That's packed away, safe and sound. This is like my... everyday clothes, of which I have thousands in my bag. I like to keep these pair at home. They look pretty elegant, but on top of that, they are pretty comfortable. A very rare combination in life when it comes to clothes, at least in my case it is.".
Claire couldn't help but giggle at his words. "And... I've been the witness of that more than once...".
"Oh, I know!" Garrett replied. Then, silence descended upon them both before Garrett broke it. "So, can you do that for me, while I go and get changed?".
Claire nodded. "Of course I can!". With that, they both headed their ways. Garrett ascended the stairs, while Claire fetched and prepared two baskets for herself and Garrett.
Not long passed when she heard footsteps. Immediately, she knew it was Garrett.
He stepped out and onto the patio. Claire looked at him. He was dressed up in an attire unusual to her. She was not used to him in such clothes. It was a pleasant change.
Her brother looked like a big, strong, handsome soldier.
Claire looked at him, but the more she did, the more and more tears accumulated in her eyes. She tried to brush off the tears, to act as if she was not on the verge of tears. But all her efforts were futile.
Garrett noticed her sadness. He approached her.
"Hey..." he began softly, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't cry, okay?".
His words sent a punch right in her gut. It caused her to let a few tears fall down her face against her own will. What hit her the most was the fact that he noticed, despite her trying to hide her sadness, he noticed.
To his words, she replied with a nod.
Then, with a sniffle, they broke from their embrace. Quickly, she dried up that tear or two which dwelled on her face.
"Sorry... okay, shall we get going?".
She was about to turn around but Garrett stopped her. "A-are you sure, Claire? Are you sure you want to go? If you are too upset, by all means, you can leave this off for another day. You know that, right?".
"No, no, it's fine. I am fine. Either way, dad doesn't need much more grapes to begin making some more wine and whatnot. A couple more basketfuls of grapes should do the job," Claire replied.
Garrett noted what Claire was trying to do, but he didn't reply. He didn't have an adequate answer.
With a basket held by each, they both began their way to the grape fields which were not too far away from their home.
"Are mom and dad still asleep?" Claire inquired, breaking the silence that ruled between them both.
A small smile appeared on Garrett's lips. "Yes, they are.".
"Looks like we finally managed to beat them," she began, allowing a small smirk to dwell on her lips. "We are the early birds now.".
And all Garrett did was nod in response, in agreement to Claire's statement.
Both Claire and Garrett spent 30-40 minutes in the field, harvesting any grapes that were ready to be harvested. Upon filling their buckets, Garrett made a short break and pulled out a pocket watch that their father gifted him for Garrett's 21st birthday.
"What time is it now?" Claire asked.
"It's 7:02 AM. I have a little less than an hour left," he replied, giving Claire a sheepish smile. "Shall we begin our way back?".
Claire nodded. At that exact moment, it was all she could have done. The lump that grew in her throat made it hard for her to speak.
They walked back to the house, and as they closed up towards the door to where the kitchen was, they heard the sound of sizzling and light, female voice. It was their mother.
"Looks like mam is awake," Claire commented. "Do you think we have enough time to make another round?".
Garrett made a slight grimace as he looked at the empty basket, calculating the route in his mind. Biting his lips, he shook his head. "No, I am afraid not.".
Then he hissed, looking down at himself. "I thought I'd have more time because I assumed I wouldn't need a shower, but I was wrong. I am a sweaty mess.".
"That's okay, I'll go out and make another round myself then. I shall be back right before you leave," Claire spoke as she picked her basket back up into her hands.
"Alright," Garrett began. "But just be careful, don't stay out in the sun for too long, okay?".
To his words, Claire rose an eyebrow. A small, amused smirk grew on her lips. "You are talking to me as if I were a child. Dare I remind you that I turned 20 years of age not even two weeks ago.".
Garrett couldn't help but let a small smile evolve on his lips. "And I am very much aware of that. But age will ever change the fact that you are my younger sister. My baby sister. And I, your older brother, have the duty to keep you safe...". With those words said, Garrett approached Claire before he wrapped his arms around her. "You are so, so dear to me, Claire. You know that?".
"Awww..." Claire began. "You are going to make me cry again," she added, trying to smile to counteract her words. To Claire, it was difficult, more difficult than she expected it to be, and it was shown by the quiver in her voice.
Though Claire couldn't see, Garrett replied with a smile of sympathy. Empathy. He knew how she felt. Hell, he felt the same way.
He embraced Claire that bit tighter. "Don't cry. No more crying, okay? Because if you continue crying, you'll make me cry too.".
Claire couldn't help but chuckle. Not even a moment later, Garrett joined her, he chuckled alongside Claire.
And what seemed like seconds later, they separated from their embrace.
"I'll be off the have a shower. And you... don't overwork yourself.". With that, he smiled at Claire.
"It's called hard work, Garrett," she replied, Claire's smile only growing bigger.
A final chuckle came from them both before they went their ways. Garrett to the bathroom while Claire back to the field for some more grapes.
Carrying the empty basket in her hands, within minutes, she reached the field where Garrett and herself were only minutes ago.
From there, she began harvesting more grapes, alone. But, she felt sadness grow in her.
She felt like the more grapes she collected, the sadder she became. Sort of like as if... as if she was collecting her sadness rather than the grapes.
Her heart ached and her soul even more.
Claire took in a deep breath to try to pull herself together, but it didn't work. She knew all too well that what she felt was because of her brother, because of his departure.
She went over this a thousand times, she tried to calm herself a thousand times, but it was obvious that it all hit a dead-end. A dead-end where the road was blocked off by agony. A lump in her throat.
She was glad that she was alone, so here, she allowed herself to let herself cry a tear or two the more she worked to fill up the empty basket.
With the basket filled with grapes, she hurried back home.
She hoped to make it back before her brother had to go, but she had no way to tell the time. She owned no watch, unlike her brother.
And unlike her father, she couldn't tell what the time was simply by looking up at the sun.
All she had was hope. Hope that she'll make it back. Hope to make it back and hug her brother. Make it their last hug until they were to meet again...