Jean raised his head and faced ahead. He then lingered for a moment before moving forward. Not sure why Natalie called him, he felt nervous with each step he made.
'Is there something that is emanating the breeze other than the area itself?'
Jean contemplated on the matter as he took his last step and stood next to Natalie.
"Look here, there is where the breeze you are feeling is coming from"
Natalie said while pointing at the centre of the area covered by the undergrowth. Jean gazed in the direction with curious eyes. He was trying to spot something unusual that could be responsible for the breeze. But to his disappointment, the more he looked, the more he noticed nothing different from the lawns populating the area.
Shifting his gaze towards Natalie, Jean blinked for a couple of times.
"I am still confused. I can't get a glimpse of the thing that is responsible for this breeze."
Natalie glanced at Jean with a surprised face and chuckled.
"When I told you that you would be confused by this, you thought I was joking? But don't worry yourself about things that are beyond your comprehension."
With a subtle frown, Jean stared at Natalie in disbelief.
"Does that mean that you too can't spot the source, mom?"
Suppressing a chuckle, Natalie looked at Jean and lingered.
"My son, you wanted to see the source of this breeze, and it is right there in front of your eyes for you to see it. What else do you want to see?"
Pausing for a while…
"I know you expect to see the real source of the breeze which is nice of you. But I already showed you. If you doubt me you can move to the centre and confirm it yourself."
Natalie said with a deadpan expression.
'That was what I was about to do…'
Jean had the thought of approaching the centre of the area which is the core of the breeze, but he had some doubts if Natalie could allow him. So, he was still in the process of making a decision when Natalie gave him a go ahead to get to the centre of the area.
He was a bit wary of his decision, but when he got the confirmation from Natalie, his worry faded away to some degree.
Without much further hesitation, Jean made a step forward and turned back to look at Natalie. Upon noticing Natalie's indifference to his move, he focused ahead and took another vigilant step.
Despite the ground under his feet being covered by undergrowth, it strangely felt as hard as a rock under his feet.
"How can plants grow on such a hard surface!"
When Jean felt how strange the ground felt, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
The surprising thing was that, despite him putting on safety boots, he still felt the hardness.
'Is there a rock under these plants?'
Jean thought for a while as he took another step forward.
A few steps away from the centre, Jean felt a chill down his spine, and then slowly turned back to check on Natalie. Noticing that Natalie was still maintaining a calm state, he heaved a sigh of relief and focused his gaze on the centre of the area.
'This is my opportunity to confirm the source of this strange breeze.'
Jean thought to himself as he took the last step and stopped a few inches away from the centre. It was easy for him to spot the centre because the breeze at this point was more intense as compared to the surrounding areas.
The breeze was alluring and comforting. And this was what made Jean dreadful to some degree.
'It is too comforting to be real.'
Jean thought for a while as he stared at the ground where he sensed the breeze rising from. He was trying to comprehend what could be lying under the surface of the ground that might be causing the alluring breeze.
Natalie, now standing five meters away from Jean, was now curiously studying him while crossing her arms.
'What is this boy up to? I thought he would be afraid to approach the area. I need to do something…'
Natalie thought to herself with squinted eyes.
After a few moments, Jean slowly lowered himself to ground and rested on his knees. He then looked back to confirm the presence of Natalie. When he confirmed she was still in her initial position, he shifted his gaze and scanned the surroundings for a few seconds before turning his gaze back to the ground he was kneeling on.
Lifting his hand and slowly lowering it to the ground, Jean felt his heart pounding heavily. Just as he was about to touch the ground, a familiar voice echoed.
"We have to move."
Quickly withdrawing his hand and sharply turning in the direction of the voice, Jean flinched. He was surprised to notice Natalie standing right behind him. How she arrived there without him noticing not known to him.
"Remember, the tour was meant to be as brief as possible. We are not yet done with the forest tour. There is another important part of this forest that might turn out to be your favourite."
Natalie said with a serious face while looking away.
Immediately Jean heard this, he was forced to throw what he was about to do at the back of his head. He quickly dusted himself and got to his feet as a bright smile shone on his innocent face. Without further hesitations, he approached Natalie and grinned.
"Which part of the forest is that, mom?"
At this point, Jean couldn't help but ask.
Since the beginning of the tour, not even for once had Natalie promised Jean that there was a part that he would like. So, when Natalie said this, Jean couldn't help but wonder which kind of place was that. He had enjoyed the tour all through except for some instances when Natalie scolded him. While growing up, never for once had Natalie disappointed him whenever she said that something was amazing, it always turned out to be right on his side.
When she said that he was going to like the part of the forest that they were yet to visit, he never doubted her. That's why it was easy for him to leave what he was doing at the moment and head over to the place. He was here to explore, and learning can come along.
This was an easy decision for him because, he still had some other time of visiting the place since he now knows its location and make his findings about the breeze source.
Considering that for the past few minutes, he was somewhat low in spirit, he at least needed something that could boost his mood even if it was by a fraction.
Natalie sighed and turned to look at Jean. She rolled her eyes and lingered for a while.
"I see you are much interested"
Natalie said in an even tone while staring at Jean. Jean on the other side, nodded silently and smiled lightly.
A moment later, Natalie turned left and moved forward, exiting the area sourcing the breeze. Without even asking Jean followed in her direction.
A few seconds later, the two figures disappeared into the forest without a trace.
A few minutes later, Natalie and Jean were walking side by side. Suddenly, Jean frowned and focused in the direction of the forest they were heading to. He had noticed a familiar scent.
'This smell is familiar. I perceived it on the left side of the forest at the start of our tour. This time is much stronger and I can discern it. It is the smell of ripe…'
Pausing for a moment and looking around curiously…
'It is the smell of a ripe Mango if I am not wrong.'
Jean thought while scratching the back of his head.
This could have sounded crazy considering the kind of trees in the forest around where they were. They were indigenous ancient trees.
A few minutes later, Natalie who has been silent all this time finally spoke.
"Look here!"
Turning in the direction that Natalie was pointing, Jean was dazed for a moment. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.
'Fruits!'
He almost said it loud after seeing a group of mango trees to their right. It was an orchard and it was standing ten meters from where they were. The orchard spread in an area of forty meters squared and it was majorly dominated by mango trees.
Judging from its location, it was easy to label it as a secret orchard.
Liking his lips, Jean approached the orchard in a measured gait. When Natalie noticed this, she smiled wryly and snorted. In return, Jean looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"As if you know where you are heading to"
Natalie said as she overtook Jean and entered the orchard with a wicked smile surfacing her face.
***
Some minutes later, two figures were exchanging glances, each holding a mango in a hand. The two figures were none other than Natalie and Jean. They were now at the centre of the orchard. This is after exploring the rest of the orchard.
Jean's gaze was fixed on a strange tree in front of him. It was an apple tree that didn't bear even a single fruit.
'How comes it is the only one, and the only one without a fruit.'
From Jean's statement, it was easy to tell that this was the only apple tree in the orchard.
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