Jasmine

"Jasmine, what are you reading over there?" A soft voice alike to a whisper pulled her out of the little world she was in.

She placed a bookmark in between the pages she was reading and closed the book. "Just a novel, grandma. Do you need help with anything?"

"Oh, no," she smiled, making the wrinkles around her face even more evident. "It's fine. There are not many customers today."

Jasmine nodded. A few seconds later, she stood up from her seat at the counter and made her way to her grandma, not feeling very keen to continue on reading. She sat down beside her.

"It's been a year since I've seen you. You've grown a lot." She turned her body towards her a little and took Jasmine's hand in hers. Her grandma's hands were slightly bigger, wrinkly but warm.

"Have I? I feel the same though." Jasmine tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears, feeling slightly more self-conscious.

"Are everything going well? In the family, and most important, yourself." Jasmine felt a reassuring squeeze on her hands.

"Everything's fine. We are always this way, nothing changed."

What would, anyway?

She chuckled. "Everything undergoes change even as every second passes by. You just don't realize it. Changes aren't very visible, but we are all changing everyday. Nothing stays the same. You'll see."

Jasmine hummed. "I suppose."

"Speaking of which, is Trevor studying again? He ought to take it easy."

"That was what I said too. But you know mom and dad. Can't do much about them." She sighed softly. Her face fell and she let out what had been bothered her all along in front of her grandma, whom she could trust the most after Trevor. "I wonder if I'll end up like Trev when I'm his age. I'm not as smart as he is. Being forced to study everyday would kill me."

"Let's not worry about that. I'm sure if you just talk it over with them, it would be alright. They want the best for you two, after all."

She stayed silent, recalling her childhood memories that would occasionally surface and made her worry. She could remember always walking past Trevor's room and seeing their mom watching over him for hours and hours. Trevor have had tons of tutors as well, and the amount of reference books he had on his shelves were more than the novels she had collected over the years. Jasmine was a bookworm, so that meant something.

Even though Trevor had never complained a single word in front of her, Jasmine believed it was impossible not to hate this kind of life. So the fact that he was still able to laugh and have fun with her was something she was really glad about. And she cherished every moment they were together.

Is this really for our sakes? She questioned no one in particular.

"You can go to the flower shop if you'd like to."

She snapped out of her trance and blinked. "Huh? How do you know that, grandma?"

"Trevor told me about it yesterday."

"But I'm supposed to help you out today."

"Well, there's only the two of us here. No customers, no parents, no one else. Now, let's say if you were to take a break and return before three o'clock, this old woman wouldn't notice at all."

Her face lit up. "Thank you, grandma! You're the best."

Planting a kiss on her cheek, Jasmine jumped out of her seat. Her eyes caught sight of the ice cream freezer and that stopped her from running out of the shop. She snatched a plastic bag from the counter and filled it with two popsicles.

"I'll see you later, grandma!"

Running as fast as she could, Jasmine grinned even when she was sweating all over.

She only hoped the popsicles wouldn't melt so fast.

Uriah

He was eating his popsicle as they walked towards the forest beside Astilbe. The cold popsicle was refreshing although it didn't last very long.

Uriah was fairly surprised when she appeared looking really happy even though she said she wouldn't be coming. Not that he had minded. Business wasn't very great today anyway.

He glanced up at her, offering his hand for her to grab since he had make it down the steep ground first. He guided her down gently, careful not to cause her to trip or anything. They didn't exchange words, only silently walking and walking deeper into the forest.

Jasmine struggled a little to keep up with her short legs while he slowed down his pace a little to match hers. It took no longer than five minutes to reach where he had in mind. A lake with a small waterfall entered their sights and Uriah caught the small gasp beside him.

"I didn't expect there would be such a beautiful place here." Jasmine said. "It looked just like any other forests from the outside."

"Most of the townspeople aren't aware of this spot either. I found it one time when I walked a little too deep into the forest. It's pretty cool and calming here, so I came here quite often just to relax." Uriah smiled, walking towards the bridge that extended into the middle of the lake.

This was his secret place, where he often came to hide from the world, and sometimes himself.

Jasmine

After taking a few more looks around, she started following after him to the bridge. It was surprisingly cool even though she was sweating buckets just yesterday. The weather hadn't change; the trees shielded them from the heat. A branch snapped when she stepped on it and she nearly jumped from that.

As much as she loved the nature, unknown and unseen things scare her. She was a scaredy-cat like how Trev would always call her. Walking into an unfamiliar forest -- not that she had been to any -- was scary even if it was day time. Anything can jump out and attack her. A snake would be slithering up her legs anytime. Poisonous bugs might bite her and maybe she would need to go to the hospital.

Despite all that, she couldn't find it in herself to refuse Uriah when he led her into the woods. He looked so excited, like a child showing her the 'treasures' he had dug out from the ground.

Jasmine swallowed down her anxiety as though it was a bitter pill and quickened her steps to catch up with Uriah. With him close, it felt safer anyway. He knew the way after all. That was all.

Her sneakers squeaked when they hit the wooden bridge. Unsteady, she mused. Looking up from her feet to shift her concentration away from them momentarily, Jasmine scanned the lake up close. Near the shore were lotuses in water pads. There were at least more than fifty, all closely together. They were so ergonomically fitted together that a large part of the water wasn't showing anymore.

Jasmine looked back in front of her -- a mistake because she really should have looked down instead -- and felt her body stumbling forward as her left foot hit the slightly bulging plank.

She didn't mind falling down though, since it always happens to her. But not into the water, she hoped. Because Jasmine couldn't swim.

Uriah

He turned around just in time to see her falling straight into the water. Not wasting another second -- because he really couldn't afford to -- he reached out his hand to pull her back on her feet. He let out a sigh when he knew he had grabbed onto her arm. Although he might have used more strength than needed because now he was stumbling backwards with her.

"Woah!"

Uriah hit the ground and let out a groan. His back was a little sore from the impact but at the very least, they were both unhurt and dry.

Recovering from the incident, Uriah sat there with his arms around her. Somehow, it felt familiar to him. It was very foggy, subtle, but he remembered doing something like this some time ago. As though a feather had fallen and touched the surface of the calm, still water and tiny ripples started spreading in the depth of his memories.

Ah. It was from that time. How could he have forgotten?

"I'm sorry!" She spluttered while trying to get up.

Jasmine

Her cheeks burned. She really should put her eyes to use, for goodness' sake. Fiddling with the hem of her dress, she frowned.

"It's fine." Jasmine heard him chuckle and feel the heat rush up her ears. Before she could freak out even more, he got up on his feet and offered her a hand, "Are you always this clumsy?"

"Yeah," she grabbed it. "I could fall and hurt myself anywhere I go. Even on cement floor. With nothing on it. I get scratches all the time."

They both patted away the dust on their legs as she dumbly watched Uriah sit down at the edge of the bridge, taking off his shoes and putting them by his side. When he saw that she was still standing there, he waved her over.

Jasmine dangled her bare legs back and forth, inches above the clear water. She was tempted to dip her feet into the cool water, but decided against it as she had nothing to dry them with.

"Your family must be worrying about you all the time then." Uriah started the conversation again, but seeing the clueless look on her face, he continued on. "Since you hurt yourself so often."

"Oh." She paused. "I suppose."

Uriah

"Why the hesitation?" He pressed on. It felt like something sensitive, like he had hit a sore spot. But he wanted to know; everything about her. The desire was even stronger than before; he was led only by it.

Jasmine stopped dangling her legs, stopped doing anything and just stared glumly at the water. "Nothing really." She muttered under her breath. It was as obvious how it was anything but nothing to her. Again, he was reminded by how open and unguarded she was.

Does she act this way with everyone or only with him? Uriah didn't really care which was it, but with all his heart, he hoped that she would protect this side of hers. It was precious, because this world was full of people who are wary of everything, including himself. He knew exactly how tiring it is, to hide so much from the world, but it was something he couldn't change anymore.

Jasmine was vulnerable, but that was also the reason why he was comfortable enough to be just as vulnerable as her. This side of hers really saved him.

"Hey, I'm not going to judge." Uriah leaned in and down at the same time, looking up at her face with a slight tilt of his head. He smiled at her. "Promise."

Jasmine

Jasmine stared at him, and found herself pondering. It should had been an obvious answer of not telling him of course, because it was something that she couldn't share with anyone else, but again, she couldn't resist it when his eyes flashed her such sincerity similar to Trev.

Before she knew it, words started flowing out of her mouth and formed sentences after sentences.

"I've been thinking a lot about my parents. I'm not sure if they really care. About me. Or Trev." Uriah remained silent and she knew it was her cue to continue. "It might be selfish of me to say this but the way they force their ways and ideals on us are making me wonder if they are just using us to achieve what they could not.

"Eighty percent of the conversation between Trev and our parents revolves around studies and results. Sure there's that twenty percent where they care and act like normal parents, but it bothers me so much. Even though they haven't started acting this way with me, but what if I don't get to live my life the way I want to?"

Sometimes, she felt like a bird, and there was a barrier between her and the sky. She could spread her wings, but she couldn't fly. Forever stuck on the ground, unable to reach the place she wanted to go.

Uriah

As much as he wanted to say he understood that, he didn't have a right to. Even though he understood how confined and restrained she felt, he never had parents around to control his life. They were gone before he had dreams he wanted to reach, but he didn't blame them. One was never there for him, the other was there but not for him. It wouldn't make a difference.

"You should appreciate them anyhow. Sometimes, we hate the thorns that prick us, but without them, we would never learn to be more aware. When the scars heal, you'll miss them someday. Today your parents might be in your way, but one day, you'll realize that without them, you'd stay where you are. They push you to realize where you truly want to go.

"Well, I know this is hard to accept right now. There are things that take time to fully understand."

She smiled apologetically at him.

"Look at that," Uriah pointed to her right, at a bunch of white lotuses and started his attempt on cheering her up.

"Lotuses?" She asked while still looking at them.

"Did you know that lotuses were known for their purity?" Jasmine shook her head. "They only grow in lakes, close to the shore where there are mud. But from sludgy, slimy waters, this flower emerged brilliantly and blossomed beautifully.

"Environment and upbringing don't define you. You will always be you if you're honest with yourself. When the time comes when you have to decide between listening to your parents or that little voice in your heart, put yourself above everything. You won't get lost. You'll be right where you want to be if you do that.

"Trust your heart."

Jasmine

She tried to take in everything he had said, resulting in a short silence. When she recovered from all that she absorbed, she let out a chuckle. "Do you always bring up flowers when you advise people?"

"Well, can't help it. Occupational disease." Uriah laughed.

Silence settled down between them again but it was comfortable. She felt at ease, even though it was such a surprise to her because she had always associated silence with uncomfortableness. There was always a need to think of something to say when she was with her friends, but not with Uriah. It was nice.

She stared at her reflection on the water -- mostly Uriah's though -- until he noticed her and smiled.

Jasmine smiled back. "Thank you. I really needed to hear that."

"Glad I could help." Uriah grinned. "I'd love to see you smile than frown anyway."

A tint of pink painted across her cheeks.

"Well, enough about me. How's your parents like? Is the flower shop passed down from them?" She changed the topic, hoping her heart would be calmed if the focus was shifted.

He looked away for a moment before answering her with a smile. It looked like an obligatory, polite smile.

Uriah

"Well, about them. My dad died in a car accident when I was 7. Then my mom couldn't take it and became depressed. I don't remember very clearly, but she left me with my aunt and went travelling by herself. I did find out that she died not long after she was gone though."

He didn't remember much from childhood. His parents were loving and he was loved, but that was only a tiny piece of memory out of the sea of other painful memories. His mom became like a different person after his dad's death, always looking at him with blank, lifeless eyes. Every time she stared at him with a bottle of alcohol in hand, the ever so gentle, loving mother he had always remembered her to be would be wiped off. Little by little, the mother he loved was gone from his heart.

Uriah learnt that people can lose everything in a single day. He had known that feeling very, very well and when it hit him again last week, it had felt like an old friend visiting him.

"I'm sorry I asked." Her eyes glistened with guilt as her voice came out like a whisper.

"Don't worry about it." He fiddled with his bangs, getting them out of the way. "Well, about the flower shop. It was my Mom's. She started the business but shut it down within a year and left. My mom passed the key to my aunt and she gave it to me when I graduated from high school."

She nodded slowly, but her eyes lit up as she turned towards him. "Why did you move back here though? Shouldn't you be in college?"

Uriah recalled the time he was called to the teachers' lounge a month before the final exam. The teachers praised him to no end, calling him a genius for getting first in his grade for three years straight. Every praise sounded disgusting to him. He could see through them, the motives they had behind those fake looks.

The school he went to was slowly dying out. With such a small amount of new students every year, the school's future was hanging on a thread. If their school had accomplished something great though, people would hear the news and they would survive.

And he was the one they were counting on. Say, if he went to any renowned universities and became someone successful, the school could go around telling people that he was one of their students.

Too bad their plans didn't work out. He never wanted to further his studies anyway.

Jasmine

"Nah. Studying doesn't interest me. The idea of starting up the flower shop sounded much better, so I moved back here."

"So you did everything by yourself when you're just 17?"

"Yeah! It was a disaster at first." Uriah chuckled, "I knew a lot about flowers, but those knowledge didn't help in running a business. I had flowers wilting almost every other day! Dealing with the exporters' doubting tone just because I was young didn't help too. Even the location of the flower shop isn't close to the housing area. Well, eventually I got used to things though."

"That's really amazing."

"It's nothing. I made so many mistakes along the way. If only you have just seen it."

"I don't mean that." She lowered her head. "It's how you are willing to give it your all to pursue what makes you happy. I think that's amazing."

"I'm sure you can do better than I did."

Jasmine tried to contain that buzzing noise in her heart and focus on Uriah, whose words had given her the confidence in herself that she had never had before.

"Thanks." She smiled at him, her cheeks hurting from how wide her smile had reach.

The noise didn't stop anytime soon.

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Longest chapter so far! I hope you love it because there's so much interaction between them. Are you curious about Uriah's past? Do you feel like anything they've said is relatable? Tell me what you think cause I would love to hear them! <3