Ghost in the Roses

Ooh, so close! Just a few inches away from the bull’s eyes.

“Watch and learn, grasshopper,” Kai steps in to take his turn at the target.

He takes a moment to aim his knife, but his throw doesn’t just miss the target, it bounces off.

“Dammit!” My cocky friend is humbled.

“Well, I learned something. I learned what not to do,” I pull the knives out of the wooden target.

“Why is this so much harder than archery?”

“Because the learning curve for archery is easier, and in my opinion more practical. But we’ve got to master this.”

“I don’t think the knives are balanced.”

“The knives are fine. Try again,” I hand him back the two blades.

Kai groans, as he takes the knives. With my arms folded, I watch him, and to my surprise, a little fairy joins me.

“Oh, where did you come from, little guy?” I pet the silver cutie perched on my shoulder.

“I’ve been sent to you by Anita Gables. She has a message for you.”

“Anita? What does she want?” she hasn’t stopped thinking of me and I can’t help but smile, but the size of my grin seems to annoy Kai.

“Oh, no. Not again,” his shoulders drop. “That girl is going to get you in trouble sooner than you think.” Kai shakes the end of the knife at me.

“Hmmm!” in offense, the winged messenger jerks up her chin at him.

“Pay no attention to him, he’s grouchy because they don’t allow him to take naps as he did back home.”

“Anita Gables is asking if you could use a study break and go see about the city. She wants to meet you at The Botanical Garden.”

“Tell her I’m on my way,” I walk a little past the pillars and send away the fairy back into the open.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” this time he doesn’t miss.

“Don’t worry, Kai. No matter what, you’re still my main bitch,” I plead for him to let me go.

“Go, I tell ya. It’s over, I tell ya. By the time you come back, I’ll have all your stuff thrown out. I’m keeping our pet dust bunnies though,” his laugh signals me to go before he changes his mind.

“Thanks, Kai.”

I hope I look okay. My hands can’t help, but keep fixing my blazer’s collar as I approach the garden’s gates.

“Hey,” a sweet voice joins in the chirping of the songbirds.

“Hi,” I turn around.

“Have you been here before?” she places her hand under my arm.

“No, I haven’t,” her shining eyes are as magnetic as ever. “Lead the way.”

I don’t know when, but somehow in our mid-walk through the orange leaf-bearing trees and oversized flowers, our link at arms broke. Down the trail gilded by the rosy sunbeams, our hands are kept down and are busy playing a teasing game with each other’s fingers. Her smooth touch lingers at the back of my hand and sends electric pulses down to my fingertips. As much as I want to, I won’t be the one to give in taking her hand.

“You know I’m going to win this, right,” she smiles at the ground.

“No, I’m going to win.”

“I bet you’ll take my hand before we get to the end of this walking path.”

“Alright. You’re on.”

We keep up this game as we cross a simple bridge over a diamond-spackled creek. I don’t know why, but Anita takes a step from me and her hand is nowhere close to mine anymore. I turn my head to see where she’s going, wondering if I’ve offended her by keeping our game going on for too long. In a split second, I come to realize that she’s actually freefalling.

She already won, but I don’t realize it until I reach for her. My hand grabs onto hers and stops her from taking a plunge into the water. I don’t lose the momentum and pull her back in. The force of this rescue is greater than I anticipated it to be and the pull sends her crashing into me. Her face blushes, but she doesn’t push away. Instead, she takes roots into my chest.

“See, I told you I’d win,” her whisper sends a shiver down my spine.

“I think I can learn to like it,” I smile.

“Do you want to make another bet?” her eyes drop down to my mouth and climb back up.

“Why bother,” happily, I take my losses and feel my warm defeat radiate from her cheek and into the palm of my hand. My final downfall is in her strawberry kiss.