[f o u r]

♤Chapter 3♤

~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~▪︎~

'Is she coming?'

'Is she alright? She's never this late'

'Should I tell her?'

I played with the flower in my hand in deep thought.

'I wonder how she'll react'

I took the flower crown I made while waiting for her from my head and set it on my lap.

I began to feel nervous, thinking of how should I say it to her. Should I even tell her? What if I don't? Nothing will happen right?

I sighed in frustration. This was harder than I thought.

I layed down on the grass and closed my eyes to clear my mind.

I listened to the sound of the cold wind and the grass that swayed along the direction of the breeze. The rustling of the trees leaves, the soft chirping of the birds on the branches.

Nature couldn't be more beautiful.

♧Ji-Rae's P.O.V.

I rushed down the sidewalk and avoided some people on my way to the meadow. I know it's not good to be wandering the streets by myself because of the possible dangers that could happen to me, but Finland is a very safe place and I love it.

But even though it's a really safe place you can't really get rid of all the bad people in the world. That's why I'm very careful and make sure I'm somewhere safe, where bad guys don't take me and give me their ugly candy.

I also made a lot of friends in school and I always see them outside. They could be eating ice cream, or walking together and everytime they see me they would always wave and greet me in finnish, the language I barely spoke in.

I've learned a few words but I'm still not good at it. Maybe even my english is better than my finnish. I've been asking my brothers to teach me but they were always too busy with house stuff and homework.

"Moi, Ji-Rae!" My classmate called out to me from the other side of the street.

"Ah, hyvää päivää!" I exclaimed back, waving with an awkward smile.

He was waving back at me until a group of kids ran past behind him, accidentally knocking him down.

I saw a bicycle out of the corner of my eye about to pass by and possibly injure him. I ran to the other side of the street and helped him stand up. He was a bit heavy for me but I managed to drag him away and into the sidewalk where it was safe. The bike passed by and I knelt down beside him.

"Are you alright?"

"Kyllä minä olen. Kiitos" he sat up.

"Uh, I'm sorry?"

"Hm?"

"Oh- olen pahoillani? Minä en osaa suomea hyvin..." I pronounced slowly.

He laughed.

"No wonder you speak funny! I said; Yes I am. Thank you!"

"Okay, be more careful next time!"

"I will, I'll go now! Sorry Ji-Rae"

"It's okay, bye!" I said before continuing my way to the meadow.

After passing a few blocks, I finally reached the small gate that separates the meadow from the outside. I saw the kind man that always comes to the meadow every once in a while to make sure that it's well kept. I also saw the lady that sells flowers beside him, asking if she can pick some flowers today. The man nodded and let the lady wander freely in the meadow in search for some flowers to take and sell in her flower shop.

I waited for the man to notice me before I could ask him to unlock the gate for me. I could hop over it easily, but I didn't want to be seen as bad or disobedient. He finally noticed me and I waved at him.

"Ah, Ji-Rae!" He smiled at me and walked towards the gate with his keys.

"Moi! Can I come in?"

"Of course! Came to admire nature again didn't you?"

"Yes! Also, me and my friend spend our time here together!" I giggled as he opened the gate.

"Tell me when you and your friend are gonna leave okay? I wouldn't want to lock the both of you inside the meadow when I leave"

"Okay!" I thanked him before running off to the tree me and Koma meet at.

When I got there I saw him lying down on the grass, his breathing steady. I inched closer to him, observing his peaceful face. The only thing you could hear was the soft breeze blowing.

"Komaaa" I called softly.

He suddenly groaned and fluttered one eye open.

"Huh?" He sat up, "Oh, you finally came" he smiled at me.

"Yeah, sorry, I had stuff to deal with"

"It's alright" he replied. "Oh! I almost forgot" he took something from beside him and pulled out a flower crown. It was made of a lot of flowers too.

The flower crown was made of Orvokki, Metsähtähti, Rentukka, Siankärsämö, and Vuokko. The flowers that could be found in the meadow. I stared at it in awe before he set it on my head.

"Oh look, it looks great on you!" He beamed. I felt shy at the compliment.

"Th-Thank you.." I smiled awkwardly.

Just then, the butterfly came and fluttered around me again. I got annoyed. I was about to swat it away when a hand caught my arm.

"What are you doing?" Koma asked me.

"I don't like the butterfly, it keeps annoying me"

"How?"

"It just does! I tell it to not bother checking up on me because I'm fine by myself! But it just keeps coming back here and then back to mom!"

"What do you mean?"

"When mom was still here, she would tell me stories about family members that went on a long trip and sends butterflies to their loved ones so they can know if they're okay... But then, ever since mom left and went on a long trip too she was sending butterflies here..."

"She cares about you then! So why are you mad?"

"The thing is, mom and dad haven't come back for at least 3 years now.... They said that they'll come back. And we'll see eachother again.... But I can't help but feel that they don't want to come back anymore, that's why they send butterflies over. It also makes me.... angry that they would go over the trouble to send us butterflies when they could come home now! It's like.... It's like they don't want to be with us anymore.. and it really hurts me.."

"And then I had those dreams again... The ones that remind me of the past... last time it was when me and my mom were under a tree, she and I talked about the promises she made. She promised that we'll see eachother again and then she vanished. This time it was when mom left... I felt so sad because they were speaking in finnish when mom was talking to my brothers... and I felt like they were keeping something from me..."

"I don't get why all of this is happening and I don't have a single clue about what's happening to mom and me and my brothers! It frustrates me and annoys me to know that they're keeping something from me that I should know too! Then mom, she was the only person that helped me understand enough and calm me down when I'm all worked up like this. But then she left us without a proper explanation even when she promised that she wouldn't leave us! But look at where she is now! She's not here, it's been 3 years and she's not coming back yet! I don't know if she'll even ever come back now! I miss her so much... but she just decides to send over BUTTERFLIES to check on us! I want HER to be with us and make sure we're doing alright and not these flying creatures! She loves us but she isn't even making an effort to at least see us! I hate it!" I started unconsciously beating myself up.

Suddenly two hands held my wrists and brought them to his chest before pulling me in for a hug. I froze and after a moment, I clung onto him and released all my emotions.

"Hey, calm down! Listen, she might have a reason to have left and still not come home yet, and it might be really hard for you now. But remember, I'm here if you need me! I won't be like your mom who promises not to leave you but still does. If you want I can be in her place until she comes back" he rubbed my back with one hand while the other held my head.

"You- you promise?" I asked.

"I promise" he tightened the hug and I felt my lips softly curve upwards.

"Thank you... so much"

"I'm here for you Ji-Rae.. Always have, always will."