Happy Accidents

Chapter 38: Solis Occasum

After dinner, they spent some time on the beach, chatting and watching the sunset in silence. Once darkness had set over the beach, they smothered their fire and made their way inside; after a day of work, they were already quite tired and wanted to get some rest. They spent most of the next morning lying on the beach in the sun, Sakura especially enjoying the warmth on her skin. After a few hours laying on the sand, Sakura stretched and sat up, pondering.

"You know," she began, "there's a hiking trail that starts just down the beach a little bit. Why don't we go for a walk? It's a beautiful little trail that ends just across from the lakehouse." Sakura remembered walking the trail as a kid; she and Ino used to hunt mushrooms and identify plants along the walk. There were even a few times they'd managed to find some sizeable wild blueberry bushes, bringing small buckets home to make blueberry pancakes the next day. Sasuke, on the other hand, loved nature walks. He always found nature was one of the few places he could find himself feeling a sense of peace; the idea of doing something like that with Sakura was even more enticing.

"Sure," he replied with the faintest hint of enthusiasm, standing up and brushing some sand off himself. "How long does it usually take?"

"Mm, a couple of hours. Why don't I pack some snacks and sandwiches, and we can have lunch along the trail?" Sakura offered.

"Even better," Sasuke agreed. "Sounds like a wonderful plan. I'll let you get those ready to go, and I'll pack our stuff up here." He picked up the towels and folded the chairs, carrying them back to the house while she went inside to prepare some snacks and sandwiches in a small cooler that could easily be carried. Once it was ready and packed, Sakura reached into the closet, pulling out a small quilt that would be the perfect size for them to lay out on the ground and eat. With everything packed, she changed into some better shoes for hiking and locked the door, leading Sasuke toward the start of the trail.

They hiked for a while in silence, listening only to the sounds they could hear: there was a small stream running down toward the lake that could be heard just off the path, accompanied by the knocking sound of woodpeckers on a few of the nearby trees. Other birds could be heard chirping in the trees, singing their lovely songs as the sun peeked through the leafy canopy above them.

"Ino and I used to come along this trail all the time when we were kids," Sakura said as she scanned the sides of the trail. "We used to try and identify different mushrooms and plants and learned what was edible and what wasn't. One time, we came across a really nice blueberry bush that was chock full of berries." Those days were fond memories, eliciting a chuckle from the pinkette. "I remember we raced back along the trail and begged our parents for a pail so we could go back. Once we got it, we rushed back at lightning speed and started picking them. We were here for hours, filling the whole pail. We brought them back to the house and had blueberry pancakes the next morning. By far the best blueberry pancakes I've ever had." The more she talked about that, the more she wanted to make blueberry pancakes for herself.

"Hey, should we maybe try and find that bush? We can grab a few and fill a couple of the sandwich containers with berries and have blueberry pancakes tomorrow morning. I think they should be in season." Sasuke wasn't one for pancakes, given he wasn't a fan of sweet things, but the energetic and pleading look on her face was something he couldn't resist. He'd love to watch her face light up making them, and if it made her happy, he'd eat them.

"Yeah, we can. I'll follow your lead on it since I don't think I'll be able to identify them very well." Sakura practically bounced on the spot at his agreement, turning and picking up her pace along the trail as she checked either side. She even occasionally waded into the greenery a little bit and checked a few of the plants, eyes searching for the bush she knew she was looking for. After about half an hour of walking along the trail, she spotted the familiar greenery.