A Single Rose (a Valentine's Story)

Chapter 7

Hint 3: The barrier that divides Rusty and other kitty pets from Firestar and other clan cats.
Reason #3: Your smile when you are reading a good book

Reading the third hint, I knew at once that it was referring to another one of my favourite book series, Warrior Cats, by Erin Hunter (or, more accurately, a group of authors who worked under the pseudonym of 'Erin Hunter', a fun fact that I had only discovered this year). Particularly referring to what I like to think of as being the original Warrior Cats series, which is centred around a 'kitty pet' (a domestic house cat) called Rusty who ends up becoming a 'clan cat' (wild cats which live in the forest behind his home) called Firepaw (his apprentice name which ends up changing to

[SPOILERS!]

Fireheart when he becomes a warrior, then

[MORE SPOILERS!]

Firestar when he becomes the clan leader), fulfilling his destiny to save the clan.

But this clue had me a bit stumped. There was of course the physical fence separating Rusty's garden from Fireheart's forest, but then there was also the psychological barrier between the kittypets and clan cats, with clan cats scorning kittypets for being too "soft", and kittypets being too frightened of the "scary" forest cats. But this was a generalisation.

What was Rusty/Fireheart's specific barrier? Was it his struggle to be accepted into the clan when others despised him for his Kittypet origins? Was it the lure he felt to know his Kittypet kin when he felt isolated in the clan for not truly being one of them? That struggle for Fireheart was particularly relatable for me, for I have never felt as though I truly belonged anywhere...

My inner voice guided me, for once distracting me from my forlorn thoughts,
Focus on the clue.

I thought for a moment or so, then the answer appeared with clarity.
I nearly facepalmed myself with the stupid simplicity of it.
In the school, there was really only one place it could be. The wooden fence surrounding the school garden. It had to be, for all the other fences around the school were silver chain link ones, not at all like the wooden fence described in Warriors.

With some surprise, I found myself quietly laughing as I shook my head. Instead of feeling annoyed at myself for failing to immediately solve the simple clue as I normally would, I, by contrast, felt greatly amused by how complicated I had made everything by completely overthinking it.

Then again, I have always had a tendency of overthinking things. Every single social interaction, every text, every compliment (of which there were few, but I usually ended up figuring out that they were sarcastically intended anyway).

And now this.
I so badly wanted it to be real, to believe that someone was genuinely interested in me... but my mind was constantly bombarding me with alternate endings,
What if it's a prank? What if you reach the end and no one shows up? What if you go there only to be completely humiliated?

What if, what if, what if!?

It was maddening. I hated not knowing what was going to happen next. I hated the whole uncertainty of it. I hated having no idea who the author of the notes were, and what their intentions are.

I sat, feeling my shoulders slump as I wallowed in these unhappy thoughts...

There!
Like a wisp of warmth on a cold day, I felt the kind presence nearby as their gentle gaze lingered on my despondent form. I fancied as though it felt like the owner of the eyes was urging me to not give up hope. To keep going. To keep believing that there was something worthwhile in all of it.

Before I even glanced up, I knew that I would not see the one who encouraged me. But as I lifted my head, I gave a small smile in the direction I had felt it come from, so that whoever it was may know that I had sensed their silent message.

That they would reveal themselves when the time was right.