ℑ'𝔪 𝔣𝔞𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

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      The sun is slowly rising. How long have I been lying here? I realized that I had passed out... I'm completely soaked and exhausted. I decided it would be a good idea to go home.
      As I stumbled through the door to the safety of my home, I was filled with a sense of relief. The house is warm and the air is full of smell of freshly baked bread and the scent of flowers wafting from the half-open window. It was a reassuring sight and I knew everything will be alright again. My hair is still wet and my clothes are soaked from the rain. I still can't recover and I'm thinking about what happened that night. Maybe it was a chance for a fresh start. I could put the past behind me and start over. I just needed to clear my mind first.      
      But my thoughts were in a fog and I didn't know where to start. I tried to clear my thoughts and find some clarity. I want to collapse into bed and sleep. But when I walked into my bedroom, I saw that someone had left me here a warm cup of tea and a fresh towel. Could it be my mother or someone else? I take a cup of tea and I start to feel better as I realize, that there are people around me who care about me and want to make sure I'm okay. I was glad to be home. I walked over to the closet that was filled with clothes, intending to change into something dry. I grabbed my pajamas and stumbled into the bathroom.
I'm in dry clothes now, but also feeling a bit down. As I walked back into my room, I decided that I didn't want to go to sleep right away, I wanted to enjoy the solitude of this moment.
      I sat on the windowsill with my cup of tea and closed my eyes, savoring the warm, comforting taste of the hot drink and just absorbing the moment. I sip my  hot tea and i watch the peaceful landscape outside. The morning sun is slowly rising and the air is cool and clean. I feel comfortable in this place. I look at the thick fog and dew covered grass and feel a sense of calm begin to wash over me. But that didn't last long, because I heard sound of the outside gate opening, from my wooden window.
     I look out of the window and I see the trees swaying in the wind and the rain falling gently outside in the garden, when at that moment I notice a boy standing in my garden.
I open the window and look out, trying to figure out what he could be doing here. He seems startled by my sudden appearance. I felt quite uneasy now. A boy about my age is standing in front of one of the red rose bushes, but he doesn't seem to be doing anything. He just stands there and looks at the flowers. I wasn't sure what to do in this situation. The boy continues to stare at the rose bush, but he neither touches it nor plucks the flowers from it. There is something strange about his behavior and I felt like I should talk to him to find out what he wants. I feel uncertain watching the boy stare at the flowers and I don't know what to say or how to approach him. I'm getting really curious about what he might be doing here, so I decided to ask. I took a deep breath, then opened the window wide and called to the boy.
"Excuse me, can I help you with something?" The boy suddenly looks at me. He looks surprised to see me and doesn't respond right away. He keeps staring at me and doesn't answer my question. We're both feeling uneasy now and I'm getting a little more suspicious as to why the boy is in my garden. I decide to find out more.
    bbI ask another question "Are you looking for something in my garden?" The boy nods his head but still says nothing. He seems a little reluctant to speak, or maybe he's just trying to understand what he's supposed to tell me. Now I'm a bit overwhelmed by the strange situation and wonder why the boy won't just tell me what he's doing in my garden.
      I decided to change my approach and ask him a more direct question. "Do you need anything?" The boy hesitates for a moment, but then finally speaks. "I'm looking for a rose," he says. I'm surprised by his answer and not sure what to say next, but at the same time I'm relieved that he's not planning anything suspicious in my garden. I decide to ask the boy another question: "Why are you looking for a rose in my garden?" The boy looks at me for a moment and then replies, "It's important to me to get that rose." Now I feel a mixture of emotions as I listen to the boy explain that he's looking for a rose. I'm interested in the mystery of the situation, but I also feel a little unsure about inadvertently letting a stranger into my garden.
      However, I also feel a little taken with the boy and decide to ask him another question "Why are you looking for a rose?" The boy looks at me and seems to show some emotion for the first time as he smiles. I feel a little charmed by the boy's smile and his melodious voice. His dark brown medium length hair frames his handsome face and I barely make out his deep brown eyes that look at me with curiosity. He's standing in the mist, I can't see him clearly enough but I can still hear my heart pounding in my chest as I start to feel more attracted to this boy.
But I still want to know why he's looking for a rose in my garden. Now I feel more and more attracted to the boy. I'm interested in everything about him, from his beautiful voice and deep brown eyes to his dark brown medium length hair, or maybe to his mysterious smile. I'm starting to forget about the strange situation of a stranger looking for a rose in my garden and focus more on the boy himself.
      I smile at him and ask him another question. "Do you live nearby?" I had to shout more for the boy to hear me, since I'm on the second floor. My question seemed to catch the boy off guard for a moment, as if he hadn't expected me to ask. But then he quickly recovers, smiles at me again and says "Yes, I actually live very close by." I am relieved to hear that and feel more comfortable now. I don't have to worry about the boy being a strange intruder in my garden, if he actually lives nearby. Now I can continue the conversation in a more relaxed way and ask more questions. The boy plucks a rose from a bush and shows it to me. I am amazed by the beauty of the rose and the way the boy holds it. The flower amazed me and I can't believe that this stranger just plucked it from my garden. I'm also a little surprised that he ripped it off without asking first. But I don't mind because I feel a little attracted to the stranger.      
      The boy is still standing outside in my garden, holding a rose in his hand. I feel a sense of warmth and peace as I breathe in the soft morning air. After a while I realize that the boy is still standing in my garden looking at me. There is anticipation in the air and I look back at the boy and our eyes meet. The boy feels a surge of emotion as he gazes into the girl's green eyes. He is attracted to her beauty and fascinated by her kindness, but also a little nervous that she witnessed him take a rose from her garden. The boy takes a deep breath and then speaks. "I'm sorry I took that rose, I hope it didn't bother you too much," he says. I smile at him and am a little charmed by his apology. I don't hold the rose incident against him and I think his honesty and genuine apology is sweet.    
      The girl and the mysterious stranger have been talking for a few minutes now, and the atmosphere between them is getting a little more tense and intense. The boy decides it would be best if he left now, but then a spark of inspiration hits him and he takes a step back to the window. "I should come back, shouldn't I?" He asks, but doesn't wait much longer for an answer. His voice is quiet and soft, but there is also a little anxiety in it. The boy starts to walk away from the window, but just as he was about to leave my garden and walk away, he stopped for a moment and turned to look at me one more time. Our eyes meet again and suddenly there is more tension in the air. The boy tries to decide if he should say something else or just walk away... Falling deeper and deeper into the boy's eyes, I feel my heart beating unusually fast. The boy suddenly walks away from the window and disappears into the thick fog. Looking into the garden, I see that the rose is gone.
      I look around the garden trying to figure out where he could have gone but I can't see him anywhere. I closed the window and sat back on the windowsill. I ask the question in my head "Where did you go..?" No one answers me, but his mysterious smile remains in my mind. His hands, smooth as velvet I'd bet, holding that red rose, remain in my mind. I'm a little disappointed that the boy suddenly disappeared without even saying goodbye. I'm also a little frustrated right now because I felt like the interview had just started. I wonder if I'll ever see the boy again, and I'm getting a little sad.
I look out the window again, but there's no sign of the boy. As I watch the roses engulfed in the thick mist that the morning light shines through and hear the birds chirping, I can't help but feel a little hopeful and optimistic about the future. I don't know when the boy will return, if we'll ever have another chance, or if I'll ever see him again, but there is still a chance to get to know this boy better. Maybe it's the start of something beautiful. I still think about him.
Do he really live nearby?
And why did he need a rose from my garden?
I wonder if I'll ever learn his name. I decide to put the whole situation out of my head, at least for a moment. I go to my unmade bed trying to get some sleep. It was a very demanding night only because I didn't sleep all night. Then it was just dark.