THE SONG OF JULIET ROSE AND LOVEBIRDS (l.s)

Chapter 2

Months went by and from winter bloomed beautiful spring. Morning rains became less and less frequent and wind subsided into a small warm breeze, smelling of first flowers, grass, and forest. Everything was back green, the trees, the bushes, the ground. It was just warm enough to wear sweaters, and leave animals around the property to finally escape the barn.

Louis was just occupying himself with his favourite horse, Juliet, while Mayo was always in the way, because he loved to hinder under Louis' feet. Juliet was a bit older, she was born on the farm just a couple of years before Louis' mum died. It is a beautiful black horse with a white spot between her eyes and one more on her right thigh. She was the only, first and last horse that was ever born here on this farm, since his father didn't was the horses to breed after the death of his wife.

And Louis understood that, it would be too much of a fuss to take care of young animals.

Brushing the horse's hair, and softly pushing Mayo off the way with his leg, he started to hum his favourite song. He just loved spring when the nature sang its own songs, too.

Sun was up in the sky, indicating he spent outside for quite a time and he should check on his father. So he patted Juliet's head, smiled at her and left her join another four horses they owned.

Inside, it was quiet. You could've smell wood and green tea everywhere and Louis believes that is how the farm always smelt like, it is a smell of his childhood, of his life.

What changed though since his childhood is the quietness. His mother always had a radio on in the kitchen when she was cooking, or when she was cleaning the house. His father prefers silence. He didn't mind music per se, he just didn't listen to it very often since his wife died.

Some might think their lives revolve just around her death, but it is true, she was their life, and she is not here. It is just a father and a son who are left here to take care of each other and the farm.

He went to the kitchen to find it empty, except from a cup of tea that is still hot enough it has a soft steam crawling up into the air. That assured Louis his father is somewhere around, ready for his lunch. He cooked yesterday, so the leftover just needed to be wormed up. And that's what he did. The minute the food started to fill the space with its aroma, his father appeared in the doorway with his little walking stick. That is a new thing, since the knee never stopped hurting him while walking and Louis literally had to shove his father in the car and drove him down to the doctor.

'Just in time, where have you been?' Louis asked.

'I was upstairs for a bit, on the balcony watching you around the backyard. You look so much like your mum,' his father replied. He is doing that often. Louis is indeed resembling his mother, and his father can't help it but observe him to remind himself of his beloved wife. It is a pain and sometimes James wishes Louis would be all him, but more often he is grateful he can still somehow see and remember the love of his life, even if it's through their son.

'Lovely weather today, was thinking I would take Juliet up for a ride around the lake. But I need to start preparing the ground for planting.'

'That will wait a day, you should take her out, and Mustard too. I know for sure the blossom trees are in their peak now,' James said, sitting down with a sigh, waiting for Louis to put the plate full of meal in front of him, with the tea he has left on the counter a while ago.

'Yeah, I think I might.'

After lunch, and a brief talk about the renting situation in summer -they did talk about it often-, Louis saddled Juliet and let Mustard to walk next to them off the farm, into the little, not so much kept in a good condition road, until they reached a little forest road, where they continued and appeared by the Ennerdale Lake.