Espoir

Four

Uriah

It was six thirty in the morning and Uriah was wide awake. He wasn't sure if the alarm woke him up or he simply didn't sleep well because the exhaustion from yesterday stuck to him like glue. Groaning, he closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep and hoping to wake up six hours later, so he didn't need to make a decision now. It didn't work, as he snapped his eyes open five minutes later.

'I'll come by again tomorrow,' Her smiling face flashed across his eyes, with her voice ringing loud and clear.

Uriah really wanted to wipe that memory out of his head. It was giving him a headache right now.

But she promised.

He groaned loudly, again. It wouldn't stop replaying in his mind. The thought that she would faint again from waiting outside a closed shop for hours under the scorching sun popped up in his mind and his eyebrows knitted together in worry.

It was seven already.

She might not come, but what if she does?

Grudgingly, he hopped out of bed.

Jasmine

She stared at the blue flower in front of her with a few kids beside her.

"What do you think it is?" The boy with a small cut on his left cheek asked.

"A flower, silly." The only girl of the trio answered.

"But why is there only one by the riverbank?" The other boy chimed in.

"Maybe it's not a flower."

"Or it's wilting."

"Let's pluck it out."

"No! Don't be mean!"

"Fine."

They went back to staring, and after a short silence, they turned to her and chorused, "Do you know what it is?"

On the way to Astilbe, she stopped on her tracks when she noticed three kids crouching down, staring and having an argument over something she couldn't see. Curiosity made her take part in whatever they were doing, and she listened to them as she glanced at the object.

It was uncommon to see flowers growing in small amounts, but it was even rarer to see only one flower growing out of three stems.

Jasmine shook her head at them, "I don't, sorry."

They pouted and grumbled, before they took off again.

Kids, what short attention span they have. She took one glance at the lone blue flower, already memorized its characteristics and left.

Maybe she would ask him.

Uriah

It was nearly ten when he finally finished his daily work -- watering the plants, checking his flower stocks in the cold storage, trimming the flowers, calling the customers regarding their orders -- but there was no sign of Jasmine yet.