a cottage secret

morning picnic

They slept together the entire night. Florence's arms were around Betty's body and the redheaded girl had never slept so peacefully. In her arms, it felt like home; like she never felt before. She knew it sounded crazy in her head, so it would sound even worse if she actually said those words. But it was just how she was feeling.

Betty woke up hours before the other girl did so she watched her breathe. Florence looked so calm, as if nothing was ever wrong in her world. Her neighbor just wanted to be able to read her mind, to find that formula of complete peace of my and soul she seemed to have.

Little did she know Florence had a storm in her mind and could never that safe, even though she was kilometers away from all the chaos the city and her family gave her. Even at that distance, the farm and those amazing flower fields weren't enough to protect her.

She had nightmares every night that she would lay down on the floor of her new apartment when she moved to another place and let her body decay by itself. In those dreams, she'd die all alone. She couldn't scream for help nor company. She had lost her voice.

That was the first night she had a sound night of sleep. It was like fairies had built a shield for her from the world and all she could see were amazing colors.

Truthfully, it was just having someone whose heartbeat had the same rhythm as hers by her side.

When she woke up, Betty was looking at her. She tried to look away, but Florence had seen it. She closed her eyes and smiled to savor that moment and save it in her memory. The redheaded girl's freckled face was a blessing to start the day.

"Hello, there", Florence said. Betty had turned her face and turned red. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, very much." Betty looked at the ceiling, trying to conceal her smile. Florence moved her hands to touch hers and the girl started to sweat. She turned her face. "How about you?"

"More peacefully than I have in years, honestly."

They looked at each other for a few minutes, just admiring each other's faces. Florence had almond-shaped green eyes. It looked like a forest Betty was ready to run into. Betty had round-shaped brown eyes. It looked like a mystery Florence was dying to solve.

"What are we going to do today?", asked the city girl.

"I think I have to go home so my parents don't freak out. I left unannounced yesterday."

"Oh yea, that's true. I'll take you there."

Florence jumped up and put on one of her grandma's old green dresses over her nightdress. She took the redheaded girl's hand and walked over to her little cottage. Betty's parents weren't awake, so the girl wrote a note to them saying she was fine, with the city girl who was living on the farm. She knew they wouldn't mind.

When they went back to the farm, Florence decided they should do a picnic together.

"Can you imagine? Just us, a few scones, and this big wild world."

"Sounds perfect."

They proceeded to pack a picnic towel, a few bread slices, scones, cookies, a coffee bottle, some jam, and some fruits and went into the wild. Betty was still wearing her dirty old shirt and her mom's jean pants, besides her old brow boots. She was ready to go into the forest, knowing that if any of her clothes got ruined it wouldn't be tragic.

So into the wild, they went. With that green dress and her hair tangling with the wind, Florence looked ready to take flight. Betty couldn't help but feel small close to that tremendously big soul. She was happy she could be a part of her life.

They walked until they found a tree big enough to feel like they were tiny living beings under its shadow. They sat on its roots and put the picnic towel on the floor. Florence organized the food they took in beautiful plates and then looked at the sky.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?", she asked.

"It really is." Betty rested her back on the big tree and sighed. "I feel so peaceful. There's only us and the sound of nature around us."

"Wouldn't it be amazing to live in a tiny nook in the middle of nowhere and not answer to anyone besides yourself and the need to survive?"

Florence opened the coffee bottle, poured the liquid into two white mugs she took in her bag, and gave one to Betty. They ate some cookies before drinking the whole mugs and lying down to look at the sky and its funny clouds.