The girl blinked her sparkling eyes. Come to think of it, her palm, gripping the stems of the flowers tightly, was beginning to hurt. Without hesitation, she pushed the bouquet in her left hand towards the man.

“Take it. It’s yours, mister.”

The man, looking confused, took the bouquet reflexively. It was a messy arrangement, the flowers roughly picked and haphazardly tied together. But it was the first gift the girl had ever given to anyone other than her mother. Her aunt couldn’t accept flowers because of her pollen allergy.

The man stared blankly at the bouquet in his large hand for a long moment. The small, fragile bouquet looked pathetically tiny in his grasp. Suddenly embarrassed, the girl reached out to snatch it back, but her fingers only brushed the petals as the man moved it just out of reach.

He brought the flowers to his face, inhaling their scent. The blank expression on his face softened and a smile returned to his lips.

“Thank you, Liatris.”

“How do you know my name?”

At the unexpected mention of her name, the girl – Liatris – opened her eyes wide in surprise. While her name was also that of a purple flower, the bouquet she had given him was composed entirely of nameless wildflowers. He must have meant her.

“I heard it in the village.”

Liatris pouted. What had he heard? The name of the loneliest girl in the village? The beautiful widow’s burdened daughter? Those were the words the villagers usually used to describe her.

“Just call me Lia.”

That’s what her mother and aunt called her. Strangely, this stranger, whom she had only met twice, felt closer to her than the villagers ever had. The young girl didn’t realise how strange her own thoughts were.

The man smiled again, his grin warm and weak.

“Yes, Lia, who always gets lost in front of her own house.”

Though she had always considered the forest her backyard, the man, an outsider, had struck a nerve. Lia’s cheeks flushed red. Sure, she had gotten lost last time, but this time was different!

The man pointed with his index finger in the direction of her house.

“Your house is that way.”

“I know!”

She had thought he was a good man, but now he seemed no different from the teasing village children.

When Lia snapped back, like a quack with its quills up, the man looked a little troubled. Maybe he hadn’t meant to tease her – maybe he was genuinely trying to help her find her way, like last time.

Still awkward and unsure of how to interact with anyone other than her mother and aunt, Lia shifted her gaze nervously, avoiding his eyes.

“I’m not angry… really.”

“I understand. And I’m sorry, too. The forest is getting dark fast, so you should hurry home.”

The man didn’t seem angry either. Lia wanted to talk to him some more, but it was already later than usual. Her mother would be waiting. Shuffling her feet, she hurriedly asked the questions that were piling up in her head.

“Where is your home? You’re not here to hunt, are you? Have you moved to the village? Can we meet again?”

“These aren’t questions I can answer all at once…

“Does that mean we can’t see each other again? You won’t come back next summer either?”

The man scratched his chin with an embarrassed look. He hadn’t intended to say much, but Lia’s endearing persistence had completely disarmed him.

He had never thought that the little girl would go out of her way to meet a stranger who had simply helped her find her way. He cleared his raspy voice and spoke as quietly as he could.

“You should be careful of strangers, Lia.”

“But you’re… not a bad person.”

“I’m not a good person either.”

There weren’t any stories about bad people helping lost girls find their way home. Lia, brimming with confidence in her judgement, left the man speechless for a moment.

The man wasn’t overly friendly, but he didn’t seem annoyed by Lia either. Glancing repeatedly in the direction of her house, Lia spoke quickly.

“Mom must be waiting, so I’m going now. Tomorrow -“

“Stay on the village streets from now on.”

Although this was a peaceful place, wandering through the forest unnecessarily could lead to being mistaken for a small animal and hit by an arrow. It was out of concern that the man had inadvertently spent the summer guarding the forest, and his tone was firm.

But Lia didn’t seem to hear a word of his warning, ignoring him completely.

“Let’s meet here tomorrow at noon.”

“No. We can’t.”

The man’s sharp refusal made Lia puff out her cheeks like a squirrel. She just wanted to talk, but the man was acting like her mother, rebuffing the advances of the village m*n.

Unbeknownst to Lia, the man was also reminded of someone when he looked at her. It wasn’t just her appearance, but her stubbornness and determination to give away her budding affection, as if desperate for it to be accepted.

“Then I’ll get lost here tomorrow.”

“Robel. No, Lia.”

At the man’s slip of the tongue, they both froze. A sudden gust of wind rustled the dense foliage, as if mocking the silence that had enveloped them. Lia blinked rapidly, as if stung by a bee in her sleep.

This time she really looked as if she’d seen a ghost and stumbled back a few steps. The man swallowed nervously, his dry throat tightening. He had to stop this brave little girl from opening her mouth. But how?

“Uh, uh, I’ll keep it a secret from Mom… See you tomorrow!”

Without any conditions or prompting, Lia willingly agreed to a request the man hadn’t even made. She quickly turned and left. The man, standing there with a confused expression on his face, could only watch her retreating figure as she hurried away.

Lia’s heart pounded in her chest as she ran home. Unbelievable. Even if fish had started to swim through the forest or snow had started to rise from the ground into the sky, she wouldn’t have been more surprised than this. Tomorrow, she thought, I’ll have lunch right after breakfast. No, better still, I’ll ask Auntie to pack sandwiches for the flower field. Who knows? The man might not have lunch before he comes.

Lia knew she could wait for him all afternoon if she had to. She was like her mother. Although her mother had never said she waited for anyone, Lia always knew. It was impossible not to.

The man only stared at the bouquet in his hand after Lia’s figure had completely disappeared. How long would this little lady’s secret last? He should never have come. But it was too late for regrets now.

* * *

The promise between man and girl remained. Even though it was a one-sided agreement that Lia had made, the man, feeling coerced, had no choice but to comply. Who knew what reckless thing she might do otherwise? He justified it with such excuses, but the truth was simple: he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her.

“Mister!”

It was closer to dawn than midday. Standing under the same tree as yesterday, the man turned his head at the sound of Lia’s voice.

The girl came running towards him, a large red ribbon tied in her hair – something he hadn’t seen before. Her clothes were colourful and bright, though depending on your point of view they looked extremely, extremely tacky.

“You’ve seen me now, so that’s enough. Let’s end this…”

Before he could even greet her properly, the man began his parting words. Lia’s eyes widened in shock and the basket she was carrying slipped from her hands.

The lid came off and neatly wrapped food tumbled out. Was she planning a picnic? The man sighed heavily as Lia hastily covered her face with both hands.

“That’s so mean…”

“All right…”

The man sighed, trying to comfort Lia, who was sniffling with her hands over her eyes. He picked up the bread that had fallen on the dirt, brushed it off and put it back in the basket.

Lia looked at him through a small gap between her fingers. Her violet eyes were as clear and bright as today’s cloudless sky.

“Instead of the flower field… let’s go over there.”

The man led Lia to a stream deeper in the forest. Even if the young girl was better at keeping secrets than she seemed, there was no stopping someone from noticing and gossiping if they saw her. Although the flower field was secluded, Lia’s colourful outfit was so striking that it would have attracted attention even in the middle of the village.