Evander led me further across the yard, his hand warm in mind. The walk was slow, enjoyable even, as I took in the types of trees and the leaves that were as green as the grass.
But then, something shifted.
The smell hit me first. Soft and sweet. Familiar in a way that made my chest tighten without warning. I slowed, blinking as the air changed around us. It was richer.
Then I saw it. Not all at once. Just the edge of it.
A patch of color tucked behind some trees, half hidden by a low white fence. Blues and greens and soft shapes I couldn’t quite make out yet. It didn’t look like anything important. Just plants. Flowers.
But something tugged in me toward it anyways.
“Evander…?” My voice came out small, unsure.
He didn’t answer right away, just squeezed my hand gently, guiding me a few steps closer.
The colors sharpened. The shape became clear. Leaves. Petals. A small carefully tended space that didn’t belong to the wilderness of the yard.
A garden
I didn’t know why my heart suddenly felt too big for my ribs. I didn’t know why my breath caught like I’d been running. I didn’t know why the sight of it stirred something deep inside me. Something old, something I’d forgotten.
I only knew that I couldn’t look away.
Small, delicate petals like tiny stars.
My feet stopped moving.
The world didn’t tilt; it lurched, like my body recognized something before my mind could catch up. A strange, tight feeling pulled at my chest, sharp and soft all at once. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know why my eyes suddenly stung or why my fingers twitched like they wanted to reach out.
Blue flowers.
Not just any blue ones.Thoseblue flowers.
The ones … from ...
My thoughts stuttered, tripped over themselves, trying to form a memory that wouldn’t come at all. Just flashed. A field. Laughter. Small hands – mine? – picking them one by one. Someone called my name. Warmth. Safety.
My breath hitched, and I didn’t even realize I’d taken a step closer until the grass brushed my ankles.
“Evander….” I whispered, not trusting my voice to hold anything more.
He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
He brought me here for this.
The garden pulled me in. It was like a whisper at the edge of my thoughts.
I stepped away from Evander without really meaning to, drawn towards the patch of blue flowers clustered near the back of the fence. My fingers itched to touch; itched to draw them.
I crouched down, reaching out but stopped just short of touching them. My fingers hovered above the petals.
I swallowed hard as the word for these came to mine.Lily of the valley.
They were almost always white, but the rare ones were the lightest blue. Just like this. Blue that matched my eyes when the sun hit them just right.
I blinked back tears, trying and failing to remember where I’d heard that saying, too.
Letting my eyes drift around the rest of the garden, it was bigger than it appeared at first glance. Rows of herbs. A few vegetables. A scattering of other flowers in soft colors.
