“Hurry up Kamille!” Called Xander from atop the hill. I huffed and puffed as I climbed the small mountain, sweat running down my back and making my face glisten.

I tripped on an errant rock and almost fell back down the hill. The shrubs in front of me cleared the rubble from my path. I huffed out a laugh.

“Thank you,” I whispered to them, bending close to gently caress them with my fingertips. A few of them reached back tentatively, while others boldly brushed across my legs and hands.

“What are you doing?” Xander said, from right in front of me.

I startled back at his sudden appearance and lost my footing. I teetered on one leg briefly before I lost balance. Xander grabbed my arm and held up my weight easily, stopping my potential tumble. I fell forward into him, yet he didn’t even budge. He was an immovable object, and I was far from an unstoppable force.

Once I had recovered from my fright, I deigned to answer him.

“I was just saying thank you to the shrubs…”

Xander looked down at the plants beneath our feet as though he’d never noticed them before. He probably hadn’t, as most people didn’t pay attention to the desiccated ferns and various longspine sandbur plants that grew in open areas such as the one we were playing in.

He looked worried for a moment.

“Does it hurt them when we walk over them?” He asked curiously, a hint of trepidation in his voice. I smiled. No one I had ever met cared so much for plants, and it warmed by heart when Xander showed concern for them.

“No, it doesn’t hurt them because they don’t really have any pain receptors. Some plants, like this longspine bur,” I leaned down a caressed the long spindly plant with sharp burs, “even need animals to walk over and around them in order to attach and spread their seeds.”

One of the sharp burs pricked my skin, but I didn’t mind. Xander looked thoughtful at the bur plant. He reached down and plucked one of the bur seeds. He placed the bur gently on his pant leg where it attached quickly with its sharp hooks.

I beamed at Xander and he smiled back. With the sun hitting his long golden hair and pale skin, he looked like an angel from up above. He reached for my hand but seemed to hesitate at the last second. I grabbed his hand before he could return it to his side. I saw him flinch minutely, but instead of withdrawing his hand as I expected him to, he clenched mine and pulled me closer to him. I marveled at the contrast between our skins. It made my stomach tighten happily as I admired my dark skin encapsulated by his light hand. It reminded me of a sugar maple in autumn, what with its golden yellow leaves and deep brown branches.

Carefully, he led me to the top of the hill where we stood hand in hand looking out at the great expanse of nature below. The landscape was dotted with yellows, greens, pinks, browns, and purples. Each individual plant called out to me as the wind carried their voices and their scents to where I stood.

I could smell green earth and cold dirt. I could hear the chirping of cicadas, the winged drum beat of the ruffed grouse, and whispers saying, “Play with us Salix… play with us…”

“It’s beautiful…” I murmured, taking in the scene with awe and reverence. Xander looked over at me and his answering smile took my breath away. He tugged me closer still using our clasped hands until I was a mere hair’s breadth away from him. The wind tousled his golden mane, and we were so close that I could feel each strand of hair gently caress my face.

“That’s why I wanted to show it to you,” Xander said, voice quiet and hushed. He was, I thought, a little awed as well. We sat down in the long grass.

I looked back out at the prairie that stretched for miles and miles, I listened attentively for quiet whispers and basked in the sound of cicadas and sparrow songs as I inhaled the scent of fresh lilac and damp dirt. I laid my head on Xander’s shoulder, and after a moment he reciprocated by laying his head on to mine. His warm breath tickled my face, and the heat warmed our shoulders. We sat there until the sun bid farewell and descended out of sight. Eventually, the moon came out to play and illuminated the grassland in hues of silver and blue.

I couldn’t have dreamt up a more beautiful scene.