Falling To Paradise

“I really, really… think it’s going to be great!”

 

“…Ah.”

 

Aiden, who had been frozen in embarrassment, barely came to his senses after a few seconds and let out a loud cough that echoed through the attic.

 

At the sound, Anje realized what she had done and let out a small scream, pulling away from him.

 

“Oh my goodness, really! I didn’t mean it like that… I’m just so happy. Because of the silver bell flower. I’ve never actually seen one before, but now that I’m growing one, I’m really happy.”

 

TL/N: Silverbell flowers=Lily Of The Valley

 

It was a good thing that the attic was only lit by moonlight. Otherwise, he would have been able to see her bright red face.

 

Anje, unaware that Aiden was relieved for the same reason as her, felt relieved.

 

“Yes, well… it’s nice, the silver bell flower. It looks like a silver bell.”

 

That was the best Aiden could come up with.

 

Anje hurriedly pointed to something hanging from the ceiling.

 

“What is this?”

 

“That’s basil.”

 

“Oh, is this the green powder I sprinkled on the garlic bread yesterday?”

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

The garlic bread, made with white bread, garlic powder, and basil powder, melted in her mouth. Even in the midst of this, Anje swallowed her saliva, thinking about last night’s dinner.

 

“Hmm, also…”

 

There were a few things she had wanted to ask him when she went up to the attic, but she couldn’t remember what they were.

 

Aiden extended a helping hand to her.

 

“The candles are out, so let’s go down.”

 

“Okay. I need to go down and plant the sunflower seeds soon.”

 

“…It’s already night?”

 

Aiden’s voice held the long-forgotten sentiment of “This girl is making no sense again.”

 

Even though the room was dark, Anje could clearly imagine what expression he was making.

 

“Is it bad to plant at night?”

 

She wanted to see the sunflower bloom as soon as possible, even if it was only for a few hours.

 

“We need to prepare the soil before planting. Soften the soil and…”

 

“We should also pull out the weeds, right? Okay, then I’ll plant them later. As soon as possible.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Aiden exited the attic first, and Anje followed behind, carefully making her way down one step at a time.

 

“Watch your steps.”

 

Since he had turned on the light in the bedroom before going up to the attic, it was just enough to see her way down, but Anje, just in case, grabbed Aiden’s hand tightly, who had gone down before her.

 

‘I don’t want to fall awkwardly in front of him or sprain my ankle again’

 

He let go of her hand as soon as Anje descended. However, the soft and tingling sensation he felt on his palm remained vividly in his mind even for that short moment.

 

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Sir.”

 

Anje ran back to her room without waiting for Aiden’s answer.

 

She wanted tomorrow to come quickly, but she was also embarrassed about her sudden contact with him a moment ago.

 

“What’s gotten into me?”

 

No matter how happy she was, how could she have done that…

 

Anje grumbled to find the reason for her impulsive behavior and concluded that it was because she put too much sugar in her tea.

 

Her tutors had always warned her that too much sugar made her mind unstable since she was little, but she didn’t know it was this bad.

 

“He didn’t hate me more, did he?”

 

She muttered to herself and stared at her palm as if it would pierce through it.

 

His hand was warm, firm, and large. Like the vast land spread out under the sunlight.

 

* * *

 

A Few Days Later, after breakfast, Anje, hiding something in her apron pocket, rushed to the pigsty. She had good thing to share urgently.

 

“Pa, Pi, Pu!”

 

Hearing their names being called, the pigs poked their heads out between the fences.

 

Anje, dancing in front of them, hugged each of the three pigs’ heads in turn.

 

“Are we finally planting sunflower seeds today?”

 

“Oink, oink.”

 

As if understanding what she was saying, the pigs grunted and rubbed their pink snouts against Anje.

 

Anje burst into laughter and gently pushed them away.

 

“Oh, come on. Be still. I’ll give it to you soon anyway.”

 

First, she had to complete her assigned morning task. She poured pig swill into the feeders inside the pen.

 

The pigs, approaching the feeders and sniffing, realized that it wasn’t what they wanted, and instead rushed back to Anje.

 

“Oink.”

 

“Oink, oink.”

 

“Oink.”

 

Anje, trying to trick them, sighed and took out a donut from her apron pocket.

 

“Well, you guys are quick.”

 

“Oink, oink, oink, oink.”

 

“Oh, well, you have to divide it into three equal pieces and eat it. Pa, come here first.”

 

The pigs, trained to understand their names by one, approached her one by one and received a piece of donut.

 

“There you go, good job. You’re good.”

 

Anje patted Pu’s behind, who had received the last piece. It meant she couldn’t give them any more snacks.

 

The pigs, understanding her signal, quickly headed to the feeders.

 

Pa, Pi, Pu. The three names that sounded like a musical scale were the ones Anje had come up with after days of thinking, and she loved them.

 

‘Who’s Pa and who’s Pi?’

 

‘Of course! The one with the tail curled in the opposite direction is Pu, the one with floppy ears is Pi, and the biggest one is Pa!’

 

Aiden found those names funny, but she was serious. To her, who had never raised an animal before, the pigs who could understand her words to some extent were strange and wonderful.

 

‘I didn’t know pigs were such cute creatures.’

 

She would often pour out her trivial chatter or worries that she couldn’t share with Aiden, who still found it difficult, to Pa-Pi-Pu like this.

 

And they would respond by grunting or staring at her intently with their tiny eyes, as if they understood her.

 

And for them, she occasionally “snuck” snacks to share with the pigs.

 

“Phew, today was close.”

 

As she hurriedly grabbed a freshly fried donut from the pot, she almost burned her fingertips, but she quickly put them in her mouth, swallowing her scream. After all, if Aiden found out, he would definitely say something.

 

“Anyway, getting back to what I was saying… Today, we’ll finally plant sunflower seeds!”

 

She started explaining again to the animals engrossed in their pig slop. Pu lifted his head, his appetite renewed, and looked at her.

 

“It was really hard work preparing the neglected flowerbed. The soil was so hard.”

 

She had to wield the hoe, pick out the rocks, and pull out all the weeds to soften the hard ground.

 

Although Aiden occasionally helped, Anje did most of it herself.

 

It wasn’t just because of his words; somehow, this small flowerbed in the backyard felt like her own.

 

She decorated the surroundings with white stones and stuck a small sign labeled “Sunflowers” into the ground. Today was the day to plant the seeds in the prepared soil.

 

“I can’t wait to see how beautiful the sunflowers will be when they bloom. I’ll make sure to show you all.”

 

After saying that, Anje felt anxious about whether Aiden would allow her to bring Pa-Pi-Pu out of the pigpen, but she confidently laid out her plans.

 

“And you can roast sunflower seeds to eat later—ouch!”

 

As soon as she mentioned “eating,” the pigs rushed over fiercely. Anje laughed, barely managing to steady herself from almost falling over.

 

“Alright, I’ll give you some too, so look forward to it.”

 

With gentle pats on Pa, Pi, and Pu’s head in order, she quickly headed towards the chicken coop.

 

It was time to face the hens, especially the one that hated her, ‘Hurricane’.

 

“Even though I feed them every day, they’re such ungrateful creatures.”

 

She didn’t have much affection for the chickens. Nevertheless, despite her grumbling, she couldn’t help but smile.

 

* * *

 

Anje carefully planted the black seeds in the holes she had dug as deep as Aiden had instructed. She had soaked the seeds in water before planting, as she had been told that this would help them sprout better.

 

“One, two, three…”

 

She gently covered the seeds with soil and watered them. Now all that was left was…

 

“How long will I have to wait for them to sprout?”

 

“Three or four days?”

 

All she had to do was wait.

 

“Won’t fertilizing them make them grow faster?”

 

“Not at all. In fact, it could be poisonous to the seedlings.”

 

“What about water…”

 

“You just watered them, right? Twice a day, morning and evening, is enough.”

 

At Aiden’s threat that they would rot if she overwatered them, she slowly put down the watering can. But her eyes were still fixed on the spot where she had just planted the seeds.

 

“Princess, aren’t you going to work?”

 

“Oh, I will! But… don’t we need to build a fence around the flowerbed?”

 

“A fence?”

 

“Well, birds or squirrels might eat the seeds while I’m not here watching.”

 

Through the open window, she often welcomed small visitors who climbed the trees. Busy bluebirds building nests and squirrels with round tails.

 

Sometimes she was so engrossed in watching the visitors that she would miss Aiden’s voice calling her down to eat.

 

Ordinarily, she would have been happy to see these visitors, but not now that she was the owner of the flowerbed.

 

“But wouldn’t building a fence keep them out?”

 

“Well, …not exactly.”

 

Aiden pushed her back as she stood rooted to the spot.

 

“These creatures aren’t quick enough to find the seeds as soon as they’re planted. Besides, they’ll like the peanuts I planted yesterday better than sunflower seeds.”

 

Only when he suggested going to look at the peanut patch did she finally take her foot off the flowerbed.

 

Suddenly, she remembered a new predator and cried out.

 

“What about deer?”

 

“Deer are nocturnal.”

 

April sun settled quietly on the spot where the two had left.

 

* * * *

 

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