30 Marigold

"It's so good!" Luna stretched from the long trip. The breeze smelled of salt with a sweet tinge of fragrant flowers, gentle waves crashing into the rocks were heard in the background.

The weather was warm and sunny. The Southern Isles were divided into three main islands; One, Two and Three. The founders of the islands must be true simpletons.

Leo looked around the train station. The steel-structured station was old and it looked like time had paused. He inspected and was deeply intrigued by the metal grille that was designed in organic, flowy forms imbued with grace. Paint in parts of it was peeling and exposing it into brown rust.

"Elma! Don't go running by yourself!" Luna called out. Elma hopped and swirled in cheerfulness, from the shade of the station to the openness of the bright sunlight.

"Now this feels truly like summer right?" Elma grinned and continued to dance.

"You dummy, the Southern Isles do not have the usual seasons we have. It's either rain or shine here," Dexter corrected her and dragged her back to the group amid her protests.

"Alright, everyone. The bus is coming to take us to Island Three where our campsite will be", Daniel directed to the group after the headcount was completed.

Leo flipped through the documents containing the details of the trip. He had also done some research about the place before.

They were currently in Island Two, the largest and best-developed island among the three. Island One was the first to be discovered and inhabited, thus most residents were actually living there. However, lately there was a shift in population towards the more modernised Island Two where most of the commercial and administrative services were located.

Their destination, Island Three was the most undeveloped one but it was a conscious choice to preserve nature. Therefore, it was turned into an eco-tourism hub, still pristine with thick jungles.

"Leo, stop spacing out! The bus is already here," Daniel called out. Most of the class had already boarded the bus. As the last person on board, he had to sit with Daniel.

"Are you disappointed that you're sitting with me?" He teased.

Leo punched his arm. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused?"

"But it ended well right? I assume it went well," Daniel grinned while rubbing his arm. "So how far have you progressed?"

Leo ignored him and looked at the scenery to distract himself but once he glanced at it, it enthralled him. The sea glittered with reflections of the periwinkle blue skies dotted with cotton clouds. A few people were playing at the beach.

The bus shook lightly on the empty road before taking a left turn into the city. Most of the city now looked like the typical concrete jungle seen everywhere else. Occasionally, he would spot the famous tree buildings.

'How unfortunate,' Leo thought. The tree buildings were beautiful but the convenience of modern building materials were much more popular.

Slowly, the scheme of gray hues turned to the hues of green as they travelled further away from the city centre. The number of tree buildings rose in number, dotting around the landscape.

Leo was glad that the tradition persisted after all. It was a shame to let it disappear. The bridges connecting the islands were modern. They emerged from the dense cover of trees and a large bridge unveiled itself.

'It's a give and take situation, hmm. There is no way trees could grow that long over the sea.'

The skies and sea swayed and swirled as if heaven and earth were having a blue waltz.

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Leo felt the journey was shorter than it actually is. The landscape was truly mesmerising.

He disembarked and helped the rest to remove their luggage from the bus. The campsite was not as bad as he expected. There was a bath house, a place for cooking and storage. However, the tents needed to be set up by themselves.

"Guys to the left and girls to the right," Daniel directed the students.

"The objective of this trip is to show you a new side other than your sheltered comfortable life. Get into the dirt, cooperate with your classmates and form solidarity with everyone. We from the school hope everyone would learn more themselves and the skills you learn here can help you in the future. But most of all, have fun!"

Everyone discussed enthusiastically among themselves, excited for the events they're about to experience before separating into two groups.

Luna stopped after noticing a shrub of marigold and picked one.

'A marigold, the flower of joy, warmth… and secret eternal love.'

"Marigolds, huh," Leo appeared from behind her suddenly. He took the flower from her hand before slipping it into her hair. "It looks really good on you."

Luna blushed a little and pushed the other floriography meaning of the flower off her mind.

It is also the symbolism of cruelty, grief and despair.