28 On the Hill of Memories.....

Hearing the sound of the flowing water of the river, Mia ran towards it.

"Hey…Wait…for me..", And Jun also followed her.

As soon as she reached the bank of the river, a wide smile appeared on her face.

"Wow…"

The river was flowing, making a sound, and shining in the morning sunshine.

The bank of the river was covered with grassy land, and on the edge of it, large trees were standing.

The sound of the river, the birds chirping, the sound of insects, everything was so rhythmic.

"It's the same…but I still don't want to take my eyes away from it.", Mia said trying to take in all the beauty.

"I see this every day but it is indeed more beautiful today!", Jun said.

"This is no fun if we keep watching like this…", Mia said with a smirk on her face.

"What do you mea –"

Even before he could complete his sentence, Mia grabbed his hand and started running towards the river.

"—Hey…Wait….Mia…."

Laughing happily, she went further and stopped right before the water.

The river was not deep.

She looked at Jun and signaled him to go inside.

"No…It's very cold…Don't—"

But ignoring him Mia entered the water.

As soon as the cold water touched her feet, she giggled.

The water was only till her ankle but still, she felt the shiver going through her whole body.

"Cold! Cold!", she giggled again.

"I told you…"

"Come on…come in the water…"

"No…."

"Oh, come on….", and she splashed some water on him.

"…No…wait…No…Hahaha", he laughed.

And then he also ran into the river.

They played in the water for some time, splashing water on one another, laughing, and jumping in the water.

After some time, when they got tired, they came outside.

"Huhhh....It was so fun….", Mia said with a bright, happy smile on her face.

"I missed this, I missed you so much Junaaa…" she said.

Hearing her words, Jun looked at her.

Her happy, smiley face made his heart warm.

Mia went and sat on the grass on the river bank.

Then she removed her shoes and kept them in the sun to dry.

Suddenly, Jun who was standing came closer. Taking out his handkerchief from his pockets, he held it right in front of Mia's face.

Startled with his sudden actions, Mia looked at him confused.

Looking at the look on her face he said, "Take this, wipe your head.

Or you'll catch a cold."

"Huh?"

Mia just kept looking at him.

Sighing loudly, he sat on his knees.

And then kept his handkerchief on her head and started to wipe it gently.

By these unusual actions of him, Mia was just stunned.

She couldn't realize what she should do. She kept looking down.

She was just sitting there quietly but her heart was beating so fast that it was the only sound she could hear.

She looked above, but Jun was busy drying her hair.

Suddenly, he also looked at her; their eyes met.

Looking at Mia's face he startled.

He realized what he was doing.

His ears turned red the next instant.

He quickly pulled the handkerchief right on her face so that she wouldn't be able to see him anymore.

"..L…Like..this….Wipe ..your head.", he said abruptly and stood up, quick.

Then going a bit far, he also sat down.

'What is….what is wrong with me…?', Mia thought, with the handkerchief still on her face.

Then she pushed it back on her head and again started to wipe it.

While wiping, when she looked at Jun, she saw he sat facing completely opposite to her. So she was only able to see his back.

'Why did I do this….Why did I do this…Ughhh….', that was all, his mind was repeating.

~

Holding their wet shoes in their hands, both were walking on the pathway, towards the hill.

No one talked a word.

Before they could even realize it, they were on the top of the hill.

As they reached there and looked down, they could see the whole village.

"Wow…..", Mia's eyes brightened.

The scene before their eyes made them forget everything.

"Coming with you here, every year is the best thing!", Mia said.

Jun looked at her and smiled.

"We come here every year…so now tell me, which one is Nana's house?", Jun asked.

"Simple! That one!", she pointed.

"Okay…now…where is the market?"

"Um…there?", she again pointed.

"No…it's there!", he corrected her pointing to a different side of the village.

"Oh..Yeah…"

The awkwardness was gone and both of them were talking normally again.

Then they sat below a tree from where they could see the whole village and the other surrounding places. The fields, the river, the shrine on the other side of the village…everything!

"Do you remember, I used to climb on this tree and tease you, cause –"

"Yeah..yeah…I know. I can't climb on a tree.", Mia pouted.

Jun laughed.

.

Chatting, laughing the time was passing happily.

"Mia?"

"Hm?"

"We've been together from childhood."

"Yeah."

" I used to come to meet my grandma and you used to come to your Nana in the spring break.

So we knew each other from a very young age, right?"

"Right."

"But do you remember the moment, when we became really good friends?

Like best friends…"

"Of course! We were 7 years old? Or 8.... maybe?"

"Eight!", Jun answered.

"Hmm….", she hummed.

As both of them were lost in their thoughts of memory, they stopped talking.