25 Old and rustic

Intertwining his fingers with hers, Yan Xuan was carrying dinner for two in the woven basket in other hand. He helped Mo Hua to walk the rough path towards their location. They reached their destination where colorful lights had brightened the woods in darkness.

Looking at the beautiful setup in front of her, Mo Hua was left bewildered.

The small cottage was perched on the plain near the woods, standing in all glory even though it had an old and rustic look. It looked like an abandoned cottage which was now glowing due the colourful lights surrounding it.

Walking the narrow path towards the cabin, she was again left dumbstruck when she saw a serene lake in front of the house.

In twilight the surface of the lake was as smooth as black glass with only shadows of coniferous trees casting across the shoreline and mirrored constellation from above the sky.

Near the shoreline were two boulders big enough to sit on and enjoy the night sky beside the lake.

Seeing her in daze, Yan Xuan asked her, "Do you like it?"

Mo Hua nodded in her daze, "Beautiful..."

"Not more than you." Yan Xuan mumbled to himself while his gaze still fixed on her face.

Grabbing her hand, he walked with her in front of the wood cabin.

Mo Hua was completely immersed in capturing the beauty in front of her when Yan Xuan pulled a plain brown sheet from the basket he was carrying in his hand.

Setting the basket down, he unfolded the red and white checks sheet and laid it over the soft grass. Smiling to himself, he opened the basket and pulled rest of the things from the bag and started organising them perfectly. He had planned a starry night dinner with her for their first date.

Mo Hua saw the beautiful lake in front of her and turned to say something to Yan Xuan when she saw his handsome face glowing in the moonlight.

His features where looking so attractive that she felt her throat running dry. She wanted to run over and kiss him but refrained herself from doing that.

She saw him arranging with the things seriously which warmed her heart. She understood how much serious Yan Xuan feels towards this date. She knew she was slowly falling for him but these gestures from him were pulling Mo Hua rapidly in his direction. She was nervous with things happening around her.

She fiddling with her fingers and buried in deep thoughts about Yan Xuan.

When Yan Xuan finished arranging the dinner set up, he saw Mo Hua standing near the lake looking at him in daze.

He walked towards her closing the gap between them. With only few long strides he stood beside her and waved his hands in front of her, "Mo Hua, what are you thinking?"

Mo Hua came out of her deep thoughts and realised that Yan Xuan was already standing beside her. Hiding her shyness, she gently replied," Umm. This place is beautiful. Owner of this place must be nature lover with wonderful taste."

"Indeed, he was." Yan Xuan replied with a glint of sadness in his voice.

'Was! what does that mean?' she thought inwardly.

Noticing the sadness in his voice, Mo Hua had a sudden feeling of sharing his sorrow so she immediately said," What happened to the owner? Is he not leaving here anymore?"

"My Dad owned this cabin. He loved being close to nature and always had curiosity towards it so bought this place for my mom as a wedding gift. He planned to live here with my mom for rest of the life after retirement."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "When I was young, we use to come here together when my parents were not on any archaeological survey. Later when my dad passed away, mom got busy with work and this place was left abandoned."

Sighing again, he shifted his gaze from the wood cabin in direction of Mo Hua and said," Last month I made some renovations in this place and decided to visit it often to keep my dad's memories alive."

Mo Hua who was listening to Yan Xuan was moved seeing his filial nature.

She felt her words stuck in her throat and had tears welled up in her eyes. She saw the pain and sadness in his eyes and felt sorry for him.

"I am sorry for asking Xuan. I didn't knew." with that she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, lightly.

Yan Xuan was startled by her actions but hugged her back the next moment.

They stood there with their eyes closed for a moment, enjoying each other's presence before Mo Hua realised that they were embracing each other.

She felt flustered.

"Let's go sit near the lake." she said, laughing as she backed away, holding his hand she pulled him towards the lakeside.

Waking together they reached the boulders and sat on them. Yan Xuan picked up few stones and handed them to Mo Hua.

"What's that for?" raising her eyebrows, she asked him in confusion.

"I used to spend a lot of time here throwing the stone in lake to create ripples." He said with his gaze fixed on the lake.

Mo Hua glanced at the stones in her hands for a moment. With excitement in her eyes, she flung them flying into the water one by one.

As the stones skipped across the still water the radiating ripples caught the moonlight. After three skips the stone sank, then once again the lake looked like glass and you could imagine walking right out onto it or skidding across the surface in your socks.

Mo Hua was fascinated by the effect and looked at Yan Xuan in anticipation.

Yan Xuan chuckled and saw her looking at him in anticipation so he said," Not bad. Now my turn."

With that he bent down again to grab few stones. They continued to play for a while. Ripples of their laughter engulfed the silence in the darkness.

"Let's go and eat something." Yan Xuan said when he realised that it was getting late.

Mo Hua nodded her head in agreement and they walked towards the setup which Yan Xuan had made for their dinner.