Flower Thief

In the early hours of the morning, two people strolled through the endless rows of mango trees.

Shen Mohua glanced up at the fruits dangling just above her head. "Ou Junsan, can I pick one?"

"Pick as many as you want," He told her.

"Okay, you wait for me." Some of the mangoes were ripe while some weren't. She filled her basket with mostly yellow ones to share with the others and a few green ones for herself. When dipped in sweet pepper sauce, the sour ones were crunchy and delicious. She especially liked eating it as a snack.

When she was done, she could no longer move the large basket full of mangoes. Her eyes fleeted awkwardly between the basket and his figure against on the trunk.

Ou Junsan somewhat figured out what she needed based on how unusually quiet she was. He easily lifted the basket onto his back. "I'll take it. You... you take my hand."

"En!" She nodded eagerly, grabbing his hands.

When they first walked into the mango orchard, she had memorized the way. As she took the lead, he didn't bother to clarify his statement. He meant for her to take his sleeves, not his hands directly.

Shen Mohua reached the porch and ran inside to grab some pepper sauce. His mother happened to be seated by the kitchen embroidering. "Mother, let's eat mango."

Na Zhen laughed at the girl whose eyes were shining as if she had found gold. "That's alright, enjoy them with Jun."

She nodded and raced back outside to where Ou Junsan was seated and leaned his back against the wall.

"I peeled a mango for you. I'll pull the skin off and eat mine directly," She told him. Her fingers nimbly pulled off the skin and she really took bites straight from the mango.

He, who was neatly eating his share, only said one word, "... Alright."

It was quiet again except for the occasional slurps from her licking off the juices from her fingers. "This is the sweetest mango I've ever tasted. Ou Junsan, what is it called? I want to plant one by my house and eat it everyday. If I have a tree, I won't run out no matter how many I eat."

The piece of mango dropped from his chopsticks. "..."

Her pink cheeks were puffed out like two balls. "I-I really love mangoes."

"I see." He nodded.

After eating, she left to joined his parents in the back garden. In her hands was a bundle. "Father and mother, I have something here."

Na Zhen joined her at the wooden table, her husband following behind. Shen Mohua untied the cloth and pulled out a scroll. In a quiet voice, she nervously spoke, "Please accept my humble gift."

"My dear, thank you. You didn't have to prepare us anything" Na Zhen silently praised the well mannered girl in her head and opened the scroll.

There was a man and woman seated on the roof of a house. In front of them, swirling clouds and rolling hills spread into the distance. The atmosphere was light and happy. Features of day and night mixed until one couldn't differentiate the time. In the corner, careful strokes were written:

When the sun rose and fell, you held onto my hand.

When the moon waxed and waned, I placed my head onto your shoulder.

You whispered to me, I'll stay with you until the end of our days.

I whispered back to you, I'll accompany you until the end of time.

Ou Xing clapped his hands together in joy. "Magnificent. Really magnificent."

"What a lovely painting. The poem goes perfectly with it. Honey, doesn't this remind you of us? Though I can't figure it out, the scene seems to be awfully familiar..."

"Honey, you're too slow. This is us!"

She leaned closer. "Wait a minute, this, this is..."

"That's right," Shen Mohua confirmed. "This is your house."

From the doorway, Ou Junsan, whom overheard the whole conversation, was speechless. How would she know the view from their roof?

Ou Xing loved the gift so much, he was still talking about it during dinner. "We'll hang it on the wall and look at it everyday. Mohua, you've really outdone yourself."

"We've never been given a painting of us before, and to say the perspective is from our own rooftop is so ridiculous it's amazing!" Na Zhen broke into laughter once again.

Shen Mohua smiled. After thinking long and hard, she finally decided not to buy anything fancy. What was better than making a gift herself? And so, yesterday after Ou Junsan fell asleep, she started painting.

Her skills were not the best, as she didn't focus on learning painting or calligraphy while growing up. It was the thoughts and details that would make her gift unique. The landscape was familiar to the couple, but a vantage point of the scenery from their rooftop was also not a perspective they saw everyday.

As for the poem, perhaps at some point, they really said something similar. She wrote multiple drafts and eventually composed a few lines that best described the way she imagined they loved each other.

"You went to our rooftop...?" Ou Junsan finally asked when they were alone in his room. Although he asked, if she really did, he would know. All night, all he could hear was the flipping of papers.

Shen Mohua stood on the balcony. Her fingers touched the white flowers planted in a long rectangular pot placed on the ledge. "Ou Junsan, do you know what these flowers are used for?"

He actually didn't know. "No, my father planted those."

"These ordinary looking flowers are actually quite rare and hold powerful properties useful to dispel colds, lower fevers, and induce sleep. Every part of the plant is edible. The petals can be dried and preserve as tea for the winter times while the roots, apart from its medicinal purposes, can be used in various dishes."

Ou Junsan could only listen. He didn't know what to say. After all, she was from a family of physicians. Naturally, she would have knowledge of herbs.

His blank expression earned a fit of laughter from her. "The point is, I think it was around two years ago, I happened to pass by this house and saw these flowers. It's a coincidence, I promise. We weren't engaged and I had no idea whose house it was. My grandma was sick with a cold, so I plucked off a few blooms..."

He almost couldn't control his face. No wonder she knew the scenery from their rooftop! She was that person. "You're that flower thief!"

"Shh!" She hurriedly covered his mouth. "Don't say it so loud, your parents will think wrongly of me."

He pointed out the fact with full honesty, "Well, it's true you were the flower thief."

"..." Could he not be so honest?

Later when they both settled for the night, he suddenly remembered something. He became anxious at the thought of it. If the thief was her, then... "Shen Mohua, other than the flowers, what did you see?"

"Nothing, I saw nothing!" She hid underneath the protection of the covers. Nothing, she saw nothing else. Only flowers. Different types of flowers in a spring scenery…