Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 20: Picnic

The jeep crawled to a halt after driving several miles through green and silver woods. Chenn turned it off, tucked the key into his pocket, and jumped out of the car.

Nari hopped out too. He picked up the container with their food, and she grabbed the blanket he’d brought.

Out where they were, flowers bloomed, and lush, green grass grew in abundance. Trees with heavy drapes of gold leaves shimmered around them as the wind blew softly through their leaves. Flowered vines twined about the trees, and through the drapery. Vibrant colors burst all around them, and a wild rose bush stood in the center of the clearing.

Nari gasped in astonishment. Tears filled her eyes. “It’s beautiful, Chenn!”

The brilliant azure sky above seemed to burst upon her sight, and the sun shone, dazzling in the gold trees.

“I know. I come here sometimes because it lets me feel free. The Base reminds me too much of the prison where I spent so much time, and it makes me feel claustrophobic. So I just come out here whenever I can.”

Nari nodded. “I understand. It’s so… So perfect and lovely. I just…. I don’t know how...”

She wandered around the clearing, trailing her hands through the brilliant gold leaves. They glittered and twirled like a waterfall of liquid gold. She rubbed a leaf in her hands.

“It’s real gold, Chenn.”

“I know. They all are. The trunks are actual silver. It grows on the outside of the trunk in thin layers like bark.”

“Does anyone else know about this?”

He shook his head.

“We have to keep it that way; every person on Base would be down here stripping leaves and bark. The place would be ruined, and it won’t be pretty anymore. We can’t let that happen.”

Chenn nodded, sticking his hands into his pant pockets. “Yeah, I know.” He blushed with embarrassment, and then added, “I wasn’t sure I should even tell you. I mean, I wasn’t sure if you would tell. I guess that was stupid of me, wasn’t it?” 

She laughed. “Chenn! I would never destroy this place. It’s too perfect.”

She walked over to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “Thank you for showing me. It is a wonderful surprise.”

He grinned. “I thought you would like it.”

Releasing him, she walked over to the rosebush. She fingered the petals of the blood red flowers with the brilliant white centers, the drops of dew slipping down her slender fingers.

“Hanna used to love roses. Any kind really. She would beg my mom to let her cut the ones outside our windows. She was the one who always took care of them. At least, until we moved to the city. She lost a lot of her joy when we moved there. It closed her in, smothered her. She… She hated the city. And in the end, it was her end.”

Chenn felt awful. He was the reason for her pain. He moved over to her, putting his hands on her hips as he gazed at the flowers too.

“I’m sorry about Hanna, Nari.”

“Why do you keep saying that? It isn’t your fault.”

He almost blurted out that it was. But he didn’t. “I’m sorry because I love you, and I can see it’s hurting you.”

She nodded. “Thanks.”

Chenn gazed around the clearing. “You know, sometimes I wonder if maybe this place was planted. After all, it’s not as if there are lots of gold trees in the woods. Silver, yes, but not gold. And this is arranged too symmetrically. So I wonder who did it. Maybe it was someone who couldn’t stand the city either?”