Finer Things // h.s.

Wildflowers

I wake to the smell of pancakes and sweet syrup as it travels through the stay house. The sun spills in through the window and the tall golden grass outside doesn't appear to be violently thrashing in the wind, its calmed to a soft dance as the breeze moves it about. I sit up and my feet touch the cold hardwood floors. I pull on my socks and throw a hoodie over my singlet top. My Dad's laughter coming from the kitchen aside Harry's laugh. I haven't heard him laugh like that in a while... that raspy kind of giggle.

"Morning." I say as I pull my hair into a ponytail.

"Morning!" The three of them say as they giggle.

I take a seat next to Anne and rest my head on her shoulder as Dad flips pancakes and Harry pours me a cup of coffee.

"How'd everyone sleep?" I ask.

The rest of the morning goes smoothly and after I finish eating breakfast, I take another cup of coffee and get dressed into a pair of black jeans, a thick white turtleneck and a large winter coat. I put my Doc Martins on and walk out to the porch where Dad and Anne are sat with a cup of tea, reading their books on the opposing deck chairs.

"Have you seen Harry?" I ask them and without looking up both Dad and Anne point to the beach in front of us.

"Sounds good... Good conversation." I say sarcastically, nodding and walking towards the beach.

The gentle breeze grows stronger as I meet the water's edge and see Harry standing there with his hands in the pocket of his jeans as his striped jumper rests above his hips, the wind blowing his curls in every direction.

"Hey." I say nudging his arm.

"Hey." He responds as he wraps his arm around my shoulder, and I nestle my head into his armpit.

"I wish we could swim." He says as he begins to run his gloved hand up and down my forearm.

"Me too, but it's quite cold. How long have you been down here?" I say to him a little louder so he can hear me from the wind. The waves roll and crash into the sandy shore.

"Not long. Wanna go on an adventure? The wind won't be as harsh if we're away from the beach." He says as he turns around and takes my hands in his, walking backwards towards the house.

"Always!" I say as he lets go of my hands and runs off and I take off after him, occasionally tripping from the sand. His laughter carries as he shouts my name and I laugh with him. The sun shining down on the both of us. We run past the house and down the back field and I crash into him when he stops running and my eyes feast upon the view before me. A large open field scattered with dainty white flowers lay beneath the hill we stand upon with a trail going through it. I inhale deeply as I look at the view before me.

"Here's your flower field, Tilly." Harry says to me and I tap his shoulder.

"Tag!" I shout as I take off down the hill, my hair flowing behind me as the wind carries it through the air.

"No fair!" I hear Harry call out.

The fresh air feels crisp as I breathe it in. I reach the flower field and lose my breath completely as Harry crashes into me and we fall to the ground in the middle of the field, the house looking tiny because of how far away we've gotten. We laugh as we lay next to one another on the soft grass that scatters the field looking up at the bright blue sky, the winter sun feeling soft against our skin.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I say as I sit up cross legged and play with the flowers, I pick from the grass beneath me.

"Of course. I always keep your secrets, you know that." He says as closes his eyes and folds his arms behind his head, cushioning himself on the grass.