The fresh scent of flowers filled the room. It was pungent the most at her bedside, the portion her head laid. Mira’s nose took in the scent and a smile fixated on her lips.

A groan left her mouth and stretched into a loud yawn as she stretched her arms wide in the air just a little bit over her head level. Mira relaxed her body back on the bed after the stretch then opened her eyes. Flowers. Just as she perceived. Different kinds of what looked like freshly plucked flowers were arranged in an array to form a massive bouquet and rested just in front of her head rest.

She leaned her head closer to the massive flower bouquet and sunk her nose into the. This made her smile widen. They smelled as beautiful as they looked. Well taken care of and fresh with different tantalising fragrances. Mira was filled with warmth, her heart rejoiced at the extravagant gesture, plucking this many and ensuring they were nicely cut and arranged must have been a whole lot of work and this is so early in the morning.

"What is this, Jia Hao, a special occasion today?" Mira giggled and shifted closer to the bouquet. It was too massive that she could not wrap her hands around it but she did not mind, it was soo pretty. Mira sat up. "How did you know that flowers are my favourite? I love them." She uttered. She pulled a fresh one out of the bouquet and brought it to her nose. "They’re so beautiful. I don’t think I’ve said a thing about loving flowers before." Back on Earth, she adored this. Outside setting a calendar to count down her days to not being virgin anymore, she enjoyed having flowers and pretty things. In fact, you could argue that the way to her heart was through flowers and material things and you could be right. "Thank you, Jia Hao."

"As much as I would love to take the credit, these weren’t done by me." Jia Hao uttered.

Mira stared around the room but saw no one. She chuckled. "Who else would give me flowers at the start of the day in your chambers, Jia Hao? You’re the only one I know who loves me." She took another flower from the bouquet and put it to her nose. "Let’s plant a garden with these, I’m water, they would die in two weeks and I really love them."

Ming Tao’s heart broke. This woman had gotten his coat back from the cubs who stole it with a food offering. She had tried to save him which led to her falling, she had put up with him and been nice to him even though from the start, he was always being terrible to her and never once did he do something nice. Even now, she did not think it would be him. "It was me." Ming Tao said. He was knelt down behind the massive flowers array, waiting for her to wake up so she would see him, but the flowers were so massive it blocked his entire body out of sight.

Mira blinked. "Oh."

Ming Tao stood up and forced a smile. Guilt made it hard for him to express himself with a genuine smile.

Mira’s eyes wavered. "You didn’t have to." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

This felt like a punch to his face. With Jia Hao it was something to but with him it was this. Ming Tao swallowed. He bent to take the big bowl of mixed fruits he kept on the stool by the bed and held it to her. "I also hand picked fresh, juicy and tasty fruit. The lions who attended to you often spoke of how you never liked what they picked, so I took the liberty to get you something worth eating."

Mira just stared at him. Like he was a ghost. Like this was just a figment of her imagination that would disappear in a moment but it did not. She darted her gaze to Jia Hao who was sat by the wall opposite the bed then back to Ming Tao who stood by her side.

Did these two talk about me? I said those things to Jia Hao in confidentiality so that would cross me, Mira thought.

"They’re washed. You can taste it to see if it fits your taste buds." Ming Tao added, the silence becoming awkward for him.

"I haven’t brushed my teeth." Mira said.

Ming Tao put the bowl down on the stool then scratched the back of his head. His head was empty, he knew nothing about her but how to please her. He didn’t know what she wanted. All he did was based on talk that she was found gardening and hated the fruits from the lions. "Sorry."

"You don’t have to apologise. Thanks for the gifts. I appreciate the gesture."

Jia Hao, who had been silent, stood up and walked to Mira’s side. "Good morning, love. Want to freshen up and begin your lessons?"

Ming Tao saw the relaxation of Mira’s body when she was with Jia Hao. He did not know why but he wished that was him.

"That would be nice." Mira said to Jia Hao. Jia Hao lifted her up and led her out. Ming Tao just stood there. His ears caught on their chatter when they were out of the room.

"Did you tell him what we discussed last night?" Mira asked. Her voice was faint in his ears.

"Barely. Didn’t even scratch the surface."

"Good. Otherwise you would sleep on the ground." Mira joked. The words got further distant. "I did like the gifts though. If it was you who got them, you would have wooed me into bed with a ticket between my legs."

That was all Ming Tao caught on. He knew they talked further but it came as mumbling to him. He dropped to the ground and sighed, his hands conveying his face. Just what on earth am I doing? He thought.