APH LithuaniaxReader: Gardening

You were bored, bored beyond belief. You sighed in exasperation. You had been connecting the dots on the ceiling, not with pen mind you, to create images. Sure, you could have gone outsides but your mom was trying to make you garden and at the moment, you didn't want to be elbow deep in earthworms and mud. Who on earth thought it was a good idea to start gardening a day after it rained and the earth was still damp? You shook your head trying to imagine what your crush was doing but then heard your phone ring. Your heart skipped a beat. Your crush was calling you – it was…


« Tolys ! Labas ! », you chirpped, happy to use the few lithuanian words you had learnt with time. He chuckled, apparently glad that you did so.
« Sveika, ________ ! », he replied, pronuncing your name with this soft accent you craved for. « You seem pretty cheerful today. Did something good happen ?
-Nothing, just sitting there, twiddling my thumbs. Your call is a such a relief ! », You said, too shy to admit that you were actually delighted just to hear his voice.
« It was the right time to call you, then. Say, ________, would you like to come to my home right now ? There's something I want to show you.
-I'm coming ! », You cried, without thinking twice about the idea. Firstly, you were so bored that anything to get you out of your lethargic state would be fine, and secondly... no, you thought. Firstly, you wanted to meet your lithuanian crush so badly that any excuse would do, and secondly,  doing nothing was actually even more tiring than doing some real tasks. Gardening, for instance.
« I'll be at your place in fifteen minutes, or less !
-I'll be waiting for you. Iki, ________.
-Iki ! See you... », You said, before you hung up.

You literaly jumped out of the bed and started to dance light on your feet, listening to the music your blissful imagination had created just now. You could feel your heart dancing as well. You wanted to look your best : you chose in a second your favorite clothes, brushed your ________ [hair colour] hair as you quickly dolled yourself up before running out of your house. You saw your mother in the garden pruning the dog roses bush and waved her goodbye with such excitement that she wondered what got into you. Perhaps you were heading to the bookshop to buy the latest novel from your favorite author ; or maybe your girl friend invited you to the cinema and you were rushing ; or you certainly received a message from that special lithuanian friend of yours. It was easy to guess from this smile floating on your face. No one else would be able to pull you out of your bed on a grey and dull afternoon. Your mother felt both happy and sad at the same time. Happy you had found someone to care for more than anyone else, but sad, because it made her realize how fast children grow up.

You were running on the way to Tolys' house, and passers-by could almost tell you were flying. The sound of your own steps on the road-side was like music notes. That was how you felt everytime you were meeting. You knew each other for almost a year : you were in the same university, however not in the same faculties. He was studying Culture and History of Societies and Foreign Territories while you were studying ________. But the first time you met him was at the Museum of Natural History. You thought it was a bit boring – but somehow you were grateful to your friends Ludwig, Feliciano and Kiku who brought you there. You got lost in the museum that day and ended in the glass house. Tolys and yourself did not see each other coming : he was holding a potted palm tree and you were looking behind you. You would always remember this day as the one you almost died crushed by an evil giant palm tree in container... and the one you got struck by love at first sight. The shock made you fall to the ground and you quickly rolled onto the side to avoid being hurt. Tolys immediatly apologized to you and helped you to stand up. The contact of his hand on yours made you blush violently, and you could not even look at him, too embarrassed. You had mud on your clothes. He felt so sorry about it that he suggested to invite you to the café inside the museum. You agreed, because you had nowhere to go anyway. You ordered you favourite drink, a(n) ________, and he payed for you.
(And an hour later you saw your three other friends coming to your direction ; they had been looking for you everywhere, though it apparently did not prevent them to stop by the souvenirs shop : Kiku bought a dozen of books about plants, Feliciano a dinosaur-shaped hat and Ludwig a T-shirt with a cute otter pattern and the name of the Museum written down below. You introduced the boys to each other and eventually left with the ones you came with, after Tolys promised to call you soon.)

He told you that he was an exchange student from Lithuania and that he was planning to stay in your town for one year and a half. « Tolys » was actually the diminutive form of his first name. You rejoiced when he said he was studying in the same university and living nearby. He was working at the museum on afternoons and week-ends because his scholarship was not enough. You realized how much he loved gardening as much as he loved learning History. He seemed serious, smart, polite. A bit naïve and easily worried, though. He sometimes acted timidly and his reactions made you laugh, because it was cute, you thought. He had fine facial features, middle-lengh brown hair, he was almost as tall as your german friend. He had an incredible smile, making your heart melt everytime you looked at his face. But what mesmerized you the most were his eyes, his beautiful, mysterious green eyes. They were as green and deep as the lithuanian forests he described you later, maybe during your fifth or sixth meeting.

The scent of flowers brought you back to reality. On the way to Tolys' house, as you watched the neighbourhood's gardens, you wondered : what was Tolys' favorite flower ? All you knew was that he was allergic to sunflower pollen – and the seeds too, you thought –, but you never asked him what he would prefer. It was also hard to imagine what variety he enjoyed among all because you were unaware of the kinds of plants growing in Lithuania. You were thinking of asking him innocently, out of curiosity.

You hurried your pace when you saw his house. You walked to the treshold and knocked at the door. But no one answered or came to open it. How strange, you said, frowning. Was he working today ?No, he would have told you ! You knocked one more time and called his name.

« ________ ! », You suddenly heard. Tolys' voice seemed far and yet close. «  ________ ! I'm here, in the vegetable garden ! ». He repeated. You chuckled. Of course ! You turn to the house's corner and indeed saw him crouching there and harvesting. Today his hair was tied in a ponytail. He looked up from his work and smiled at you. He stood up and open his arms to hug you, like he would always do, but then changed his mind realizing there was some dirt on his hands and his clothes. He did not want to ruin your outfits. You looked so magnificent, he told to himself. A blush crept on his cheeks as you approached.

« _-________, I was picking some mint for the tea... », He said with an awkward smile, avoiding your gaze.
« What a good idea ! », You replied, not noticing his weird attitude. « We can make some delicious mint syrup too, it's going to be hot in a few days.
-Or smoothies. », He added, a finger on his mouth as he was thinking. You raised your arms up in delight.
« It'd be so great ! », You exclaimed. « Are Raivis and Eduard home ? »

Raivis and Eduard were two other young men renting the place with Tolys. A Latvian and an Estonian : so naturally they were all very happy to live together and share memories of their own countries by the Baltic sea.

« No, they went out like thirty minutes ago. Eduard is at the librairy and Raivis is meeting his friend Peter. », He explained. « It'll be only the two of us this afternoon ! », He said with a dazzling smile. Your face instantly flushed to his words.
« O-oh, r-really, well t-that's... », You mumbled. « Ok, so now let's go and prepare some tea, uh ? »
He looked at you a bit surprised by your reaction, and then scratched his temple : « W-well, before you came, and after I picked the mint I... »

You looked down at his feet and saw many little baskets. On was already filled with cherry tomatoes. You gave him an embarrassed smile, not willing to tell him that you ran away from home to dodge your ealier duty  : gardening. He certainly wanted you to help him harvest some other vegetables, but would not dare to ask you. It was already that time of the year when Tolys started to cook and make pickled vegetables (and making sure he would have enough of them during all winter time, his cellar's shelves overflowing with glass jars). You were also reluctant to dirty the clothes you chose carefully for him. But then you realized that you did not care. You just wanted to show him how much you cared about him and were interested in him and his activities. Manual work and earthworms did not scare you at all, as long as you were doing the same things together and could make him smile. You took a basket and looked at to your crush.

« Can I help you picking something ? », You asked joyfully. Tolys gave you a grateful smile and nodded.
« Ačiū. », He said, taking your hand to make you crouch next to him. « I promise it won't take too long ! It's just that I like to finish what I've started...
-It's fine ! I'm glad if I can help !
-So, can you pick some agurkai right there ? »
You stared at the square foot he was showing you, confused. « Agur... ? », You repeated shyly.
« Ah ! I meant the cucumbers, sorry ! We'll make some pickled cucumbers... with krapai... I'm not sure how to say it...
-Oh, hum, some dill ? », You answered, looking at the plant he pointed out. « It's krapas in lithuanian ?
-Taip ! Maybe I can teach you some new words related to the garden today, sodas !
-Sooo... das ?
-"Sodas" means "garden", and "daržas" is more precisely a "vegetable garden". "Daržovės" means "vegetables".
-"Dirrržas" ? », You attempted, and then covered your mouth with your hand because you could not roll « r » well.
« Ahaha ! "Daržas", not "diržas" ! "Diržas" is actually a belt...
-It's not funny, don't mock me ! My accent is horrible ! », You replied, embarrassed.
« I think it's terrific ! », He assured. « Now let's pick some "petražolės", here !
-The "parsley", right ?
-Exactly ! And then some "svogūnai" and "česnakai"...
-"Onions"... "garlic"... », You pronunced softly to remember.
« Gerai, labai gerai ! ».Tolys was delighted. His laugh was as clear as a bell.

You spent maybe half an hour outside. Then, your baskets full, you came in Tolys' house to put them in the kitchen. You washed your hands and  made the tea together with the fresh mint the both of you picked. After that you brought the cups, saucers, spoons, tea pot, sugar and honey in the living-room and sat on the sofa covered with linen. You liked how simple life was in Tolys' company. Of course he was like a gentleman to you, but he did not need to treat you like a princess : you both liked your independance, but it did not mean that you did not enjoy doing things together. You were perfectly aware that you secretly needed him. Little you knew that he felt the same in return. How much you were precious to him.

An odd scent caught your senses. It came from the little, yellow flowers pot on the coffee table. It smelt nice – but somehow strange, you thought. The flowers themselves were pretty. There was a wreath made of those around the pot. You liked it.

« Tolys, what kind of flowers is this ?
-Ah ! », He cried, in the sudden realization that he had forgotten something really important. « This is what I wanted to show you ! My rues bloomed earlier this year, I'm so glad ! I picked them this morning...
-They're beautiful ! », You exclaimed.
« Aren't they ? "Rūta" is the national flower of Lithuania, and my favorite. We, Lithuanians, even often carry rue seeds while migrating. We can use it for many, many things ! In homeopathic medecine, culinary use... the taste is bitter but it's so good in salads... as a flavouring in beer, sauces... but you need to be careful because beyond a certain ingested dose, it's poisonous !
-They're dangerous ! You shouldn't cook with them at all, then ! », You said, worried by the trap behind those beauties.
« In high-dose, everything is dangerous, ________ ! Therefore don't be afraid of rues... they're very common and old spices used in Ancient Rome, you know ! I like them with eggs for instance... otherwise it also repels insects... and finally, "rūta" is said to bring positive energies in the house and prevent arguments. »

You stared at him wide-eyed. You never thought that such a small, almost trivial flower with such a strange scent could be so useful. Tolys gazed into your disbelieving ________ [eyes colour] eyes and smiled at you, as if he was trying to convince you. Your cheeks became a light pink shade. You looked down to your cup of tea, and Tolys began to speak again : « In my country we have many traditional songs about this flower. „Rūta žalioj, leiskie mani namoj, rūta žalioj". », He sang softly, moving his index finger in rythm. « Green rue, let me go home, green rue. », He translated for you. « We were taught many stories and tales involving it as well...
-Can you tell me one ? », You asked, curious, and even more after you saw the hot blush appearing on his face. He scratched his head and looked away before replying.
« I-it's about marriage... »

An akward silence followed this line. Your cheeks suddenly felt warm and you drank some tea to hide your embarrassement. Tolys cleared his throat and continued : « I-it's a very old lithuanian custom... the rue plays a big role in wedding ceremonies, w-where the bride usually wears a wreath of rue... a-also, giving a wreath of rue to a girl is almost like offering her a r-ring.
-E-even now ? », You enquired.
« W-well, of course times change, so nowadays it's more popular to propose her with a ring... a-and also the rue is a symbol of virginity and at the same time is considered as aphrodisiac a-and...
-O-ok, I see... the ancient traditions are kinda logical when you analyze them...
-There are romantic legends and songs about it too. Perhaps you remember this traditional song I made you listen last time ? It talks about young lithuanian men bringing a wreath of rue to a girl...
-Y-yes, I remember... „ant kalno mūrai joja lietuviai, joja, joja..." », You crooned, before realizing it was the only sentence you knew from it anyway. You stared at the wreath lying on the table, around the pot and touched it.  « Did you make it yourself ? »
He took it and smiled : « I did. Do you like it ?
-Of course, I do ! It's really good, I want to learn how to do it as well.
-I can teach you anytime, ________. »

He was fiddling the wreath nervously, and another silence rose, sometimes interrupted by the sound of the ceramic and amber mobile hanging by the open window. You did not understand how a short conversation about marriage could embarrass two young people like that. After all, it was only a normal, trite talk. Tolys was not your boyfriend. So it should not matter : friends are supposed to be more open-minded about various topics. It was maybe innapropriate to speak about marriage with a crush, you tought, uncertain.

All of a sudden, Tolys stood up from the armchair he was sitting in on your left and gently put the wreath of flowers upon your head. You looked up. His face was all red.

« T-t-t-t-tiesą sakant I wanted you to come today because I knew we would be alone ir norėjau offer you this rūtų vainikas b-because I don't wanna be Raivis and Eduard's _{laughting stock just because they believe my traditions are weird and kvaili...} », His voice was getting lower and lower as he was mixing your language with lithuanian. You delicately touched the floral crown on your head,  trying to figure out what had just happened. You remained sitten for five more seconds before standing up with determination.

« H-how do I look Tolys ?
-L-like a genuine Lithuanian girl. You're perfect.
-Is that... a proposal ? », Your voice shook.

Unable to speak anymore, Tolys leant forward and kissed you on the cheek, close to your lips.

You both lacked of words to describe the feeling overwhelming your mind and heart. You let a blissful smile spread across your face and embraced him with all your love. He hugged you tightly and whispered into your ear those three words you understood without having to search in a dictionnary, „aš tave myliu".

In the refined garden of your home, rue flower looked really modest, but for you who watered it daily, it was the most beautiful among all.