Submission (#3226) Approved

To Cloud eyes she was the most beautiful elnin he had ever seen. With her brown fluff, pink and white hair, he was head over heels. The first time he had met Hana she had been so sweet to him that he couldn’t help develop a crush on her. She had shared her food with him that was absolutely delicious. She had smiled at him and offered him food when she noticed he didn’t have lunch while they were working in the mines. Working in the mines wasn’t an easy job but it’s something he enjoyed and it was hard work that often opened up his appetite. That day he had forgotten his packed lunch and without hesitating she had offered him half her food. Since that day they had become fast friends. But Cloud thought of her as more than just a friend. 

It was his mission to find her the perfect gemstone so he could give it to her during date day. Weeks had gone by and work had been hard on him and he still hadn’t found what he was looking for. He had gathered so many gemstones of different shapes and colours. He had completed the rainbow but he still hadn’t found one that was perfect enough to give to Hana. The edges were either too rough or the stone was too smooth and sometimes the colour was wrong for what he was expecting. 

As the weeks went by he had started to distance himself from his special friend and she had no idea why. As she looked at him from a distance she wondered if she had done something wrong. Every day she tried to share her lunch with him but he would not accept it and said he was fine. Sometimes she would sneak up on him and he would get upset and tell her to leave. Whatever he was up to these days he was always secretive. Hana feelings were hurt and she was starting to wonder if things would ever go back to the way they were. After all they had become quite close as the months had gone by but in recent times Cloud just wasn’t the same. Date day was approaching and she wanted to prepare a special picnic for him with all of his favourite treats. But now she was wondering if it would be worth it or would he toss her aside as he had been doing in the recent weeks. Hana had imagined a little romantic picnic in the mines with only the gemstones to illuminate them as they glowed in various colours. Both of them really enjoyed working the mines to gather gemstones for one of the reasons. It was just like magic to them as they changed colours and glowed. As she saw him far away trapped in his own mind, made that special moment slip away. From a distance she could hear him toss away every gem he would pick up as his frustration started to build. “Not this one”, ``not that one”, “this one even worst”. She wondered why none of these stones were good enough for him. After all they were often refined by the people that would purchase them. She took a deep breath and got back into gathering stones as Cloud slipped into the background and she no longer wanted to preoccupy her thoughts with him. 

His eyes glowed with wonder and surprise as he finally found what he was looking for. He had finally put his paws on the right one! He observed it a bit longer to make sure this was the shape and colour he had been looking for. It’s edges were indeed in the shape of a heart and it’s tone was a beautiful crimson red. It looked just like a heart. He yelled out in joy, “I finally found it!” Having heard his cry of joy Hana went to investigate being curious about what he had found. But when she came near her, he just shooed her away. Disappointment was shown all over her face and Cloud wondered what troubled her so much. It seemed as if a tear had formed under her eye and she was about to burst into tears. He wanted to comfort her and so he told her. Don’t worry you will see it tomorrow I promise. “Tomorrow,” she asked. But tomorrow was date day and she wondered if he remembered. Either way she planned on still making him a special picnic, wiping her tears away as she smiled at him from a distance. It had seemed as if her dear friend was back. He told her before they parted ways that day after a long day's work where to meet her tomorrow once their shift was done. Deep into the cavern where there was this magical pool of water that they often sat by enjoying their snacks. It glowed from a range of colours making it seem as if they weren’t of this world. It’s colouring was probably affected by the mineral presence in the cave. 

When he got home that night he scrambled around to find the perfect thing to wrap his gift for Hana in. But true be told he didn’t have much lying around to wrap it in. But at some point he found this bag that Hana had brought sweets in and gifted to him. She was the best baker to him. Everything she made tasted like heaven. He was lucky to have someone like her that always took care of him and made sure he was properly fed. The fabric reminded him of her; it was pink with some cute florals on it. He knew it would just be perfect as he placed his special gem inside. 

The day had come and work was over with. They both gathered around the pool of water and to his surprise Hana had prepared a small picnic for them with a blanket and his favourite baked goods. His eyes glowed as he looked at what she had prepared, nothing made him happier than her food. “You made all of this for me?” Shyly Hana answered “but of cour…se anything …for ..for you.” He had never seen her shy before and he wondered what had gotten into her. She quickly offered him a plate of cookies she had made trying to hide her blushing cheeks. He took one and took a bite in the biscuit and it tasted even better than any he had had before. Hana kept on blushing as she watched him eat it. He seemed happy enough with her baked goods that she started to ease up. Before she knew it he presented her with a gift. He slowly placed it in her lap as she kept on blushing. “This is for you my sweet Hana.” “For me ?” she replied. Her eyes sparkled as she wondered what could possibly be in the bag. She started to unwrap it as Cloud watched with glistening eyes. To her surprise as she slowly took it out of the bag, it was a heart shaped gem that had been tried around with a rope. A tear formed at her eye as it was the most beautiful thing anyone had ever gifted her. Sure they saw gems all the time but she never saw one like this or shaped like this. The colour was a vivid crimson colour reminding her of a heart. It was simply perfect for her. “Thank you!” She yelled out as she rushed him to tackle him for a hug. She now understood what he had been up to all this time and why he had been acting strange towards her. He didn’t want her to find out what he had been searching for. She hugged him for so long and refused to let him go as tears flowed from her eyes. Cloud wondered why she was crying as he tried to comfort her. “What’s wrong, why are you so sad?” “Don’t you like it?” He was starting to doubt himself, maybe she didn’t like it after all. Through her sobs she managed to form a sentence “ I thought you didn’t like me anymore.. I thought you didn’t want to be friends anymore.” He then smiled at her as he reached in and left a peck on his cheek. “How could I not? You always keep me well fed.” They laughed and enjoyed the rest of their evening snacking away and they told each other stories of their past week and agreed to never act the way Cloud had.