The late summer sun beat down, baking the open area. Along the banks of the small creek, a seemingly endless line of clothes stretched far as Chinua watched her soldiers washing them a few feet away. The sounds of splashing water and quiet chatter filled the air. From time to time, villagers would walk past, greeting Chinua with warm smiles and offering baskets of their fresh, harvested vegetables.
Chinua turned to look over her shoulder when she heard footsteps approaching from her right. She saw Khawn walking towards her, carrying a bouquet of lavender scabiosa. Khawn sat down next to her and handed her the bouquet.
"What's the occasion?" Chinua asked, taking the bouquet of lavender scabiosa from Khawn. "Why are you giving me this?"
Khawn sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he said, "I don't know who else to give it to."
Chinua chuckled and said, "I don't know how to admire flowers. I don't think I am suitable for this bouquet."
"Then just give it to someone you think is suitable," Khawn said.
Chinua looked at the bouquet of lavender scabiosa and said, "I'll give it to Yingze."
Khawn sighed, a sound of defeat in his exhale. "Whatever you want," he said, his shoulders slumping slightly. He slowly stood up and walked away toward the military camp.
By this time, Khunbish, Khenbish, and the others walked up to Chinua. Their eyes landed on the bouquet in her hand.
"Heh... how lovely that our general is holding a bouquet of flowers," Chaghatai teased.
"Who is that secret admirer of yours?" Muunokhoi asked. He sat beside Chinua and took the bouquet of lavender scabiosa from her hand. "Lavender Scabiosa... love beyond the sky."
"What a powerful meaning," Erden teased. He pulled one of the flowers out of the bouquet and gave it to Timicin. "Please accept my love token, General."
The men standing around Chinua burst into laughter.
"Are you not afraid that I will punish you for making such a jest?" Chinua said, standing up to face the laughing men.
Och put his arm around Chinua's shoulder and said, "If we were afraid of you, would we be joking with you like this?"
The men laughed again.
"Take your wet paw away from me," Chinua said, pushing Och's arm off her shoulder. She then walked to Muunokhoi, took the bouquet of flowers from his hand, and walked towards the villager women who were helping the soldiers wash their clothes.
"Who gave Chinua that bouquet of flowers?" Od asked.
The men turned around and looked at Chinua, who began handing the flowers to the villager women at the creek bank.
"So, has someone actually taken a liking to Chinua?" Terbish asked. He looked at Khunbish and Khenbish. "You two are closest to Chinua day and night. Do you have any idea?"
Khunbish and Khenbish shook their heads.
"There must be someone who has taken a liking to Chinua whom we do not know," Timicin said.
Naskh and Jeet approached the group of men who were staring at Chinua and the villager women from afar.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Jeet asked.
"We are trying to figure out who bought Chinua a bouquet of lavender scabiosa," Muunokhoi said. He gestured toward Chinua.
"What's wrong with giving someone a flower?" Naskh asked. "It might be a friend or some villager women who gave her those flowers."
"No way! Women don't give other women flowers," Od said.
"Women give other women flowers all the time," Zhi said.
Yingzi held a lavender scabiosa in her hand and said, "This is proof. Chinua gave me this scabiosa."
Muunokhoi said, "That doesn't count." He smiled at Yingzi. "You are still a kid. What do you know about love?"
"I am fourteen," Yingzi said.
"And that is still a kid," Chaghatai said. "Therefore, stay in your kid's world and dream of butterflies and rainbows. When you are sixteen, we will talk about it."
The men laughed.
Yingzi looked at the laughing men and shook her head. She sighed and said, "I don't understand how Chinua could spend all her days with you men." She picked up her bucket of wet clothes and walked away toward the clothesline across the road at the Apple Ranch.
The following day, after the soldiers' morning exercises, Chinua walked into her tent to change clothes. She saw Khawn sitting at the table with three roses. Chinua approached the table, her gaze falling on the roses lying there before she met Khawn's eyes.
"Flowers again?" Chinua asked. She sat down across from Khawn, feeling sticky all over her body from the sweat. "Kid, who keeps giving you flowers?"
Khawn sighed and said, "Nobody."
"Nobody..." Chinua said. "Who are you trying to fool? If you don't like them, then stop accepting their gifts and giving them false hope." She looked at Khawn's gloomy face. "Take Naskh, for example: two women confessed to him at once, and he married both. Or Azad: he had a wife and a husband. What is their motto?"
Khawn sighed and said defeatedly, "Marrying a wife to take care of the house and marrying a husband to take care of you in the battlefield." He looked at Chinua. "What about you? When will you have a husband?"
Chinua laughed and said, "Chinua prefers clean hair, so she doesn't invite complications onto her head." She saw that Khawn had laid his head on the table, still feeling defeated. "Look, kid, if you don't like her, just tell her right away. What I've learned from other women is that accepting their gifts tells them you're interested."
Khawn lifted his head from the table and said, "No one actually gave it to me." He pushed himself away from the table and sat straight. "I bought these flowers on my own." He sighed. "I... I don't know if she likes me or not."
"Then instead of giving me the flowers, why not give them to her?" Chinua said.
Khawn took a big breath and exhaled slowly. "I don't know how to explain it to you." He got up and walked to Chinua's bed and lay down. "I really don't know how to explain it."
Chinua turned around to face the bed. "Are you in love, kid?" she asked with a smile. Khawn replied with a 'Hmm,' which made Chinua excited. She then got up from her chair and walked to the bed. "What's her name?"
Khawn looked at Chinua and said, "I don't know. I didn't ask."
"Why not?" Chinua asked.
"I want to ask," Khawn said, "but nothing came out when I opened my mouth."
Chinua pulled Khawn off her bed and said, "Have some courage. You are brave enough to kill enemy invaders; why are you so afraid of just asking for a lady's name? Come on, time for lunch."
Chinua pulled Khawn's drained form off her bed and dragged him out to stand in line for lunch. When Chinua and Khawn arrived at the mess hall, most of the people had already gotten their lunch and started eating.
"Over here!" Muunokhoi shouted, waving his hand at Chinua and Khawn.
Chinua pulled Khawn's hand toward the table where the other men were sitting, and they sat down. She began eating while Khawn was holding the piece of boiled beef in his hand and staring into nothingness.
"What's wrong with him?" Timicin asked.
"The man is in love," Chinua said.
Terbish looked at Chinua and said, "Don't tell me that bouquet of flowers you got is from him."
Chinua nodded while stuffing another piece of beef into her mouth and chewing.
"So, does that mean he's your secret admirer?" Chaghatai said.
Chinua threw the piece of meat she was holding at Chaghatai and said, "What are you thinking about every day?"
Khawn stood up and said, "I am full." He slowly walked away.
Timicin watched Khawn's back, then turned back to the men sitting at the table. "The man is indeed in love," he remarked. "He barely touched his food. So, Chinua, who is the lucky lady?"
"I don't know," Chinua said. "The kid doesn't even know her name. He choked up when he was about to ask her."
"No wonder he had been missing his morning exercises for the past month," Och said.
"Do you think he is out secretly looking at his crush?" Od asked.
"I bet that's it," Muunokhoi said. "Tomorrow morning, let's follow him out of the camp to see who he goes out to meet."
Haitao knocked on Muunokhoi's head. "If you put as much effort into practicing your combat skill as you stick your nose into others' problems, your skill will improve much more than this," Haitao said. "If you are done eating, go back and run around the camp five more laps."
"Captain, but I finished my laps this morning with the others," Muunokhoi protested.
Haitao looked at Muunokhoi and said, "Are you sure? You left early to use the bathroom and never returned until after the morning exercises were over."
"I was going to return, but I came across an old man who needed help," Muunokhoi protested.
"I bet you carried that old man back to his house and he gave you fruit as a thank-you," Haitao said.
"How do you know?" Och asked.
"He used that same excuse last time," Timicin said.
The men laughed.
"Chinua, I have something to talk with you," Haitao said. He looked at Muunokhoi. "Timicin, you watch him finish his laps."
Chinua stood up and gently patted Muunokhoi's shoulder. "Have fun running," she said with a smile, and followed Haitao out of the eating area.