Trust the timing of your life

 

Naturally, they had to see who was in the petals of cherry blossoms. Milo gave a quick inspection. Yes, he was alive. A little out of it, but he clutched his sword as if it were their baby, or pride and joy.

ChaCha tilted her head and made a face as if it couldn't be or just a grimace.

"What's wrong?" Milo looked at her.

"Oh, I don't know," she sighed taking a step back. It wasn't long until the distant traveler awoke and pushed up on his elbows. He looked a bit shocked.

"ChaCha?" he looked so surprised and she drew a slight frown as if it couldn't be. She looked away.

"Were you thinking of him?" Milo questioned, looking ChaCha over as if she had a lot of explaining to do.

ChaCha hugged herself hard. "Maybe." She shrugged but looked away as if she didn't know it was magic.

Milo shook his head as if he didn't know about this power of hers.

"It's me," the stranger finally said as Milo helped him to his feet. "Cheng."

"I know." But ChaCha didn't smile.

Cheng explained he was a childhood friend of ChaCha's. His father had been a guard for her father. Thus, he'd lived in the castle and they'd played together at an early age. Still, ChaCha looked so sad. Milo thought she might cry. He put his arm around her as she sighed heavily.

"I..I was so afraid you were dead." ChaCha then blurted. "I..I knew I would never see you again." She nursed her bottom lip. She knew it was all the queen's fault. Not her own.

"She never liked that I had any fun. And..and you were like sunshine on a rainy day, and she hated you for it." She sounded as if she was the one who had put him to such punishment.

"Don't be so sad," Cheng told her. "I was always meant to be a soldier. I trained on the border for the last decade or so. I'm a swordsman now." Still, he didn't know how he exactly got here. He'd been fighting at the front in a swordplay of clouding dust.

"Well, you're here and we plan to help you stay with us," Milo decided. He said they needed to head back. He was sure Cheng was starving.