Mother and her workers checked on her crops for the week as I wandered around our undeveloped but evergreen land. After losing myself in thought and in my sunflower field, I walked a few steps towards the river and watch the small body of water flowing past rocks downhill.

The refreshing mountain breeze carried the sound of cows from a distance. Everything about this land was different than what I normally deal with everyday - sounds of cars honking and driving by, mixed smell from the chocolate factory and the pollution, the scenery of grey buildings and concrete, and lastly the usually gray sky. But that’s what I loved about this place. It let me be one with the world, but at the same time be apart from it to let me be in my own.

The water was low enough to let me sit on the rocks which would normally mark the bottom of the river. My feet were soaking in the thin and shallow line of water as my body took in everything about the best place in the world, leaning back to see the blue sky barely coated with soft clouds here and there. As I brought myself back into this world I caught sight of him upstream in the same exact position as me, also giving me the same curious glance.

At first I felt a bit happy to know that there was someone around here the same age as me, but at the same time nervous because I’ve never talked to anyone from around here before. For some reason I had anticipated… no… maybe hoped… for him to have introduced himself to me. Instead he walked even further upstream until I couldn’t see him anymore. I was curious to see where he had gone and why, so I followed the cascade leading up to where he could have been.

I don’t know how far off I walked from the property, and I worried that maybe one of Mother’s workers might start looking for me soon. But those worries quickly subsided when I found myself facing a small waterfall that was just barely taller than me, encircled by a mixture of short uncut grass and patches of daisies and dandelions. Its naturally caved-in features with few fully-leaved trees shadowing the area made it a safe haven, secluded and cool. It was as if the haven was created for just for the two of us. I scoped the retreat and quickly found the boy leaning against the wall feet away from the calm waterfall, picking at the ground.

“Hello,” I said quietly, trying to get his attention but at the same time trying to keep the tranquility of our asylum. He looked at me with his curious, childlike eyes and smiled softly back at me. Without another word I walked towards him and saw that he was making some kind of circle with the daisies that were patched in front of him. We sat there in serene silence as I watched him continue making his elaborate art. The patch became bare as he plucked them one by one. I crawled around to pick the abundance of small flowers and placed them in front of him. Each time I grabbed for more he would say thanks and give me a short, sweet smile before focusing back on the circle. I could finally tell what his work was when he was putting in the last few daisies. It was a crown, like the ones I’ve seen in pictures, except more delicate and fresh. The ones I’ve seen in pictures looked like they were made from thin tree branches and moss, but this one was purely made from daisies and grass leaves. I felt my heart skip a beat as he held it with both hands and carefully placed it on my head as if it were a real crown - it was a real crown. I sat there and smiled at him in awe, more than grateful that someone has created something so lovely in front of my eyes only to let me actually have it.

Even though he was a stranger I hugged him and thanked him endlessly. Wanting to remember this moment forever, I straightened my legs realizing my camera was on my side pants pocket. He looked mesmerized by the technology, his reaction was cute. We took a picture together, making sure that the crown was completely visible.

Just after, I heard my name being called out from afar. It was one of Mother's workers looking for me, like I thought. After quickly glancing at him for the last time, I abruptly got up from my spot and began walking in a fast pace downstream back to the property. I didn’t want anyone to find me there. I wanted to keep that place a secret. I could hear him behind me walking in the water at his leisure pace for a little while, but the sound of his presence gradually disappeared.

“Where were you? Did you find something interesting?” Mother shot question after question once her worker and I returned. I simply smiled at her, which was my answer to all her questions, in a word. She noticed the answer and saw the crown resting nicely on my head.

“This is nice, who made this for you?” She asked, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to make anything like this. I was in such a rush that I had forgotten to ask for the boy’s name.

“I… forgot to ask his name,” I answered honestly embarrassed. Then I remembered that I had taken a picture with him, which I showed to my mom and her workers. One of them finally said his name and that he lives somewhere across from the river, fairly close to our land. I wanted to thank him again, but we had to go back to my everyday life. I was a bit crushed that I couldn’t see him again; I only visited once a fortnight at the earliest when I visit the country, and I wasn’t sure when I’d ever meet him again. We had the property for a few years, but that was the first time I ever saw and met him.

Even though our conversation consisted of only “Hello” and “thank you,” I would never forget the first boy to make me something with his own hands. It’s been years since that day, and I still have the daisy crown in my room, safely kept in a scrapbook. Of course it’s dried now, but it’s still in tact and has an antique look to it because of its dryness. In that circle I wrote his name in the best calligraphy I could write.

“Lee Taemin”