Chapter 12 - Secret base

Rosaline and William stayed quiet while watching the bustling city below the mountain.

Lost in their thoughts, they did not realize how long they had been sitting there until it got too hot.

“Let’s go down. I’ll take you to a nice place.” William proposed, having noticed the sadness in her eyes. 

“Alright!” Rosaline agreed without too much thought.

They climbed down the hill, but halfway through, William stopped and started off to a path that was not quite visible, most likely a track left by some animal.  

Rosaline was intrigued. She had never ventured beyond the few direct trails that led to the top. 

The narrow path was even more rugged and harder to traverse.

William had to, multiple times, support Rosaline as they moved away from the main trail. 

The winding path went up for a while before taking a sharp turn downhill. After a short stretch of flatland, the duo climbed uphill again.

Even when focused on the path, Rosaline did not miss the lush green trees with wildflowers of multiple different colors. 

The wind blowing from the Pine trees became louder and even more refreshing. It carried a faint smell of flowers she could not quite place. At times, there was a sweet smell of wild fruits as well. 

After walking for almost 20 minutes, William asked her to close her eyes. 

Rosaline looked at him with narrowed eyes for a few seconds before closing her eyes. William held her by the shoulder and waist and guided her forward. 

After a few minutes, which to Rosaline felt like hours, he asked her to open her eyes. 

Rosaline’s eyes went wide, looking at the hidden waterfall amongst the rocks surrounded by purple wildflowers.

It has a natural shallow pool, and water coursed downward in a smaller stream. 

A faint rainbow was visible in the downward water flow.

The forest was thicker in this area, and the waterfall looked like very few people knew of its existence.

The purple flowers surrounding it added to its beauty and provided a sweet smell. 

It was a feast for eyes, ears, and nose. 

While Rosaline was taking in the beautiful sight before her, William found a place to sit and soak their feet in the water. 

Since the water came from a natural spring, it was clean enough to drink.

After sipping some refreshing cold and sweet water, they sat there soaking their feet. 

“Thank you!” Rosaline said sincerely. 

“My pleasure.”

Noticing her somber mood, he continued.

“This is my secret base. I found it during a military exercise where we had to collect some natural herbs for minor injuries and insect bites.”

“This is the first time I've brought someone here.” 

“You went to a military school?” Rosaline ignored William’s last sentence and asked. 

“Yeah, for seven years. I stayed there from the age of 9 to 15. Went to college after that.” 

“What was it like?” She inquired.

“Good, strict. Nothing and no one can teach discipline better than Military school.” He succinctly replied.

“That’s good.” She commented.

They sat quietly in comfortable silence.

But William wanted to get to know her.