The Picnic

Redreaper Writing Commission 1,500 words

The Picnic Date Pt. 1

The wind blows, shaping a waving shudder through the field’s green and yellow grass. It’s a beautiful spring day and three adolescents are making their way down a walking path to settle under the shade of a spreading oak. The two girls, Nekokowa and Chihiro swing their arms at their sides as they look up at their boyfriend, Zhard, with smiling eyes and tones of laughter. Nekokowa spins her purple parasol and lifts it about her head and Zhard’s in attempt to keep him shaded as he carries two picnic baskets and a small bag for the girls.

Nekokowa’s dress matches her parasol for all its vibrant purple material, frills of lace, and cute little bows. Chihiro with her short black hair pinned back, wears ripped knee-high black stockings, a short red skirt, and a black T-shirt with a red heart on it. Between the two, Zhard wears dark purple pants and a striped shirt. A red tie is loose around his neck, making him a blend between the two girls’ colorful fashions—all their individual unique tastes.

Reaching the tree, the sunlight is scattered and blocked by the oak’s green boughs. Zhard drops the baskets with a dramatic sigh. The jars and silverware inside them clatter.

“Careful!” Nekokowa exclaims. She drops her parasol as Zhard stretches with a laugh.

“I know that you packed our lunches so carefully, they are quite alright,” he says. He is always looking for a way to rile the girls up a little bit, especially Nekokowa for the way her pale cheeks blush at his every joke. Zhard reaches to his belt and unbuckles the bag at his waist. No matter where he goes, he always has his sketchbook and art supplies with him.

“What a pretty day,” Chihiro says. She sits down with a plop and leans back against the tree. “What should we do today? I’m not too hungry for lunch yet.”

“I think we should play a game,” Zhard says. “I’d like to see you two do something after you made me carry our baskets all this way.” He fakes a moan again. Chihiro and Nekokowa laugh.

“You’re always so dramatic,” Chihiro says.

“I wasn’t about to let Nekokowa carry everything by herself, as much as she wanted to,” Zhard says.

“I could have carried it all with no problem!”

Zhard puts up his hands and laughs at her reddening feistiness. “I know—I know—it just wouldn’t look very chivalrous of me, now would it?”

Nekokowa deflates a little, her lips widen into a smile. “You’re always chivalrous Zhard, but regardless, I have my own personal honor of strength to uphold. I challenge you both to a tug of war game as the first activity of the day!”

“Oh-ho-ho,” Zhard says with a laugh. “Let me guess, did you sneak one of your ropes into our picnic baskets?”

Nekokowa smiles and sets her parasol down. Her pale fingers reach to the purple cuffs of her sleeves and she begins to roll them up. She sticks out her tongue and mimics a pose of strength, bending her arm and clasping the muscle of her slender bicep.

“Your own Neko—you can’t expect us to sit by idly while you flaunt your strength!” Chihiro says. Chihiro has known her friend for a very long time and knows that she may joke, but she is a serious tug of war opponent.

Nekokowa kneels and unlatches one of the baskets with a pop. Inside, laying perfectly coiled on top of the checkered blue cloth covering their food, is Nekokowa’s tug-of-war rope. She takes it out, closes the basket, and bounces up onto the balls of her feet. Her skirt swings around her ankles.

“You really did bring it,” Zhard says with a laugh. Whether it is Nekokowa or Chihiro, his girls never cease to impress him.

“Yes, I did, are we all ready to play?” Nekokowa asks.

“You bet!” Chihiro says. “There are three of us—but since you are bragging about your strength, how about Zhard and I versus you alone?”

“Yes!” Nekokowa cheers. She flicks the rope loose and pulls it between her hands. The coils and fibers bounce and snap between her hands.

“Okay, but first,” Zhard begins to say. “Let’s move somewhere a little safer.” He reaches and takes each girl by the shoulder and guides them away from the tree and further into the meadow. “Don’t step on the food and out here, there will be no tree roots for us to trip on.”

Nekokowa nods in agreement. She takes one end of the rope and tosses the other to Chihiro. Chihiro grasps its and passes the end to Zhard. He takes the rope and drags his fingers across the rough fibers. The rope grates against his palm.

“Let’s use that flower as our middle marker,” Nekokowa says. She points to a small buttercup in the grass. “That way we have nothing trippable in-between us.”

“Good idea.”

“Can I count to three?” Chihiro asks.

“Sure!”

“I’m getting hungry so this will be a one round, win or lose game. Does that sound alright?” Zhard asks.

“Yes! Let’s get to it!” Nekokowa chirps. Before the game begins, everyone takes a moment to get ready. Zhard wipes his hands and kicks his feet into the ground, placing his footing. Chihiro bends over the rope, her fists at her hip, ready to stop any advancement from Nekokowa’s pulls. Nekokowa stands still, her feet wide a part and an even wider grin on her face.

“I’m ready,” Nekokowa says.

“One the count of three—one, two—” Everyone’s hands tighten on the rope. “Three!” Chihiro shouts. Suddenly, all three jump into action. The rope shakes as if an electrical current just went through it, a vibration of two powerful forces pulling it in the other direction. Nekokowa’s hair whips in front of her with the momentum but her body stays still. Her shoulders seem to broaden as they pull with tension, the rope is solid in her hands.

Chihiro squeaks as a whoosh of breath escapes her mouth. Her feet slide a little, so she leans backwards as Zhard anchors her in place. Her shin bumps against his as they are both leaning back, pulling against Nekokowa’s strength. The rope begins to burn in their hands, signaling the intensity of the game.

“Do you really think you can beat the both of us?” Zhard teases.

“With my eyes closed!” Nekokowa exclaims. She makes a show of kicking one foot in the air and planting it solidly with a stamp in the dirt. The rope pulls in her direction. Zhard gasps, his breath tickles Chihiro’s cheek. She elbows him and says to pull harder.

“We can’t lose! We gotta show her we can do this!” Chihiro says. We can’t lose becomes a chant in her breath but at the same time, her heart whirls at the excitement of the game, one that she and Nekokowa will never tire of.

“We’ll pull back on the count of three, okay?” Zhard whispers. Chihiro nods. As he begins to count down, out of earshot of Nekokowa, Chihiro twists her fingers tighter and tighter around the stretching rope. The creases at her knuckles, the little wrinkles on her tense fingers blossom from pink before whitening under the strain.

“Three,” Zhard says. Chihiro shifts her weight and pulls back with all her might. Zhard leans backwards, pulling with his arms stretched out in the effort. Nekokowa yells out as her feet begin to slide closer to the little buttercup flower. She scrambles and digs her heels in, stopping Zhard and Chihiro’s pull. The pair strains until their arms are trembling and their chests feel like they are going to burst—but they can’t advance another step backwards.

“Try harder, try again,” Chihiro whines. She tightens her grip, but her fingers are growing numb. She closes her eyes and pulls with all her might. Suddenly, as they begin to tire, Nekokowa gains the upper hand. Once Zhard tries to strengthen his stance, she pulls slow and steady in her direction. Chihiro and Zhard’s feet begin to slip. Nekokowa takes one step back at a time. Chihiro begins to panic, her feet sliding back despite her and Zhard trying to pull away. The little yellow buttercup comes closer and closer to their scrambling effort.

Nekokowa, in dramatic fashion, gives one last pull, tucking the rope to her waist and then turning her body. Chihiro and Zhard gasp and stumble right over the flower and fall to their knees with the momentum. The rope falls to the ground at Nekokowa’s feet.

“I did it!” Nekokowa cheers. She tosses the rope in the air.

Zhard and Chihiro collapse onto their backs in the grass, the yellow flower that marked their loss between them.

“Wow,” Zhard gasps. “That was amazing Neko!”

“H-how did you manage that?” Chihiro asks? She throws her forearm over her eyes to block the sunlight.

“Lots of practice, my loves, lots of practice!” Nekokowa exclaims.

Up above in the wide sky, cumulus clouds puff and roll across the blue background. The ever-moving round shapes drift above from end of the golden field to the other. Zhard and Chihiro lay in the waving grass, their arms and legs stretched out as their chests rise and fall in the spring heat. Chihiro twists her fingers into the grass, a cluster of buttercups lay by her head.

“Goodness, I still don’t know how she did that,” Chihiro says. Her voice tilts up in wonder, a little high-pitched with woozy exhaustion too.

“I know—we tried so hard,” Zhard says in agreement. “Nekokowa is the tug-of-war master for sure. But two against one?”

“She’s so strong.” Zhard lets his head roll back on the grass. He lifts a hand to gesture at the rolling clouds above before his hand falls back to his chest. One large cloud twists into three parts, two smaller sections of the clouds begin to look like ears.

“Look, that cloud looks like an elephant,” Zhard says.

Chihiro looks up until she sees the cloud he is talking about. It pulses and stretches, ever-changing.

“I think it looks like a butterfly,” Chihiro answers.

“A butterfly?”

“I think you need your eyes checked,” Chihiro says back with a laugh. “Did you hit your head when we fell?”

Zhard laughs. “Okay, you tell me what a different one looks like.”

The wind shifts. The three clouds Zhard pointed at shift and stretch out, two forms pulling away with a smear of white between them.

“A rope! Those clouds are us playing tug-of-war!” Chihiro exclaims. She sits up and points at the sky. “Do you see the rope in between? You can’t say you don’t see it.”

Zhard laughs out loud at the two stretching clouds, the one pulling away stretches the white line of a rope between then as the wind pushes and pulls. “Wow, that’s so perfect. If I wasn’t so tired, I could play another round right now.”

“I bet Nekokowa would love that,” Chihiro says. “By the way, where is she?” Chihiro and Zhard glance around. They see only the golden spring grass and the sky. Zhard spots her under the tree, rummaging through their picnic baskets.

“There she is!” Zhard says. “It looks like she is hungry. Should we go to lunch?”

“Yes, I’m starved!”

At the oak tree, Nekokowa is busying herself setting up everyone’s picnic lunch. She has spread out a red-plaid blanket and has opened both baskets. Little jars and containers pile out on the blanket. There are little strawberry, blueberry, and huckleberry jam in their jars, fresh rolls, little salads and sandwiches for each. Hidden away in the second basket is a special cake that Zhard baked himself and even though it should be saved for after their mean, Nekokowa slips her hands into the basket and pulls out the plate, unwraps the cake, and sets it down in the middle as a place of honor in the middle of all their food.

The cake is a light purple color with pink and yellow flowers made out of frosting. In the center, a big red heart adorns the top. The color scheme is a mix of both Chihiro and Nekokowa’s favorite colors, a thoughtful touch among the skills showcased in Zhard’s beautiful creation.

Zhard and Chihiro come over to sit down with Nekokowa. They begin to pass out the food and a happy silence falls over the trio as they dig in with their hands on the sandwiches but their eyes on the cake. Little happy moans and hmms punctuate the quiet as they fight off the energy lost from their tug-of-war game. When lunch is over, Zhard cuts into the cake—chocolate—and hands it out. Chihiro’s mouth waters a little bit as she takes a piece. Her first bite is savory and sweet with the dark chocolate Zhard used. Her eyes water a little bit with how rich and good it is.

“Zhard, you are so amazing, you’ve done it again!” Nekokowa croons, her fork is still in her mouth. “Your mom has taught you so well, can you please teach me how to cook when we get back! I want to bake sweet things and eat them all day!”

Zhard cuts off another piece and dips his fork into the frosting. “But that’s why I am here to bake for you all the time. You can have sweets whenever you want if I’m around.”

“Aww, we are so lucky,” Nekokowa says with a happy sigh.

As the girls continue eating, Zhard finishes up his piece of cake and reaches for his bag. He pulls out a sketchbook and a handful of drawing pencils. Chihiro looks up from the remaining smears of frosting on her plate.

“Zhard, what are you doing?” Chihiro asks. She is sitting next to Nekokowa. The girls look at each other and then at his pencils.

“You both look so cute sitting there. I’ll give you more cake if you let me draw you?”

“Can I have extra flowers on my next piece?” Nekokowa asks, her eyes bigger than her stomach.

“Of course, here you go.” Zhard cuts two more pieces and fills the girls’ plates. Their eyes sparkle at the sweet delicacy. “Now just sit still and I’ll sketch you.”

Zhard sits back and flips open his sketchbook. Pencil and some charcoal portraits of both Nekokowa and Chihiro can be seen between the pages. Some of them have the girls looking at him, but many of the drawings, they are drawn from a distance, showing them enjoying a daily activity or resting without them knowing he is drawing and capturing their portrait. Nekokowa and Chihiro always demand to see the drawings when done, but Zhard has yet to share them. That is why he usually has to sneak drawings or bribe them to sit still as they are in this instance. He loves them dearly, but each stroke he makes in his sketches such as to trace the roundness of Chihiro’s determined eyes, or the thin frame of Nekokowa’s cheeks, he pours so much love and careful care into each line. His heart shudders at the thought of sharing such delicate work. Maybe one day he will become more confident when he believes he has truly captured their shining beauty.

Zhard sketches out their forms sitting attentively in the grass. Aware of their figures being drawn, both girls sit up straight, dividing their attention between the alluring cake and the scratching of his pencil on paper. The wind passes between the three of them as they sit in silence. Nekokowa licks her fork and watches the way Zhard bends over his sketch pad and peeks over the pages at them. Her cheeks warm a little as she feels his riveted attention on both her and Chihiro. She knows she is so happy to share such love between the three of them.

As Zhard finishes up his drawing, resketching and erasing until he is content, he notices the girls getting a little sleepy. The boughs of the oak tree above shift in the wind and the sun splatters outside the shadows they sit under. Snapping his sketchbook closed, Zhard stretches. Nekokowa is absentmindedly picking at her plate. Pleased with his work, Zhard decides to play a game to bring some energy back into their little outing. Without warning, he springs forward and snatches up Nekokowa’s purple parasol.

“Come on girls, catch me if you can!” he crows. Zhard stumbles upright and runs, digging his feet in to get away from Nekokowa and Chihiro. Nekokowa cries out in shock. She gathers her skirts in her hands and surges to her feet to give chase. Chihiro jolts and catches her and Nekokowa’s empty plates before they can hit the ground. She gets to her feet slowly. Nekokowa is already hot in pursuit of Zhard, racing around out in the grass.

“Wait for me!” Chihiro yells. She puts the plates away before jumping to her feet. Her drowsiness pops like a bubble and the whole vibrant world surges before her eyes. Energy and excitement fill her feet and arms. She dashes over and joins Zhard and Nekokowa. Nekokowa’s long black hair swings around her shoulders and face as she jumps and lunges at Zhard who keeps dodging and holding her parasol aloft.

“You can’t catch me!” Zhard yells with a laugh. He takes off again as Chihiro draws closer and runs back past the oak tree and farther into the other side of the field. Nekokowa stumbles and stops for a breath.

“Ohmigoodness, how does he have so much energy?” Nekokowa asks. Chihiro smiles and reaches over to snatch Nekokowa’s hand.

“Let’s go get him,” Chihiro says, “We can do this!”

Nekokowa smiles and nods in agreement. “Let’s play the game.”

Hand in hand, Nekokowa and Chihiro take up the chase. The dash over the golden grass and yellow buttercups. Zhard waves at them from a distance with the parasol held high in his hand. They continue to run into the afternoon and laugh as they enjoy their day outside.