Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the body and gasped. I shook my head before crouching down by his side, placing my hand on his cheek, dusting away some of the sand as drops of water fell down my face and onto his shoulder, soaking into the fabric of his t-shirt. I sniffed and closed my eyes. Furiously clenching my hands, I shook my head. Tears streamed down my face in rivers. It couldn't be...

It wasn't.

Waves of relief flooded over me as i wiped the tears away from my face and looked up towards Friedrich who was crouching on the other side of the body, concern lining his face as he had watched me cry. A huge grin spread across my face.

"He's alive! He's really alive! It wasn't him!" I shouted, not bothering to worry about others hearing because for one, we were in a deserted area, two I was just so relieved and excited.

"Who's alive?" Friedrich questioned, raising his brow towards me, his concern going but surprise at my out burst and confusion replacing it.

"He's alive Friedrich!" I cried out once again. Friedrich moved over towards me and took me by the shoulders as he spoke.

"Kirsten, who?"

"Lukas!"

**************************************

I watched the morning news on the TV, a cup of tea resting in my hands, the warmth from the tea creeping through the cup, through my hands and heating up my core. My heart and brain had calmed down through the past couple of days and I had begun to return to my normal self. I had even gone to Lukas's house to make sure he was okay, he wasn't in but his mother assured me he was okay. That was all I needed to know after I had basically been hyperventilating because I thought he'd been shot... It wasn't him though and I only wish he would call or something so I could see him or hear him to know he was alive. It was stupid really; I knew he was alive but I just needed conformation from him that he was... Just a simple phone call or knock on the door...

And just like that, as if answering my thoughts and wishes, the knocker on the door lifted into the air and came smashing onto the solid wood, once, twice, three times, pause.

"Kirsten! Get that for me?" My mum shouted from the kitchen where she was making herself some lunch. I froze in place for a mini second before nearly throwing the cup onto the table, tea spilling around the sides, and running towards the door. I slowed down as I got into the hall way and saw the tall figure behind the glass in the door. I closed my eyes and thanked the Lord before reaching my hand out towards the handle and pulling the door open.

As soon as it was open, a hand reached in and pulled me out into the small area in front of my house and to the side out of the way of the door. Before I could start screaming, he put a hand over my mouth and his eyes twinkled down to me as he smiled. I started frowning, pulling away from him and pushing his hand away.

"Friedrich? What are you doing?"

"FRIEDRICH!" A little girl squealed from behind him and I saw a small child running up, her blond hair that hung in curls bouncing everywhere and her white toothed smile on the edge of hyperness. Her blue dress that hung to her knees floated around her, the flower patterns dancing and spiraling. "Friedrich, Friedrich, Friedrich!" She reached him and swung her arms around his legs, her head resting on his waist as she looked up to me before burying her head in his clothes. He put his hand the back of her head in a sort of hug and looked back to me, a lop sided grin on his face.

"Mind helping me babysit?" He raised his eyebrow towards me in a sort of "please help, i'll do anything" look.

"What? And you still haven't answered me, why did you pull me out of my house?" I questioned, looking down to the small child before glancing back towards him.

"Well... I didn't know how your mother would react to a guard in her front room..." He said timidly, the first time I'd seen him looking...scared? Worried? Unsure? So going out into the Death Strip, it's only possible more than a dozen guns facing your way! Facing someone's mum? Hell no.

"Oh..." But then again, as I thought about it, I begun thinking his plan was better. Better her not know about it than her panicking because of a guard in her house and a guard being friends with her daughter who could possibly get her daughter in trouble or hurt... "Okay." I agreed.

"So? Will you help?"

I knew why he had pulled me out but why was he asking me to babysit with him? I couldn't babysit and I'm sure he had loads of other friends...I spoke my thoughts as always. "Why me?"

"Because, well. I'd like you to come along. We're going for a picnic!" He grinned, a light glowing his and the child's faces with joy. They obviously hadn't spent much time together recently.

"Aren't you suppose to be guarding the wall?"

"Nope, I do have days off now and then, else I'd go insane." He put another stupid grin on his face and crossed his eyes, glancing down to the girl who burst out laughing.

"Are you sure that hasn't happened already?" I raised a brow to his unusual childish attitude that was starting to bring a smile to my lips.

"Ha ha. Very funny. Now, are you coming or are you gonna laze on the sofa all day with your mug in your hands?"

My smile went and shock and embarrassment heated my cheeks. Deciding not to deny it as he already knew, I decided to demand for an answer on how he knew. "What...How d'you-"

"You're curtains are open so I could see very clearly." He smirked, nodding towards the front room windows where you could in fact see everything inside. I glanced to the windows then back to him, seeing a cheeky glint to his eyes and I decided to shake it off, now was not the time.

"Fine, I'll come. Just hold on one second."

I went back into my house, pushing my feet into some old trainers and grabbing a jacket from the stair banister before halting as my mother appeared on the other side of the banister, staring at me, her eyebrow raised expectantly.

"Going out?" She said, a slight curve to her lips as she tilted her head.

"Um...Yes?"

"Where?" And the interrogation begins.

"Just to the park..." I'll try the truth seeing as she can see right through me when I lie. Most the time.

"Who with?" She carried on, wanting to know every inch of my plan which had literally just been made and most of it I knew nothing about.

"Just a friend." She didn't need the specifics.

"Who? Is she still out there? Can I meet her?" Or maybe she did.

"Him. And no, he said he'd meet me there..."

"Aw, got yourself a guy have you?" She smirked, the same cheeky glint that had been in Friedrich's eyes showing up in hers but for a different reason.

"NO! We're just friends..."

"Right..."

"Anyway, he's bringing his little sister so yeah." Like that explained everything. I mentally slapped myself and put a mental note down to think of better things to say in future and to make a whole story up to tell her about today when I got home.

""So yeah" meaning so it's not a date?"

"Yes. No. Ugh, just... Let it go. I'm off." I grabbed my keys and shoved them into my pocket, trying to get out of the house as quickly as possible.

"Bye darling, tell me what happens!"

"Nothing's going to happen!" I shouted back through the narrowing gap of the door as I closed it, resting my head against the wood and sighing, feeling the questioning gaze of Friedrich on me and the inpatient gaze of the girl glancing between the two of us, hopping from foot to foot, nearly bursting from excitement.

*************************

We sat on a patchy blanket that was split into sixteen square sections that each had a different coloured border and each had a different picture sown into the middle of the square, each having a different back ground colour, making the blanket a beautiful sea of colours that mimicked the area around us. It looked as if it had been taken from a fairytale scene or a artists' painting; many shades of green, bright and dark, littered the trees and the ground, pale blue coloured the sky with a couple of heaven white clouds floating about looking as if they were white candy floss and I desperately wanted to climb up a tree and taste them to see if they tasted like candy floss. Around us, bursts of bright colours littered the grass as the flowers came into bloom, small green weeds following after, plotting to destroy the perfection they brought to the scene around them. A gravelled path ran through the park and a couple of benches lined the pathway as well as a memorial bench that sat under one of the apple trees, a golden coloured plack on the bench engraved with a name, date and a little message that I had read a million times;

"You always saw things as perfection even though they weren't. You thought this park was your little heaven even through the winter and now you can be in both Heavens. You are an inspiration to us all. Love you"

Bird songs travelled through the air along with the sound of the soft breeze and the trees rustling as if performing a song of their own. The fresh smell of summer lingering in the air, almost here with us but not quite, along with the smell of the flowers around us. I could see why she had thought this was Heaven on Earth, at the moment it definitely felt like it. In winter, it was more of a winter wonderland or death trap depending on if it was ice or snow.

I sat on the corner of the blanket, a now empty plastic bag screwed up next to me, using my foot as a paper weight to stop it from blowing off, food in packages and a few cartons of juice on the blanket in front of me, paper plates sitting under the food. Girl squeals and laughter echoed around the near empty park, bringing the area to life. Looking up, I smiled towards Friedrich who had been chasing her around and was now holding her by her waist upside down, her head near his knees, her arms flaying around near her head as she screamed. He laughed with her, his body shaking as he laughed, making her scream and laugh more as she felt like she was going to be dropped but she trusted him. She knew he would never drop her. He let her go with one hand and she screamed once again before he put his hand under her head, his arm supporting her back as he pulled her back upright before placing her back on her feet. He glanced up to me and grinned, making me grin back to him. A bigger grin came onto my face as the little girl, who I had learned was named Anna, crept up behind him, pressing her finger to her lips as she looked at me. Friedrich glanced back to where she had been and frown before being pushed from behind and just like that, they began chasing each other again.

After another half an hour of chasing and playing hide and seek, they came back and sat on the blanket, reaching for a plate which I took and started handing out like a mother, handing the drinks and food out also. I had refused to run around in the middle of the day when it was hottest and said that someone had to look after the blanket and food and of course Anna agreed to the latter. Anna of course still looked excited and hyper as she shoved the food into her mouth whereas Friedrich looked shattered from running around so much and after eating, lied back on the blanket, closing his eyes, prodding Anna occasionally with his foot as she was opposite me, on the side where his feet were. She let out an giggle each time he did that and his lips curved into a smile whenever he heard her laugh.

Once fully fed, she went off to make daisy chains and just mess about again; I was really impressed, she had so much energy she could probably run around for weeks without getting tired. A small smile came to my lips and Friedrich propped himself up on his elbows, giving me a questioning look.

"What're you thinking about?" Momentarily looking to him, I smiled once again before turning back to Anna.

"Just you two. You act so differently around her."

"She's a child, I have to. I can't exactly be all ordering her about and that." He frowned, thinking the answer was obvious. And the one he thought was but I hadn't meant that he didn't order people about.

"No, I don't mean that. You just are like a completely different person."

"Is it a bad thing?" A hint of worry floated about in his voice and I looked back towards him, smiling warmly towards him.

"No, of course not. I love it. It's so cute watching you two." He smiled again but this one was different to the normal ones I got. He was looking at me and smiling like he had been blind and was seeing me for the first time. A small fluttering began to emerge in my stomach and I sucked in a breath, looking away from his gaze that had been threatening to trap me forever. "Anyway. Shall I play with her later or not?"

Lying back down on his back, he sighed as he squinted up to the sky before closing his eyes again, the sun being too bright to allow him to keep his eyes open. "No, it's fine. She'll want to go home soon."

"Okay." I turned my gaze back to him, letting my gaze sweep over his body whilst he wasn't looking, he was about 6ft, had a toned body but didn't have too much muscle and his hair fell backwards around his head, his arms behind his head, his muscles relaxed and his facial expression soft and calm like he was sleeping. A small smile lined his lips and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking but choosing not to disturb him, I looked away before I was tempted to stroke his hair that shone in the light, making it look like a halo around his head. Anna was now sitting on the ground looking down to her hands which were busy splitting daisy stems and putting a daisy through the slit, making a daisy chain of white daisies that had pink tips to the petals. A thought then popped into my head and a grin followed as I glanced to Friedrich, carefully standing up from the blanket and walking over towards Anna, glancing back to him occasionally to make sure he didn't notice.

As I crouched beside her, she glanced up and grinned back to me, showing the couple of gaps in her row of teeth. She held up the chain that was now long enough to be a necklace and I smiled back before whispering to her. "It's very very pretty. Do you think your brother would suit it?" At my suggestion, her face lit up with delight and she began nodding frantically. Standing back up, I offered my hand to her and tying the two ends of the daisy chain together, she grabbed my hand and began pulling me over towards Friedrich, skipping to his side before slowly down as I put my finger to my lips. Crouching beside him, Anna lent forward and placed the necklace around his neck, not being able to put it around his neck but instead letting it circle his face, under his chin and around the crown of his head.

Anna began laughing and he opened one eye as he looked to her, raising his brow before opening the other eye and turning his attention to me, confused at why I was smiling innocently to him. He flickered his gaze between the two of us before speaking. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing." We said in unison, both sounding equally guilty with our ridiculously innocent voices. He frowned again before sitting up, glancing down and laughing to the daisy chain falling to his shoulders.

"Pretty. Think it suits me?" He pouted and then smiled towards our laughing. "What? Wrong colour?"

"Yeah, something like that." I grinned. He smiled towards me again, the butterflies appearing once again but instead of looking away, I just smiled back.

Friedrich's gaze was drawn away when he heard Anna yawning and we both looked towards her before looking back to each other, confirming that it was probably time to go now. He got up, brushing off some invisible grass as I began to pack away the left over food back into the bag as he picked up the rubbish and walked over to the nearest bin to put it in. Folding up the blanket and putting it under my arm, I began walking towards the path as Friedrich picked Anna up and followed.

We went back to his house, he had said I didn't need to but I reminded him that he couldn't carry Anna and the blanket and food so I had to come either way. He inserted his key in the lock and then walked in, jogging carefully upstairs to put Anna in her bed to have a nap before returning and grabbing the bag and blanket I held.

"Thank you for coming today. I really enjoyed it." He said, placing the bags down beside the door.

"No, thank you. It's been the most carefree day I've had in a while."

"That's good." He smiled and then we both looked to the ground, not knowing what to say or do. A silence filled the space between us but before it could get too deadly, I spoke up, pointing behind me.

"I guess I should be going. Mother will be expecting me home..."

"Yeah... Um. Will see you soon?"

"Of course." I smiled before turning around and walking down the front path and onto the path next to the street, waving towards him, "Bye." I called before walking back home, a smile loitering on my face from going through today again in my head.