My brother and I sat at one of the round, wooden tables in the back of this cosy little cafe, Port's Café, with its soft green walls, and its pale, sand yellow ceiling. The polished dark wood floor gleamed in the floods of light pouring in from the thin glass windows, through which you could just about see the boats of Portsmouth harbour, gently swaying in the calming breeze.

"Hey Tom?" I started to ask from across the table. He diverted his gaze from the steaming bowl of pasta he was devouring, up to my face. "What time is our interview thingy again?"

"Interview thingy?" He replied, obviously confused.

"Yeah... Remember?" I said, as slowly as possible without seeming patronising.

"What for?" I sighed, trying not to shout at him.

"Job interview! We came down here to find work at the harbour! Remember? Better pay, suitable work... Yeah?"

"Oh we don't need to be interviewed David, we just go along to the office and ask to have our names put down. They'll probably ask us a few questions but not a proper interview interview. We don't have a time or anything." Tom's reply was so calm I nearly exploded.

"Then why did we have to get up so early! I was driving for FOUR BLOODY HOURS! Yorkshire isn't close to Portsmouth you know! And you told me we did have an interview!" Now I was shouting.

"Oh yeah. We didn't have to get up so early... I forgot. But it gives us the day here." I swear as soon as we were out of earshot of anyone I would ring his neck!

I just sighed, and returned to my stew and refused to look at the hopeless mess that was my older brother.

About ten minutes later, I heard the clock of the grand university strike one; we had been in here for half an hour. We started to finish up, but then something so unexpected happened that I knew it was real, I could dream up something so... Unexpected.

A man walked through the cream painted archway that lead from the main part of the cafe to the extra seating area we sat in, his dark, curly hair bobbing up and down on top of his tall body as he walked. Behind him there were three girls, shorter than he was, one with hair as dark and wavy like his, the other two with brown hair.

They stopped as soon as they saw us, and I'm sure had they been carrying something, it would be shattered on the floor.

"David? Tom?" He spoke with an oh so familiar voice, snapping me out of any doubt I had about their identity.

"Joe! Netty! Amy! Salem!" They stood their in their entirety. Each of our faces was a mixture of happiness and shock and confusion. They were here! We were here!

"What are you all doing here?" Tom asked in disbelief.

"University," Amy replied, "Joe and Netty are on their second year, along with Salem and I just started last week."

"What about you two?" Salem asked us.

"We are looking to work in the harbour, as it's better pay and better hours than our current jobs, so we came down from Yorkshire to look into it. We had no idea you all went to the university!" I replied.

"We just got out for lunch, and Netty and I discovered this cafe two years ago, so we took Amy and Salem here, and we met you two."

It's really amazing how small this world is.

We scooted our chairs towards the wall, while Salem and Netty sat beside us, and Joe pulled up two chairs for him and Amy.

We sat and talked in Port's Café while I ate my baguette, and the girls ate their lunches, talking about this and that, for about ten minutes.

Then I noticed that Netty was being very quiet; she had hardly said anything since we found David and Tom.

Tom.

She was sitting next to Tom, who was also being shy, which made me wonder, well, I knew she liked him, but did he like her?

I know I am only older than Netty by half an hour, but she is still my little sister, and I need to protect her. And no offence to Tom, but he doesn't look like he could be the kindest or gentlest person.

"Hey," I started to say when we had all finished, "How about I show you The Butterfly Garden?" I feel like it should have hurt me saying that, but these were people I trusted, and I had faith that they wouldn't blab about my secret retreat.

"Um... Sure. Where is it?" Salem replied.

"University grounds. It's my special corner of reality." I replied. This sounded cheesy even to myself...

"Are we allowed in?" David asked, his thick accent unmistakeably his.

"Yeah, just as long as you're out by two o'clock, the end of lunch." Amy replied.

"Oh good." Tom and David said in unison.

"Shall we go then?" I suggested, getting up from the end of the table.

When we left, the café was completely empty, except for the half a dozen staff in the kitchen.

We walked through the grounds, but unlike usual, I didn't try to hide myself. People should see that I had friends, and that they wanted to be with me.

As we approached an entrance to the building, I stopped and said, "Please, please don't tell anyone about this, please."

Fortunately, everyone agreed and we continued into the building and through a little side door, more hallways and doors, until even Netty and Salem seemed lost.

"Do you actually know where you're going Joe?" Netty asked me doubtfully.

"Of course I do. We're nearly there now."

At last we were back in the Autumn sun, and heading towards the small, rickety wooden bridge that I knew so well.

"Careful. That plank is rotting, if you stand on it you'll fall through into the stream." I warned everybody. We crossed, and stood in front of the magical glade that was our destination. "Here we are!"

"Joe, there's no gap between the trees..." Netty said as politely as possible, as if she was talking to some crazed beast.

"Yes there is, round here." I gestured for them to follow me, as I lead the way around edge until we were at the back, where a low archway had been fashioned out of sticks by someone years ago, who, like me, had discovered The Butterfly Garden.

Tom and I had to bend over to get through, whereas the others were able to walk through without any bother.

As soon as Amy saw the beautiful clearing, she whooped with glee and skipped over to the pond, took off her socks and shoes, rolled up her jeans and sat down at the edge, letting the water take her legs with its magical ways and enchanting song.

We all laughed and they stared around as the blissful silence over powered any urge to speak.

Amy started to sing, a sweet song about beauty, nature and life, about how the trees would sing and dance to the music of the river, about the orchestra of purity and clearness of the forest.

Salem and Netty joined in, and soon all of us were humming or singing this enchantingly powerful melody.

If anyone were to enter our glade, they would find two sisters dangling their feet in the pond, and two brothers lying on the grass with a girl, who's brother was high in the mighty oak tree at the centre of this haven.

It was this tree that wore an old wooden sign, with the words "The Butterfly Garden" painted onto it in a peeling turquoise colour.

I lay in the tree, in a dip that was created by three big branches splitting from the trunk up to the now clear sky.

I felt elated.

Peace.

Bliss.

Silence.