*vwoop* *vwoop* *vw

i was anxious to get home. a successful mining trip had yielded plenty of iron, lots of redstone, and even a couple diamonds. as soon as i got to my base, i would be tossing that ore in my furnace, making myself a shiny new sky-blue pick, and stowing the redstone dust in one of my chests. i was gonna have a nice, relaxing evening, sitting on my bed and sharing a loaf of bread with my cat. life was good.

i froze midstep. there was something red right in front of my door.

a flower.

i knelt down to get a closer look at it. a red tulip. i cautiously brushed my fingers over the soft petals. it was beautiful. i wondered where it could have come from; tulips don't grow nearby.

that's when i heard an all-too familiar vwoop behind me, and suddenly felt a tall presence looming over me. my blood ran cold, knowing turning around would be suicide.

the enderman teleported away as soon as it had appeared, and when i shakily looked over my shoulder, i saw… another flower. another red tulip.

so that's where it came from.

a bit confused, i looked up into the nearby forest (praying the enderman was somewhere in the area) and called “thank you?”. no response. not sure what else to do, i moved the flowers to either side of my door. they provided a nice pop of color to my admittedly shabby base, and while i had no idea why that enderman wanted me to have them, i was thankful. as the cubic sun tucked itself into the horizon, i hurried inside.

i took care of my mining loot, grabbed a loaf of bread from a chest, and pretty much immediately tucked myself into bed. my cat curled up next to me, purring like a white noise machine.

when i woke up, it was still dark out. i looked at my clock. still nighttime. what had startled me awake was probably a crack of thunder; it was really coming down out there. my poor kitty was scared stiff, so i gave her soothing pets and told her she was safe inside. just when i thought we were both ready to fall back asleep…

vwoop.

i really was not prepared to deal with an enderman teleporting into my base. though i supposed it was justified; it would have burned to death from the rain had it stayed out there. i kept my eyes glued to the ground or to my cat or to the window, anything but the creature’s face.

but in my peripheral vision, i noticed something red between its hands.

“are you… did you give me flowers earlier?” i asked, still looking out the window.

it purred, or whatever you call those sounds it makes, in what i assumed was an affirmative answer.

"why?”

i felt something in the hand that wasn't on my cat.

the enderman gave me the flower. i looked at it fondly. another red tulip.

“...thank you, i guess, but… why?” no answer. “i don't know why i'm asking. it's not like you can talk.” i set the tulip on my nightstand, but i couldn't stop looking at it. how strange, that an enderman would give me so many flowers.

the enderman put something else in my hand. i looked… it was its own hand. the enderman was holding my hand.

“hi,” i blurted, out of pure confusion. my heart was actually racing, i was terrified, but it didn't need to know that. the enderman hummed like it was curious.

it must have taken its chance while i was staring at our hands like an idiot, because the next thing i knew i felt a kiss on my cheek, and then the monster teleported into the corner of my base. i was dumbfounded.