#beautifulviolent

He was flying back home to New Jersey the following morning, so they'd agreed to see each other once more before he left for the week. He'd wanted to invite her to come home with him, but he knew they weren't at the meeting the family stage yet; family was a sensitive thing for her, so he wanted to wait to broach the subject. His family was also huge when factoring in all of his cousins, aunts, and uncles who would inevitably insist on seeing him while he was there. The last thing he wanted to do was overwhelm her.

They met at the Balboa Park and, after exploring much of the botanical building, settled on one of the benches beside the lily pond. The setting sun's light reflected off the water and enveloped her in its warmth, a halo of dispersed light surrounding her and echoing her aura -- at least what he imagined it would look like if he could see it. Her hair was down today, the breeze from the nearby San Diego Bay brushing the face framing bangs away from her face as the rest cascaded across her bare shoulders. He would miss the temperate weather in November, but he knew deep down he would miss getting to spend time like this with Mina even more.

Since meeting her, he'd learned more about horticulture than he'd ever planned to in his lifetime, but he was fascinated by her passion and green thumb, captivated by the way she could coax a plant on the edge of death's door back to life with gentle care, entranced by the way her eyes crinkled at the edges when her face lit up at a particularly beautiful arrangement. How she couldn't see all of those things about herself was a mystery.