Shaking his head as if was enjoying himself and my illicit tea, Zhenlan took my hand as soon as I reached him and pulled me closer to his side.
He carried the food in the other hand and led me through the back doors into the garden with a slight smile on his face as if this was nothing short of perfection for him.
The afternoon was hot, but the rain had left everything bright and wet. Water still clung to the leaves, and the stone path shone beneath the sun. My plants shifted as we passed, opening space for us without wrapping around my ankles or trying to follow.
Zhenlan didn't take me far.
He led me past the patio and around the side of the mansion, toward a section of the garden hidden behind tall flowering vines. I had planted them before the apocalypse because I liked the colour and then forgotten they existed once everything started trying to kill us.
The vines had grown into a thick wall around a small patch of grass.
