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The public garden is an area reserved for those that would rather find beauty in town than go out in the wilds looking for it. There is every kind of flower imaginable, aside from a few carnivorous and disgusting varieties. The hedges are neatly trimmed, lawn mowed, and flowers cared for daily, making the walk down this garden seem both beautiful and meticulously man made in every aspect. From the perfect mesh of red and white poppies, to the careful placement of the flower archways.. There is even a small rose maze, the hedges that line it covered from head to toe with thorny roses, both as a means for extravagance and to stop any cheaters from simply going through the 'walls'. The only time this location can be considered not a hot dating spot is during the rain, but, otherwise, it is a year-round attraction in Sonata that perfumes the air for blocks around. Though, the butterflies may be enchanting, be careful of any bees buzzing by.

Winnie's brown little dog pulled ahead on the leash as the two went for a walk down the garden path. The dog seemed to be enjoying herself, stopping a sniffing flowers ever so often. The butterflies were freaking her out though, suddenly appearing from the flower beds as she stuck her head in.

The woman laughed as the dog skittered away from the flowers, scared of something as pretty as a butterfly. The dog stayed close from then on, afraid that another one of those flying devils would come chasing after it.

This town sure had taste. It was such a pretty garden. Winnie sure would be sad when fall and winter came along and changed it. Winter wasn't bad, as long as people didn't trudge through the beautiful coat of pure white snow, but fall was just ugly after the first few leaves dropped and the rain made them wet and mushy.

She noticed a young boy, and what looked like his father walking towards her. She guessed she had to talk to them, there was no way of avoiding it. The dog pulled back, sitting in place as Winnie approached the pair, two strange men? No way, Missy was going to keep her distance.

The younger of the two men looked distressed? She wondered why, but it probably wasn't her business to intrude. If he really felt like discussing it, he could come to her when school started. He looked young enough to be a student.

"Good afternoon!" she chimed, the usual sunniness in her voice ringing through. It was always amazing the way she could put up a front, even if really she just wanted to leave. She was just like her own dog, these were two strangers, men at that, it was certain they would judge her. She hated putting herself on the spot. However, she figured, if she was going to be judged, why not make a nice impression. She couldn't think of anything else to say, so she just decided to wait for them to respond. Maybe the younger one would fill her in on his troubles anyway, so she wouldn't have to think of something to say to strangers.

Winnie dropped the dogs leash in shock as to what was being said to her. People weren't even supposed to say that behind another person's back, much less in front of them. The boy was so cocky, but then he went to pick flowers, it didn't make much sense.

The dog barked at the raccoon before going to sniff and lick the apple.

She wasn't even sure if she should accept the man's apology on behalf of his son. That just didn't make sense, it wasn't not like the kid couldn't apologize himself.

The girl shook her head as the man excused the child, "I understand your child's restlessness, but he still needs to learn how to behave around a lady." she sighed, a little less than a year ago she would have chewed him out. Then again, the son wouldn't be saying anything like that. He would have died to throw his pencil in her cave. That was one thing she missed about being Gwen, everyone wanted her then, enough to pay for it. Now, she was only liked, and only if she took the time and effort to know someone. "No matter the circumstance, behavior like that is unacceptable in young adults." she smiled, her voice was matter of fact. She may have taken that line straight from her brothers lectures to her as a teenager, it was amazing how much she had changed.

"School begins in a couple weeks, he is enrolled right?" she asked, "He can receive counseling for issues like these."

She was really trying to help, but her annoyance showed through. If she would have to deal with this jerk of a kid for the entire school year, she may as well quit now. She hadn't signed up for this. She signed up for helping young sweet girls, get through their daddy and boyfriend issues, not helping a*****e boys to stop being so rude.

"Hitting on women isn't a very good pastime," she smiled, her cheeriness returning. It seemed like she was joking. "Especially with cards like these, he won't get anywhere with these."

Winnie cocked her head to one side as the man spoke. He must not have understood.

She decided not to dwell on the subject of school, knowing the man might be embarrassed to know his kid had already made a bad impression on a school official, he could find that out during orientation. Even if she had changed from her old promiscuous ways, she wasn't the type to really put a man on the spot, unless they offended her. A woman had to have a certain level of respect for men, it was just the way things worked.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cantata." she smiled, shaking his hand with a smile. Though her handshake was firm, it still felt loose. Small delicate hands like hers couldn't do much squeezing. "I've been here a while, how are you enjoying town? Is this your first time in the garden?" She rattled away, forgetting to give her name. She had once heard that asking a lot of questions led to people talking more about themselves, which meant she could talk less about herself. She hated questions, they always seemed to lead places she didn't want to talk about.

Winnie turned sharply on her heels as a racket was made in the maze. It must have been an animal or somthing...no...what? A whole chunk of the maze fell through, and a mans stepped through.

The dog immediatly barked, coming in front of the girl and growling as the man approached. Of course, Missy's growl wasn't very threatening, but she growled nonetheless.

The red head stood there, mouth ajar, as the man approached. She wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation. She glanced at the father and son, and back at the man before her. She wondered why he even had such a large knife.

She picked up her little dog from off the ground, to stop her from growling at the man, and for a sense of security for herself.

"You just cut through that wall!" she huffed, "The rose maze! You cut through it! Why?" a blush came to her face, she was just confused now. She wasn't even planning to introduce herself, she was just so caught off gaurd. "Someone could have been standing right there! You could have hurt someone!!!"

"Why do you even have such a large knife!?" she sounded almost panicked, because she was a little. This wasn't the type of thing you saw on a day to day basis. "You could kill someone with that thing!!!"

Her face had gone from blush pink to concerned red. It looked like she could pass out at any moment, a large man coming out of a bush with a knife wasn't the type of thing you saw in romantic comedies, that was a horror story.

The small dog continued to growl as the man spoke, Winnie bounced her in her arms like a baby in hopes that she would quiet down.

The girl understood though. She had to cut the man some slack. With the way he spoke it was easy to see he wasn't from around here. "You know, that if you just take rights at every turn, eventually you will get out. Just for future reference. I've gotten lost in there a few times myself." she said, with a slight smile.

She was pretty sure the man wasn't a killer, he probably wouldn't have apologized for frightening her. She had to accept that apology, after all it was genuine. She didn't want anything from him but information though, what was he doing in Sonata, in all of those clothes and a spade? Why was he traveling, who would come here in travels?

"It's fine. I was just a little caught off guard that's all." she smiled, not admitting to him that he had just scared her out of her wits. "If you don't mind me asking...where are you from?"

She ignored his comment on her fear. She liked to think of herself as a closed book, and that her emotions weren't right on her sleeve. Though they always were. Even her little dog acted how Winnie really wanted to act.

The man continued to confused Winnie. What was he doing her all the way from China? That didn't make much sense.

"China?" she questioned, "A temple, like a religious temple?"

Winnie pursed her lips as the man spoke, letting his words sink in. A monk? That was not what she expected at all. She was thinking more on the lines of homeless wanderer... but then again, monk wasn't far off from that. Just more religious and well looked upon.

The girl had gotten into religion since her lifestyle change, so looking at the man before her, she was a bit astonished. The life of a monk was harsh, but all in the name of a deity. That had to be honored. As much as the man had scared her, and as much as she looked down on him for destroying the bush, she had to respect him for his way of life. Even if he had been raised there, he always had the option of exiting the hermitage, not even for travel, but to escape the way of life. It seemed however, he was committed to that way.

"No, they're not." she shook her head, "There's really not much space here to escape from society, which...as you know, is integral in setting up the hermitage." she smiled.

"You're actually the first monk I've met!" she joked, slightly laughing. The statement was a lot funnier in her mind than it came out to be.