NewAgeRetroHippie !65yjlPfcxY 2009/03/08 (Sun) 19:48 No. 12855 The woman before me stays mostly silent, content to admire the flowers as I am. It's hard to believe that she's solely responsible for their upkeep, and harder to believe that she made them, but at the same time, it's hard to believe that she'd lie about it. The pride she takes in these flowers is entirely justified; I've seen beautiful flower fields but this, this feels good. It's like I've been lost and wandering my whole life, and I've just come home. It's amazing.
When the silence is broken, she's the one to do it.
"So, David. Tell me about yourself."
"Myself, huh..."I don't think I could if I tried. I woke up one day in Gensokyo with no memories to speak of. That magician Marisa found me, and since then I've just been trying to find my place in here with mixed success. What about you? Surely you've got a few stories." An almost imperceivable smile crosses her lips as a sigh escapes them. She looks down at her reflection in the tea, looking like she's deep in thought.
"Oh, not as many as you'd expect. It's a quiet life with these flowers, and people don't really visit much, but it's pleasant enough. Of course, now and then there are people who think of me as some kind of challenge and trample them just to get me to fight them, which never ends well, and then people assume I've gone crazy and will sooner murder people than speak with them. It's a vicious cycle, and things have never been the same since it started."
"That sounds like a story to me. So what was it like before, then?"
"That would be going back a long, long way. Hundreds of years, even. I was just another youkai, mind you, and most people were content to do as we are, relaxing and chatting like they would with any of the more sociable ones. People would come and go as they pleased, as long as they were polite it didn't particularly bother me or the flowers. There were a few people that actually came to visit regularly, and we would talk about life or art, or occasionally even wax philosophical. I do miss those days..."
"I can see why. Fighting against people who should be fighting alongside you isn't exactly a kind fate, especially after living like that."
"Well, fighting isn't all bad, now and then, but yes. There was one man in particular...I still miss him. He would visit almost every day, and still had all manner of stories to tell, day in and day out. I have no idea how that man got around, but his visits became the highlight of my life. We could talk endlessly about any little thing, and just being there with him was enough to lift my mood."
Her smile gets wider and wider, until it's a full grin, beaming as brightly as the sun. Oh, God, I know where this is going. Call me a softy but these romantic bits always get me.
"So one day, we're talking as we often do, and admiring the view. I distinctly remember, it was raining that day, just lightly enough to feel on bare skin, so that you couldn't even tell unless you were outside. We're not looking at each other, but he calls my name softly, and when I look over at him, his lips are already on mine."
That's it. By the time I hear that, I've already let out an extended "Awwwwww" and I'm grinning like an idiot. She's said a lot already, but I can't bring myself to interrupt her.
---
My heart is beating too fast for this. I must be blushing like an idiot, talking about him, but...something about this child, I just can't bring myself to stop. Maybe it's just been that long since I actually had someone to listen, or maybe it's just been that long since I've even thought about it. Either way.
"So he leans over and grabs me in his arms, and holds me closer than anyone's ever held me before, even now. I can feel his heart beating as fast as mine is and everything is just going so fast that it makes me dizzy, and he says to me, 'Yuuka, in all the days we've spent looking after these flowers, you're still the most beautiful among them. I love you.'"
For a moment, David just stares at me, smiling wide. He doesn't laugh, he doesn't sigh. If he's bored, he's doing a fine job of hiding it.
"So? What happened next?"
"I've told you a lot about myself today, but what happened next is private, kid." His smile breaks into a stupid grin that just makes me want to ruffle his hair.
"You can guess, of course. He kept visiting, and we kept on as we were, and some time later there was a baby boy in the house. It was the happiest time of my life, raising my own child alongside the man I loved. I couldn't have done it alone, especially considering the baby's penchant for magic - through the use of flowers, no less. What kind of luck is that? Still, it didn't last long. One day, I just woke up and they were both...gone."
By now, the skies have darkened somewhat, and clouds have fallen over us. Flowers bloom, and flowers close, just as they always have and always will. They've been doing it even since before I got here. David's face has stiffened, gone all serious, which makes sense I suppose. I've moved on, but I can see why he'd be sad at this story. "So what happened to them?"
"I would imagine at this point that they're both dead. The man was...well, he was a man. It's been hundreds of years. The child wouldn't have survived, not in this kind of a world and not by himself. Though, come to think of it, if he had..."
