Just a little drabble I've been thinking about lately. It's probably not my best, but whatever. I own nothing.

The One

"When did you know Dad was the one?"

Anzu's mother looked up from the shirt she was folding. Clearing her throat, she looked back to her daughter's shirt to smooth out the wrinkles. "What brought that on, Anzu?"

The girl pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "I just…I'm curious, is all."

Her mother gently set the folded shirt in Anzu's suitcase. "I think it was his small gestures," she answered at last. "The little things here or there he would do. He never made a big show of his love for me."

Frowning, Anzu shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. If he wasn't obvious about it, how did you know?"

Setting aside the next shirt, Anzu's mother stood from the floor and crossed the room. She sat on the bed next to Anzu and placed an arm around her to pull the girl into a hug. "You're right. I suppose it doesn't make sense. But love never does." Glancing away, her eyes seemed to glaze over. "There was…another man in my life. He was rich, handsome, and just what my parents wanted for me. Everyday I would come home to hundreds of flower arrangements. They were pretty, but such a mess to take care of. They had come from the main land, so it wasn't long until they all withered and died. I began to smell like rotten flowers," pausing, she glanced down to share a smile with her daughter.

"But one day, I came home to a simple bouquet of roses. There were six all together. Five real red roses and one plastic rose. There was a note folded on the ground that read: I will love you until the last rose withers."

Her mother was silent for a moment or two causing Anzu to nudge her shoulder. "Well? What happened next?"

Her mother smiled, "I married him and had a beautiful daughter named Anzu. I still have the rose too."

Anzu blinked in surprise. "That old rose in the vase in your bedroom?"

Nodding, she said, "Yep." She stood from the bed and patted her daughter's cheek. "Now, I have a feeling this has to do with your trip…"

Anzu nodded. "Yeah…"

"Tell him."

The girl shook her head. "But, Mom, I can't. You see-"

Her mother placed a finger over her lips. "Hush now," When Anzu motioned for her to go on, she said, "I've seen the way he looks at you, dear. It won't hurt your friendship at all."

"It's complicated…"

"What's complicated about it?"

Anzu didn't know how to tell her mother the truth. If she herself hadn't seen and done what she had, she wouldn't have believed it either. "What if…you only had a week with Dad? What would you have done?"

"I would have made the most of it," she answered without hesitation.