It's been three months ever since the accident. Kiku stared at the tall, looming building that hung a shadow above him. Guilt ran through his chest as he squeezed the bouquet of flowers in his hands. How many bouquets have he already brought to this dreadful place? He entered the hospital and headed straight towards the room where he has been going to since that day.

The scent of strong medicine and sanitation filled his lungs as he made it into the room. In the bed lay a girl with long, sable hair plastered onto her pale face. Kiku strolled over to her and moved aside the hair from her face. He stared at her for a second, hoping that her chocolate eyes would open again.

Kiku laid the bouquet of sampaguitas at the nightstand where there was another bouquet laid along with a small box of mangos. He assumed that Antonio was here earlier, considering he was the only one who brought her mangos ever since she was a child. Sitting onto the single chair in the room, he sat there and stared at the ceiling.

"Today, Francis and Arthur-kun fought again," he updated her, knowing that she couldn't hear her. "But surprisingly, Antonio came into the room and stopped them. And everything got quiet." The Japanese man paused, knowing how foolish he looked talking to himself. "They miss just miss you. You were usually the one who stopped them and made everyone laugh in the process." He chuckled to himself as he recalled the memory of her yanking Francis' ponytail and Arthur's eyebrows. But the laughter faded away and everything became solemn again.

"I miss you, Maria-san." Kiku whispered, his eyes watering. "I'm sorry for everything I've done. Just please… Wake up."

"Kiku!" Maria skipped towards him with her usual smile on her face. It was Saturday and downtown was crowded with people. "Where're all the others?"

Confused, Kiku looked around, trying to spot Yao or Jia Long or any of the others who claimed that were going to meet up with them. But the crowd was so big, he felt that he could easily be swept away. Maria's phone suddenly started to ring as she reached into her pocket to answer it.

"Yao? Where are you guys?" the Filipina asked.

"We can't make today actually," Yao replied, almost trying to sound apologetically. "But you and Kiku should go ahead and spend the day aru!"

"B-but what happened to you-" Her sentence was cut short as Yao hurriedly ended the call. Kiku looked at her and she shook her head. "They said they can't come. But we should go around the place anyways! It's not Saturday everyday!"

Maria pulled on his sleeve as she lead him into a cafe filled with fruity sweets and cakes. The day went on as they explored the town, finding new shops and restaurants along the way. As the sun lowered into the horizon, they found themselves on the bridge over the river. They watched quietly as the lights in the river changed from green to blue and from blue to purple.

"Hey, Kiku." Maria stared off into the distance. "What would you do if you dreamed yourself in a place full of peace and you had the choice to stay there for the rest of your life, would you stay?"

Kiku blinked, not expecting such a question. He sighed and watched the colors transition into a new one before answering. "I wouldn't stay."

"Why?"

"Because it would be lonely," he answered simply. Maria then straightened up and looked at him.

"But what if you everything you hoped for was there? Friends, family, everything. Would you stay?"

"Where are you getting these questions from, Maria-san?" Kiku asked curiously. It wasn't like her to suddenly ask things like this.

Maria's eyes widened and she shook her head with a small smile on her lips. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering, just forget about it."

"Hey, gimme that wallet of yours. It looks pretty thick," a voice loomed over from behind the two. Maria and Kiku looked back slowly to find a thug there, smiling crookedly. He then plunged towards Kiku by the throat and lifting him a couple inches into the air. Maria quickly acted and roundhouse kicked the thug at his head causing him to drop Kiku and retreat back a bit.

"You little b*!ch!" The man screamed as he took out a gun from his back pocket and shot at Maria's chest. The bullet dug into her shoulder as the kick of the gun pushed her over the bridge. Maria fell into the cold water as the man ran away, realizing that the gunshot would attract attention.

"MARIA!" Kiku panicked as he quickly took off his jacket and dove into the water after her. Luckily, the height of the bridge wasn't that far and the water was slightly deep. He finally found her and secured his arm around her waist and swimmed to the shore. The police and ambulance came five minutes after Kiku saved her. But she was barely alive.

That night, in the hospital, many of her friends sat in the waiting room, a somber atmosphere formed around them. Kiku was sitting in front of the operating door, a towel wrapped around his shoulders. He had forgotten how it was to lose a friend. And he didn't want it to happen, not like this.

Kiku walked down the streets of the city and found himself in the same spot where the accident happened. Staring down into the river, his heart felt heavy. He regretted every moment that he had a chance to save her. To protect her from what happened. He would've traded places with her if he could.

"Hey, you." A raspy voice came from behind. Kiku turned back and met the eyes of an old lady. "I see something big has happened in your life, yes?"

"How did-"

"Shh… I know many things, boy." The old lady shook her head and reached into her satchel to bring out an old book and shoved it into Kiku's chest. "Dreams are an important thing to humans. What if you could reach people in their deepest illusions?"

Kiku looked at the book and back to the old lady, only to find that she was gone. Dumbfounded, he glanced around and found no one in the area.

The next day came as Kiku walked into the hospital again. He thought about what the lady had said to him. As he entered Maria's room, he sat onto the chair and took out the book she had given him yesterday and flipped through the pages until something caught his eye.

"How to enter someone's dreams," he read aloud. Kiku was skeptical at the title and then looked over at Maria. Her tan skin seemed to get paler and paler as the days gloomed by. Kiku then read through the instructions as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier as he came to the end.

Kiku's eyes slowly fluttered open. He rubbed at his eyes and realized he had fell asleep while reading the book as he tried to stand up from the chair… only to realize that he wasn't on a chair. Kiku stared at his where he was. A bed of soft, green grass laid underneath him, it's length a bit tall. Tiny little white flowers poked from the grass only to realize that it was sampaguita flowers that rose above the grass.

Sampaguitas, Kiku said the name of the flowers in his head. His head seemed to be filled with blanks and holes and it frustrated him that he couldn't remember the meaning behind these flowers. Sampaguitas, sampaguitas, sampaguitas, Kiku repeated in his head.

"Sumpa kita," a familiar, feminine voice came into the distance all of a sudden. "These flowers mean 'I promise you'."

Kiku snapped his gaze towards the direction of the voice. A girl laid on the grass, her brown hair spilled all over. Her eyes were closed and she had a small smile on her lips. Kiku froze and stared. She looked so peaceful. She looked so… familiar.

"Oh, come on, Kiku." The girl opened one eye and made a pout. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me already."

"Ah, I didn't mean to _." Kiku paused. What happened just now? He knew the girl's name, didn't he? He recalled memories of the same girl in front of her in his memories but why couldn't he call out her name? "_?"

"Remember the question I asked you on the bridge?" The girl giggled a bit before continuing. "I've found my peace, Kiku."

The Japanese man stood frozen at where he stood. He didn't know what that meant. Yes, he knew all of the things Maria had been through before. Heartbreaking betrayal, unrequited love that can never be returned, death. She had every right to finally let go of all the things that weighed her heart. But he didn't know what to say.

(I decided to let the reader choose one of the three options to read the ending of what they chose. You can always look at the other endings if you'd like)

- "Would it be okay to let it just be like this?"

- "There will always be more if you would just wait for the moment."

- "I suppose it would be fine."

{Hello everyone! Thanks for reading this... thing ^^'. It's my first time writing so please don't kill me TT^TT. Down below are unusual words to help you understand the story :D}

*Sumpa kita- I promise you

*Jia Long- Hong Kong

*Sampaguitas- Philippines National Flower