The sun was barely rising over the horizon; the sky was a beautiful orange-pink hue. A cool wind was blowing the leaves off the trees. They were falling off by the hundreds. One even landed in his hair. It reminded Gakupo of rain.
…No. Rain was too strong; the leaves were more graceful than water hurtling toward the cold ground.
…Snow. It reminded him of snow. How fitting.
The snowflake-like leaves landed among the bright green grass. Gakupo thought he saw a squirrel pop out from a pile of leaves and climb up one of the tall trees.
The scenery would've been lovely had he not been in a cemetery.
Gakupo sat next to his girlfriend's grave. The leaves seemed to avoid that particular spot, as if someone was there brushing them off.
"It's nice, isn't it?" Gakupo asked. He was met with the wind and the rustling of the leaves.
Gakupo continued anyway. "It reminds me of snow—you love the snow, don't you Lily?"
"Gakupo!" Lily yelled at him, her voice hinting at anger. Her eyes, however, showed playfulness. Bits of snow stuck to her blonde hair from the snowball her boyfriend had thrown at her. "It's too cold!"
Gakupo only laughed for a few seconds before two snowballs hit him square in the face. Now it was Lily's turn to laugh.
This triggered a snowball fight, only stopping when Lily complained that her fingers were going to freeze off.
The two walked home, hand in hand. Gakupo smiled when she started to walk closer to him to gather more warmth. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She blushed and looked up at the slowly falling snowflakes.
"I love the snow…" Lily murmured to herself. Gakupo heard her anyway. "It's too cold though. I'd rather it snow while it's warm out."
Gakupo didn't bother to mention how that really wouldn't make sense. He just kissed her on the cheek. "When we get married, we'll live up in the mountains and it'll always snow."
Lily playfully pushed him. "Idiot. If we get married. And not all mountains have snow, stupid." Still, it was obvious Lily appreciated the comment.
"It's kind of chilly out. I'm sorry about that. You know, it doesn't snow as often anymore. I'm sorry."
The wind blew a leaf directly into Gakupo's face, as if telling him he shouldn't apologize for that.
He chuckled quietly. He placed a bouquet of red hibiscuses in front of her grave.
"It's funny. Your name is Lily, yet your favorite flower is the hibiscus." Gakupo laughed as another leaf hit his face.
"They're so beautiful…" Lily said to herself, looking through the window of the flower shop. Gakupo, who was with her, peered over her shoulder to see what she was looking at.
In the window was a purple vase filled with yellow hibiscuses. There were many other vases and decorations, but it was plain that Lily was looking directly at the hibiscuses.
"…Are those your favorite flowers?" Gakupo asked. Lily nodded slightly. "Huh. I would've thought it would be the lily." He laughed.
Lily turned red and shoved Gakupo away. "S-Shut up!"
Lily returned home that day to find a purple vase with yellow hibiscuses on her doorstep.
Gakupo sighed as the sky started to turn a shade of blue. He smiled, turning toward the grave.
"I only smile because of you, Lily. I still remember that day you told me to keep smiling."
Gakupo sighed as his head hit the desk. The library was empty, save for himself and the librarian. He had no idea where the librarian was, which made his day all the more stressful.
He felt a harsh thump on his back and sat up straight to see Lily. Where did she come from?
"Idiot, stop stressing yourself out so much." Lily huffed and sat across from him.
Gakupo frowned in confusion, only to get hit again by Lily.
"Stop frowning. Your smile looks way better." Lily rolled her eyes. When Gakupo started to grin, she realized how the sentence became a compliment. Her face turned red and she sputtered out some nonsense before Gakupo stole a kiss from her across the table.
"Thanks, Lily."
Gakupo stared up at the brilliant blue sky. "I think I should go, Lily. I hope you enjoy the 'snow.'" Gakupo grinned as the wind blew another wave of leaves down.
"I'll see you later, Lily." Gakupo flashed a smile before brushing himself off and leaving the hill he was on.
Right before he left the gates, a harsh wind weaved through the trees and flipped his hair rapidly. He turned around and a bright yellow leaf hit his face.
In that moment, he could've sworn he heard a familiar laugh.
Lily's.