A TALE OF TWO HEARTS
Old, old, old one shot story, and I'm gonna finally publish it!
Rated T because of language and violence (at a certain part).
That being said and outta the way, grab a cookie and some milk and enjoy!
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA
2000
I was sitting on the grass, getting my leaves dirty when an attractive girl-plant caught my eye. She was humming a song while sitting on a bench in her yard, reading a book. She was a Snow Pea, and she seemed to glisten in the sunlight as she quietly read. I smiled at her, and then I went back to making mudpies. It wasn't that I had no friends — my friends were just on a trip that I was mysteriously uninvited to. Sighing at that slightly dismal thought, I continued digging my leaves in the mud. Just then, a pea was shot at my bulb. Whoever was shooting it shot well, for I began to have a headache. "Ow! Who the hell —" Before I could protest, I was being pulled up to my roots by my assailant. I gasped as I saw who he was. He was Mori Cray, and not surprisingly, he had his two lackeys behind him: a Tall-nut named Mark and a Chomper named Kendrick. "Yo . . . gimme some money, would ya?" Mori drawled, his ripped Peashooter leaf swaying back and forth in the light May breeze. "S-sorry . . . but I don't have any money . . ." I stammered as I looked down at the ground. "Hey Francis — you're just a fucking pennypincher, aren't ya? Well, ain't it the truth, I mean, 'peaters are all made the same, especially you, slutty shrimp." Kendrick snarled. I shot a few peas at all three of them. "Now let's see who's strong, shall we?" I sniffed. The three Grunge Gang members got up, and snarled as soon as they saw me. "Hey Kenny Kendrick — gimme the knife, shall you?" Mori ordered. "Sho thang, Mori." Kendrick mumbled as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a gleaming knife. The Snow Pea on the neighbouring lawn jolted into an upright position. I thought, Nah, she's probably gonna watch my throat get slit. Besides, why would she want to help me?
But the Snow Pea didn't go back into her relaxed position; instead, her blue orbs widened to the size of nickels, and I saw her crystals turn from dark blue to purple.
Next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by the throat, leaving me to choke as the knife was placed to my stem. I was sure that I was going to die, although I was only nine years old. Just then, a yell pierced the air. "Let go of him, or I'll see to it personally that a member of the Ottawa Police Department carts you off to prison!" I then heard peas colliding with something. Desperate to see who had saved my ass, I finally managed to squirm free of Mori's death grip. And surprisingly enough, I saw the girl next door, her crystals a bright blue, and a determined look flashing through her azure eyes. When the rest of the gang had turned around and saw the Snow Pea who saved me, they started wolf whistling. "Damn, that's one cool girl we got here!" Mark hooted. "Ai, I ought to be asleep to dream of this beauty . . ." Kendrick whooped. "Hey — outta the way, Mark Twain. And same to you, Dass." Mori growled as he pushed his lackeys out of the way in order to get a better look at the Snow Pea. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Anna Masarie, the eight year old goddamned bitch." Then, he grabbed the knife and struck Anna hard with it, causing her to cry out in pain. I almost fainted when I saw a stab wound on her cheek begin to bleed. Nevertheless, she stood strong as she took a deep breath and started shooting like crazy. Then, out of nowhere, Anna grabbed the knife and tossed it at Mark's head, which killed him in an instant as the blade pierced his head. "Jesus . . ." Kendrick mumbled as he watched Mark fall to the ground, dead. Giving Anna a wimpy smile, he yelled, "Laters, pretty chick!" Then, he pulled Mori along with him. Anna, meanwhile, had fallen to the ground, panting hard. I looked in Mark's small pack, which, much to my surprise, had many medical supplies stashed inside. "Anna . . . are you alright?" I asked as I knelt down beside her and started cleaning her laceration. "Yeah . . . I'm fine, Francis. And hey — thanks for helping me out." Anna whispered as she blushed a dark blue. "I ought to be saying that to you, Anna. You saved me." I replied.
The next day, Anna and I walked to school, laughing and talking. Things went smoothly, until I saw my friends. When they saw Anna, they started laughing, and throwing food at her. "Stop it guys! Why do you have to do that?!" I screamed. My friends only laughed. "So . . . you're gonna stick up for the fucking girl?" Fred laughed. "This is exactly why I never invited you to our trip! You're a wimp, Francis!" I narrowed my eyes and started shooting like crazy at my friends. That made them scared enough to run away. Anna looked relieved, and gave me a hug. "Wait . . . before we go to school . . . can you promise me something?" she asked. "What?" I answered. "Since we've already saved each other . . . I want you to promise me that you'll be the best friend in the world." Anna replied. Something in my heart locked ― why was I making a promise to a girl I hardly knew? But another part of me just told me to kneel down and hug her. "Of course I'll be with you, through thick and through thin."
2007
Anna was 15, and I was 16. We were going on an evening walk around the streets of Ottawa, and strangely enough, Anna had a knife in her leaf. Probably to defend herself, I thought. Just then, a pea was shot at me. I turned around, and I saw Mori and Kendrick, guns in their hands. "Let the girl come with us, or you'll die." Mori growled. "Go away! Now!" Anna commanded. "Think we care, bitch?" Kendrick snickered as he grabbed the knife Anna had in her leaf. They then tied her up, my peas doing nothing, and all I could do was follow them in the shadows. They finally came to an abandoned house, with a candelelight flickering inside a window. I crept up to a window to watch what they were going to do with Anna.
They chained her to a wall, laughing maniacally. Anger began to bubble in my soul as they called her names and touched her in horrible ways. Finally, I decided to cause a diversion. I grabbed a rock and hurled it through the window, which caused them to stop abusing Anna and start investigating the window. I hid in a nearby bush, taking shallow breaths as they surveyed the damage. Finally, they went right back to torturing Anna. I then took this moment to use a nearby telephone and call the police. Anna, meanwhile, was screaming like crazy. "Don't scream, bitch!" Mori growled as he took the knife and stabbed her bulb. The next events were a blur of sirens, yelling and cursing. All I remember was seeing Anna on that hospital stretcher, tubes snaking out of her body.
The next day, I decided to visit Anna. As I was led into the hospital room, all I could see was Anna in the hospital bed, sleeping soundly. "Hey ― it's me, Francis." And surely enough, she woke up, and as soon as she had seen me, her eyes brightened. "Thank you, Francis." she whispered. "I . . . don't know about that. All I did was call the police ―" I was cut off by Anna, who sat up in the bed and gave me a look. "If you didn't call the police, I wouldn't be here, Francis." I nodded, and smiled as Anna leaned in to kiss my cheek. "Thank you . . . for everything."
2009
War had come to Ottawa. Girl-plants and boy-plants alike were being drafted into combat in order to defeat Zomboss' nazis. Finally, Anna had received a letter in the mail that urgently requested that she join the plants' military forces. My eyes began to well up with tears as Anna finished packing her bags. "Must you . . . really go?" I asked. "I'll always come back for you, Francis." Anna whispered. And with that, she was out the door.
I waited for days and days for Anna to return. I'd obsessively check my mailbox to see if Anna had written a letter. And almost every day, a letter arrived. Each letter would have something or other describing the weather, the conditions, the food, the drinking ― even the laundry. Although it was nice hearing from that special girl, it made me sad that she was writing her letters this way so that she could shut out all thoughts about war. But all that happiness went to wrack and ruin one day. The letters simply stopped coming, which led me to a sober conclusion: Anna was dead. This fear was confirmed when I read in the paper the next day that Anna, as well as a series of other plants, were killed by a mustard gas explosion. Tears spilled out of my eyes as I realized that Anna was, in fact, dead. But then came the unexpected: a knock at the door. I was feeling a strong urge to just ignore the knock and let it pass; all that ever came around these days was trouble. But the knock sounded again, this time louder. Taking a deep breath, I strode towards the door and opened it, only to be greeted by a Snow Pea around my age. She had cuts everywhere, a black eye, and her breathing was shaky and shallow. I bit my lip and frowned ― who was this girl?
That question answered itself when the visitor extended a badly bruised leaf and pulled me close. "Francis . . . I told you I'd come back, right?" she whispered. I felt as if a weight was pulled off my shoulders when I realized that the said stranger was Anna. "What . . . you're . . . alive?!" I sputtered. "But the papers said that you were ―" "Dead. Well, they probably mixed me up with someone else!" Anna laughed. "I'm glad that's the case, Anna." I murmured, and before either of us knew what was happening, we were kissing.
2013
Like all good things, Anna's life came to an end one tragic day on April 15, thanks to the mustard gas that she was exposed to. Knowing her for so many years, she always had some bit of action following her, be it dangerous or weird. But Anna's death was as quiet as a funeral.
Anna was unusually quiet. She only stared out the window and talked to me. She played no tricks, and she did nothing but talk to me. Finally, Anna had collapsed, and had to be brought to bed. "Francis, I just wanted to say something . . ." she whispered in a voice creakier than a hinge, her eyes sparkling with tears and passion. "Anything . . ." I replied, tears welling up in my eyes. "I love you, Francis. And . . . thank you . . . for everything . . ." Anna murmured, squeezing my leaf one last time. She then closed those blue orbs for good.
"Goodbye, Anna." I whispered as I found a rose and placed it beside her.
YES that is the whole story for ya, a GamerGirl original! Welp, nothin else to say sooo . . . catch y'all later!
GamerGirl is signing off!