Tree Wood

"A-Anyways...I'll get some wood! From the tree! Tree wood!"

"Hey, Milly! We got mail from Lolo!"

Sagi burst into their small study and waved the papers at his young wife, grinning. He could barely contain himself as he sat down at the desk and scooted next to her, nearly tearing the fragile papers in his eagerness to spread them out. Drenched in tree sap and machina oil and all manner of exotic fruit juices as it was, the letter had finally come.

"Milly," he began excitedly, "this is it. Lolo says she's ready, that she has the materials. All we have to do is go see her and she'll make you a new body. Isn't that great? You'll be whole again!"

"Right, Lolo," Milly grimaced, leaning over and scanning the pages. "Look at this mess. And she doesn't sound very confident to me. 'If we're lucky, Queen Corellia might stoop to endorse the experiment... My last try was a doozy, but I sure hope it will be alright this time... If it's OK, I think I might possibly be able to do something to maybe help you perhaps...'? Come on, Sagi, you don't trust her, do you? I wouldn't let my body near her with a ten foot long pole!"

"Why would she have a ten foot long pole...?" Sagi began to ask, a bit confused.

"That's not what I mean! What I'm trying to say is she's not dependable."

"Well, she got that waterwheel done, didn't she? And she fixed the Sfida for us," he said. "Doesn't that count?"

"Yes, well, that's different. This is my body we're talking about here. What if she messed up? What if... Oh, nevermind."

"What if she what?" he probed, sensing that there was something else on Milly's mind.

"Well... what if she gave me tentacles or something? Or fins?"

Sagi choked. "F-fins? TENTACLES!?"

"H-hey! Listen, I wouldn't put it past that girl!"

"What makes you think she would do that, Milly!? Lolo... Lolo wouldn't..."

"But she could!" Milly cried, jumping from her chair, throwing her feet apart and clenching her fists. "She could... if...!"

"What!?"

"If... if she were jealous!"

"..."

Jealous.

The room went silent. Sagi stared, noting that his wife was breathing heavily and that her cheeks were flushed. Somehow she didn't seem so angry anymore, now that she had spoken. Just... embarrassed.

Burning under his gaze, she straightened up and turned her face away. After a moment, she awkwardly cleared her throat. It seemed to him that she was waiting for him to say something. Like she wanted reassurance. Feeling a bittersweet kind of tenderness well up in his chest, Sagi walked over to put his arms around her.

"Hey, it's OK..."

"Sniff..."

"Don't worry... You're fine."

"R-really?"

"Sure."

"I'm so sorry that I—"

"No, really, I know for a fact that she won't turn you into a fish-human."

"SAGI!!" She broke free from him and whirled around back into her battle stance of bent knees and balled up fists.

"Wh-what?" Sagi scratched his head. "I thought that might comfort you..."

"Are you kidding me!? Besides, that's not the..."

"Problem?"

"...Yeah."

"Then tell me, Milly. What is?"

"I-I'm... scared..."

He went forward to take one of her hands gently in his own. "Of what? Really now, you know that Lolo would never do anything to hurt you. It's OK..."

"But she might, oh, what if she did... What if, what if she... What if Lolo still... cared for you?"

"..."

"She—"

"I don't follow. Lolo wouldn't... And that doesn't have anything to do with..."

"What if Lolo — Lolo, mind you — was jealous of us? What if she didn't want you to be with anyone... but her?"

"That's..."

Milly pulled her hand away and took a breath and charged on. "If that were the case then it makes sense that she would try to get me out of the picture, doesn't it? She would do that, she's that kind of person. She would try to make me look bad so that she could be with you! Why not throw in a few flippers while she's at it?"

"Wait a minute! You realize we're married, right, Milly? I'm not that fickle, and Lolo—"

"There you are going on about Lolo again!" she cried. "She's all you ever talk about anymore!"

"Milly!" he shouted, slamming a hand on the desk, making the papers there flutter. "That's because she can help you! I'm doing this for you, remember? You're the only one I care about, and I'm just trying to make you happy! You're the most important thing I have, and if anyone can help you, I will gladly take their help — whether it's from Lolo, Palolo, or Lord Rodolfo. I thought building you a new body would bring us closer together. You know... as a couple. I-I really wanted to be with you. I still do..."

"..."

"Listen, Milly. I love you. I'll always be by your side. No matter what happens to you or me. To us. You've given me so much strength that it's all I can do just to try and make it up to you."

"..." She sniffed, leaning slightly against him. "Oh, Sagi..."

He embraced her. Her body was light and slender against him. He felt so much how special she was — how there was no one like her in the whole world. He couldn't help but smile, knowing that she had married him feeling the same way.

"Hey, Sagi?"

Her voice was just a muffled warmth against his shoulder. He stroked her hair and asked, "Yes?"

She turned to the side. "So... you don't mind if there's some... jealousy... in our relationship?"

"Of course not. It doesn't matter what other people think. All you have to do is follow your heart."

"Right..."

"Besides, you didn't finish reading the letter, did you?" He reached over to pick it up, the pages flopping limply in his grasp. "Lolo went on to say that in some freak accident involving a woodfellah and a length of wire, she literally fell into the arms of some guy. Apparently she's too busy with him to be jealous of us."

"Ooh... oh! So she's not..."

"Nope, not jealous at all. That's what I was trying to tell you all this time..." he grinned half-heartedly.

"I'm sorry... She... I..."

"It's OK." He smiled at her. "I understand."

"Sagi..." She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, looking relieved. She stood for a moment listening to his heartbeat, then she picked her head up. "Hey, Sagi?"

"Yeah?"

"So when we go to Anuenue, you'll get some wood for me, right?"

"Yep. I'd do anything for you!"

"...Heh..."

"..."

"Snort..."

"...Tree wood, Milly! From the tree! Tree wood!!"