HAPPY NEW YEARS FRIENDS! Could it be- a NEW chapter? Yeah, even I'm surprised. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this story; in fact it's usually at the back of my mind as I go about my college days buried in textbooks. Alas, time is an elusive fairy, so I don't promise regular updates. Either way, I humbly thank you for your reviews! I always check back on them to get myself motivated to write! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: One Piece is Oda's.
Chapter 9: Impulse
Bepo stumbled down the stairs and burst out of the control room into the gardens. The wave of fresh floral scent and the unexpected plant life stunned him for a moment, before he saw his captain, his two human subordinates, and a weird old lady exit the foliage.
"Captain, marines are at the harbor!" He shouted, "What should we do?"
Law immediately tensed. The others beside him stiffened, though Letha froze because of the talking stuffed polar bear in her gardens.
"We fight." He said calmly, as he made to enter the control room and dash up the stairs towards the harbor. But before he and his crewmates could go, Letha worked up the nerve to stop them.
"W-Wait! What about my payment? I've given you your herbs!" She gestured to the plants in Penguin's arms. "I won't have you leave without payment!" Don't get her wrong, she wanted them to leave, but she needed them to pay first.
"After we take care of the marines." Law stated. Then they were gone. The sound of their footsteps faded away, leaving Letha to hear only the sound of her exasperated breath.
Letha let out a frustrated groan. Typical pirates. What were the chances that they would just leave without paying? She didn't even bother to do the math. Letha supposed she should be happy they left her with her life. Oh, she hoped the marines got them good. She was fed up with these Heart Pirates, forget the beli! She hoped she never had to see them ever again!
Letha pulled off her mad scientist gear and trudged angrily up the stairs after them. All the while she muttered under her breath about how much she hated pirates.
When she finally made it up the stairs, after pausing three times to catch her breath because she wasn't young anymore, she heard her shop's den den mushi ring.
"Bula bula bula bula!"
Hesitantly, she answered it.
"Bula bula bu- Gachak!"
"H-Hello?" Oh she hoped with all her might it wasn't her mother calling. But of course-
"Letha, my dear! How are you doing at the shop? Is everything alright? I tried calling earlier, but you didn't pick up."
Letha slumped. "Mother. E-Everything is fine," she lied through her teeth. She could hear the bustle of a lively town on the other side.
"Are you all right? You sound a little under the weather."
She coughed. "Oh, I just have a sore throat. I'm fine. Really."
"Make sure to drink some warm water mixed with-"
"Honey and lemon. Yes, yes I know. How is your vacation going at Waters 7 with Dad?"
"Good. Well, our vacation is going wonderfully. This place looks like a giant fountain. Your father is in love with the architecture; he said something about wanting to build the new gardens like it. We'll be headed to St. Poplar next. Did you know the wood from poplar trees are primarily used for making paper?"
"No, I didn't know that." Letha sighed. Magnolia Smith was always imparting her wisdom upon her daughter.
"Oh, that reminds me, today is the day you have a date with that sweet boy Peter Willis correct?"
Letha was suddenly reminded of the daunting task she was assigned with. She instantly facepalmed. "Right, yes. The... date." She shuddered, imagining Peter Willis and her shriveled up self sharing a milkshake at a cafe. A blush on the lovely couple's cheeks as they stared into each others' eyes, leaning in close until… NO! There was no way that was going to happen. Something needed to be done.
"Letha? Letha!"
She realized her mother had asked her something. "Oh yes, um. What was the question?"
"I asked you if you wanted your aunt to help you dress up for the date?"
"No! Oh Roger, no. Just, no." Her aunt had the worst sense of fashion. Not that she was any better, but at least she knew denim on denim was a no go. Besides, this date must not happen. Somehow, she needed to fix this curse first. She needed to- to-
Letha's eyes wandered to the window and stared past the trees and towards the deep blue sea. She could hear seagulls calling her, luring her away…
She needed to find Jewelry Bonney.
"I need to go Mother, I- I have to prepare for the date."
"Oh! Okay, just relax dear, remember this is very important for us, for the wedding. We need that lan-"
"'Yesyesokayloveyouseeyoulaterbye." Letha said impatiently, eager to end her phone call with her mother.
Gachak!
She hung up, staring hard at the den den mushi, her weathered hands slid away from the snail and clasped together in front of her chest. She moved towards the window to ponder momentarily at the blue, blue horizon.
Her mother wouldn't approve of this, she knew. Her father would be hesitant. Letha's gray-blue eyes trailed away and towards the picture frame on the wall next to the grandfather clock. The tick tick ticking of the timepiece seemed to reflect the clockwork of her mind.
She smiled a wrinkled one. Her younger brother and sister would approve. She could remember the exact day they each left to seek their fortunes. They were both sixteen years old. It's been four long years.
"Letha, don't let mom tell you what your dream is." George had said, before he cast off shore and she never saw or heard from him again.
Her sister left a week later, in the mists of her mother's hysterics and her father's search for George.
"Sis, I can't stay here anymore. Sorry to leave you with the aftermath, but I'm following after George." Peony never looked back. Sometimes, she'd hear from her, but it's been a long, long while since the last letter.
Letha had watched them both sail away from the harbor in a small dingy, each with a grin on their face unlike any she had ever seen before. There was no regret to be found anywhere on their faces. She was the only one left on that red poppy hill.
They were younger than her and yet they knew exactly what they wanted. Letha was proud of her siblings. Ever since they left she had been watching the sea from the cliff side. She didn't know whether she was waiting for their return or biding her own time. Yet she knew something was changing for her as the years passed by. She had noticed it soon after George left. A sort of impatience budding deep within her. Some kind of discontent.
George had told her to not let their mother tell her what her dream was, and maybe he did it on purpose, but from then on she didn't fully listen to her mother's prattle about being a florist. Regardless, she was so used to being ruled by her mother's thumb and being the golden child that it took Jewelry Bonney's curse to force her into action-to take charge for once and make her own decisions!
Maybe, just maybe she could make her siblings become proud of her.
Letha pulled the picture from the frame and stuck it in her apron pocket. Then she went to gather her things hastily. She took only what she could carry in a brown leather purse. Some food, beli, and out of habit, her gardening gloves and a knife she used for gardening. She put on a bell-shaped bucket hat, black leather boots, hitched up her grey dress, and put on a determined grimace. There wasn't a moment to lose! This was her chance to see the world before she had to make a return trip for the wedding. It was her chance to be brave! This was her chance to seek her own fortune!
Letha left a note for her aunt, in case she came looking for her, and added instructions to take care of her gardens. Then she turned the 'Open' sign over and closed the shop with the jingle of the front door's bell. The owner of Smithy's Florist was going on a break!
The rising sun blinded her for a moment when she exited the shop. It had only been a few hours since she woke up, but already this day was turning out to be nothing like the others. She didn't really know what she was doing. In fact, later she would realize she hadn't been thinking at all. She only knew she had to go before her courage gave out.
She had to leave.
Right.
Now.
"Run, Letha." The ninety-something year old woman told herself. "Run!"
And so she ran.
Peter Willis tried his hardest not to wet his pants. He should be a happy man. He had just discovered his secret crush was his fiancee all along! Of course, the fates decided to toss a couple pirates onto their blossoming love story. Moreover, these were scary pirates. Pirates that could kill, and maim, and disembody, and- and-
He let out a short whimper. Only to be smacked by the large woman beside him.
Right. He had to be brave. For Letha dearest! He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. Then- then he went to hide behind the counter of Aunt Wisteria's restaurant. The sounds of screaming pirates and marines were getting too loud for his tastes. He'd wait until the pirates were gone.
On the other hand, Letha's aunt was a whole other case of nervous. She considered the many ways of escape before her sister returned from her vacation. Letha was the golden child. Magnolia Smith had already lost two of her beloved children, rambunctious though they were. If she came home to discover another child, her favorite child, was kidnapped! Oh, the horrors this town would see. Perhaps she should hide all the weedkiller before Magnolia came home.
She blamed her father, the blessed soul, strict on his daughters but all the more on Magnolia. And now, a generation repeats their predecessor's mistakes. She had seen the toil her sister's expectations had on her poor nephew and nieces. She only hoped Letha was okay.
Poplar= victory, transformation, vision