Chapter
28
The Rose Garden
Haru did not know how she came to be standing in the Rose Garden… but at about the exact moment she figured out she was actually standing anywhere at all… she realized she was surrounded by roses. A delicate and fragrant aroma hung heavy around the entire garden and Haru could feel the warm wrapping around her body pleasantly. Haru could not tell if it was day or night… for there was no sun nor any stars in the pale yellow sky that blanketed the world above. Everything around her had a fuzzy, ethereal glow to it and there seemed to be little fireflies or shards of light floating about. Haru stepped around peacefully, looking at the forest green bushes that surrounded her and were heavy with the most impeccably lovely roses she had ever laid eyes upon. Light spots of dew shone on the unblemished petals of the flowers, each one more radiant in color and scent than the last. Haru walked aimlessly between pastel yellows and whites, running her fingers delicately over pinks and purples which caused the dew to go sprinkling off like gentle rain. It was so very calm and comfortable… Haru breathed a sigh of relief…
She could not remember how she'd gotten to this wonderful place… or where she'd come from…
She stepped down the cobblestone path and came to be looking upon a lovely mansion nestled happily amongst the blooming roses. There was a slight hum of insects floating in her ears and the air was clean and sweet. A fountain played gently in front of the house, it's refreshing spray bubbling and splashing through the haze.
I know this place… this is where Lumina lives… Haru thought comfortably as she ambled around the garden, breathing in the flower's scent on a whim. It looked like a scene out of a fairy tale… everything was so breathtakingly lovely and perfect… Haru suddenly blinked a few times and seemed to remember a little something…
I was wandering about in the darkness… and… someone was holding my hand… and calling my name… It was him… Griffin…
Haru could suddenly remember a lot more… she remembered the last time she was awake… how she'd fallen asleep in Griffin's arms… in that terrible place. On an impulse Haru looked down at her belly, realizing her body felt odd. She saw with a dull shock that her stomach was completely flat… there was no longer a baby inside of her…but somehow she couldn't feel sad or surprised… it was as if the sweet smelling roses had numbed this instinct to a mild form of melancholy…
While Haru patted her belly, feeling strange. She heard a chorus of laughter from behind her.
"Faster! You'll never catch me if you go that slow!" A playful and familiar voice called out. Haru turned her sleepy head with a vague smile and looked down the path she had just come. There was more laughter and rustling in the bushes told her someone was getting closer. After a few more moments a girl who was a little bit shorter and several years younger than Haru came around the path with a ghost of a laugh still on her face. Her skin was tea-colored and she had short, wild-looking black hair that hung around her shoulders. She gave Haru a warm, surprised smile.
"Molly! Look who's here!" The girl called back and another girl came racing around the bend, her cheeks pink from exercise. She had the same honey colored hair as Lumina and bore a striking resemblance to her daughter.
"So this is Haru!" Molly said with a grin and both women stepped over to Haru, who vaguely recognized them.
"Willow… It's you, isn't it?" Haru said slowly, looking at Willow with a bit of a squint.
"Yes, it's me silly!" Willow giggled as she stood before Haru. She looked over Haru while beaming for several moments then pulled her into a tight embrace. Haru laughed a little, feeling at ease while she hugged Willow back. Willow let her go and sighed, "Thank you so much, Haru… I was lost in the dark… I was being consumed by my fear and misery and I couldn't think straight or help myself… I didn't mean to hurt your friend at all... You know that right?" Willow looked a little melancholy as she spoke. When she said this, Haru began realizing more and more… she remembered entirely what had happened the night before in clear detail down to the last moment…
"So… the Goddess did set you free? I'm glad… you finally got to be with the person you love…" Haru smiled at the pair of them as Willow grabbed Molly's hand with affection.
"We couldn't have done it if it hadn't of been for you Haru… you made the most selfless sacrifice a person can make… That's why we had to come and thank you…" Molly said in a regal, but kindly manner, "We shall be eternally grateful to you…"
Haru looked around at the shimmering garden that was wrapped in it's unearthly haze. The roses were just so beautiful… too beautiful to be real…
"So… if I'm seeing you…" Haru began softly, feeling that same sort of subdued sadness that would not progress upon a certain point, "…and talking to you… then I must be… I must be dead…"
Willow smiled dewily at Haru and shook her head softly.
"No, Haru… you're not dead…" Willow grabbed Haru's hands with a certain firmness, "You've just been sleeping… very, very deeply… and sometimes when a person is asleep… they can see fantastic things in their dreams… and sometimes we can get through to share them with you…" Willow's voice was soft and gentle and Haru began to feel very sleepy and happy. The scent of the roses was becoming overpowering and all-encompassing. "We just wanted to thank you… for everything you've done… for all the sacrifices you've made…. And to let you know we'll be watching you… always…"
Haru shut her eyes and felt the warmth and comfort of the Rose Garden. Things seemed to be drifting away, but the scent of roses remained. A sweet strain of music began to float into her awareness… the delicate strumming of a guitar was somewhere very far away…
Suddenly Haru's body began to feel more substantial and heavy. A vague pain was starting to wrap around her and she felt a very uncomfortable grogginess. She flinched a little before taking and deep breath. Haru's eyes fluttered open and she was again staring at roses. The sweet scent was heavy in the air and all around her were vases filled to the brim with roses of every color. The sad and flowing music stopped suddenly and Haru yawned a little.
"Haru…?" Said a husky and hopeful voice. Haru blinked around and turned towards the voice. She saw she was in a hospital room with the curtains drawn all around her. In a chair near her bedside sat the one person she wanted to see most in the world.
He was sitting up in the chair hopefully with his guitar in his lap, fingers still poised above the frets…. He had been playing for her as she slept.
"Griffin?" Haru's voice was weak and her throat was very sore. She started to noticed that she had an IV attached to her arm and that she was on a steady drip. There were also small multicolored wires coming off of her body that ran along to various machines around the room. The whole room had vases of roses all around it, along with cards and letters that bore her own name the words 'Get Well Soon.'
Griffin stood up from his chair and laid his guitar in the corner in a hurry. He kneeled beside Haru's bed, shaking with anticipation and grinning at her.
"Oh Haru… you're awake… you're actually awake…" Griffin's voice was tremulous as he stroked her hair out of her eyes. Haru smiled and giggled.
"Of course I'm awake… wasn't it just last night that I fell asleep?"
Griffin shook his head sedately.
"You've been out for three weeks… I thought you were never going to wake up…" Griffin's voice was tremulous.
"What!? Really? It's been that long…?" Haru was surprised and tried to sit up, but a terrible pain stopped her.
"Don't try and move! You're still recovering from the surgery…" Griffin warned her as Haru lay back down on the pillow, wincing and wishing he'd said something about that a little sooner.
"Surgery…? What in the world happened? How did I get here even?"
"You won't believe it, but right after you passed out the police showed up… your mom went to them and they sent patrol cars all around the area to search for us… they saw the cars parked out in the woods and happened to stumble upon us… lucky they did… or you might not have been with us right now…" Griffin told her with a dark looked passing over his eyes, "They brought us here to Mineral Town and they took you into surgery right away… you've been asleep ever since…"
"What about Muffy and Skye and everybody else?" Haru was worried, but Griffin laughed.
"They're fine… everyone's fine… Skye got his restaurant all built and Muffy moved in with Akira… their wedding is going to be next month…" Griffin informed her with a little bit of an exhausted smile as if to say 'not another wedding'. Haru laughed and smiled genuinely back.
"A-and… and Celia…?"
"Fully recovered… the whole valley was in tears when they heard what happened… Everyone's been coming to see you… they brought you flowers…" Griffin told Haru gently. "Celia's baby was born, too… It's a girl. They've named her Sophie."
"Baby…!?" Haru's heart suddenly skipped a beat and she threw the covers back to look at herself. She had on a pair of pajamas that fitted loosely around her body…. But she could see that her belly had shrunk back to it's normal size…
She threw back the shirt and examined her abdomen. There was a angry red scar with black stitches holding it together… When Haru saw this she lost all feeling in her entire body…
"No… W-we lost it…?" She whispered, looking as if a part of her had just died. She could not even remember ever feeling so anguished or downhearted… for nine months she had carried it… only to lose it at the end?
"No, no, no!" Griffin told her hurriedly, standing up. "They performed a C-section just in time… he's just fine…"
Haru tried to sit up in surprised again and immediately regretted it.
"H-he!?"
Griffin smiled broadly and gestured for her to wait while he went behind the curtain for a moment. Haru's heart was beating rapidly in her chest… she was more than desperate to see her child. Griffin came back after a moment and walked very carefully back towards Haru who was smiling ear to ear with outstretched arms.
"Here…" Griffin gently handed her a soft bundle that Haru took excitedly and pulled it closely to her chest. A tiny, sleeping face was wrapped around by soft blankets and Haru cooed in utter adoration.
The baby boy opened his eyes slowly and looked up fro the first time into the face of his mother. He had Griffin's gray-brown eyes…
"Oh my gosh…" Haru was absorbed in wonderment, "Hey there, little guy…" She stuck out a finger and the baby grabbed a hold of it with an unexpected strength. The curl of hair on his head was the same chestnut brown as her own. Griffin laughed tenderly as he watched the pair of them. Haru look backed up at him, positively glowing.
"This is unbelievable…" She could not possibly begin to describe the way she felt. She held her child close to her body with the utmost gentleness. As Haru looked at her husband and newborn son while the bright, springtime light shone in powerfully from the windows she began to cry yet again. Griffin held her closely with their child nestled safely in between them.
It is a fascinating phenomenon that sometimes strikes people… when it is frigidly cold outdoors, there seems to be nothing as wonderful as walking into a warm house… and when one is ravenously hungry for so very long the long-awaited meal taste ambrosial…
The last few months had been among the most miserable and tormented of Haru's entire life… she had lived without her true love for all this time while she had to face unspeakable terrors. She had felt the bottom of her misery and lived through it… she had once again vanquished the evil that had plagued her and her loved ones…
And now she sat her… in this bright room… with everything she had ever wanted… And as she held Griffin to her and let her tears flow freely… it was not it sadness that she wept… It was in joy.
For the happiness she felt now was stronger and more beautiful than she ever could have imagined it being… It was the golden sun at dawn after a long and terrible night…
It is said in that in absence the heart grows fonder.
And in that bright and rose-colored moment… Haru knew those words held more truth than she ever could have imagined.
