"And where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness and I would have stayed up with you all night had I known, how to save a life..." The Fray, How to save a life.
-Sakura- Age 20-
"Take it for all I care. I've got what I need," she said, and held up a pink rose. A pink rose. The pink rose. My pink rose. I reached for my back pocket, but it wasn't there. I didn't notice it until now, and decided I would be trapped here forever, which wasn't much of a problem for me.
"Mom," Leo said, and took a step forward. "I believe that belongs to Sakura,"
"Oh, so it does?" she asked, "Well, I should be the only one with eternal beauty. This is my world, after all,"
"Who said it was yours?" Leo said through his teeth.
"Your father," she said, and Leo froze. I was just sitting there in the middle of the conversation.
"You lie," he spat, and started to sprint towards her, when she plucked a petal off of the rose, and I felt a sharp pain in my chest, and I cried out in pain.
"You keep running, this rose will turn bare," she said as a threat. He stood there, and I still couldn't decipher his expression. He stood there, starting at his mom and I guess he didn't know what to do.
"Leo..." I said, "It's okay. Just let me die... go on ahead, you can leave,"
"S-Sakura..." he said quietly. He reached into his back pocket and took out his own rose.
"No! Leo... please don't!" I cried, but nothing would stop him. He took a step forward and lifted his rose.
"Please give me Sakura's rose in exchange for mine," Leo said.
"Leo... stop it..." I said, tears running down my face. He looked like a groom making a proposal with a rose. He held up the rose to his mother, and she eyed him curiously.
"How do I know you won't run off with them both?" she asked.
"How do I know you won't pluck them both bare?" Leo asked. I couldn't do anything at all. I just sat there, crying, too paralyzed to move, and watched everything. His mom extended her arm forward, and he gripped onto the stem of my rose, and she took the stem of his. At the same time they both let go, and they successfully switched. The mother had a wicked smile on her face.
"Why, thank you... son," she said, and Leo knelt down to me.
"Sakura... thank you..." he said, and handed me my rose. Shaking, I took it from him and tears came down from my face and dripped on the petals of the rose.
"Why did you do this? Why did you..." I said, I could barely contain myself. Why did he do it? He could get out.
"Shut up, son," she said, and grabbed all the petals and tore them off in disgust, then threw them on the ground. I sat there, frozen at the orange petals dancing through the air. Slowly, they made their way to the ground, and the life drained out of Leo's eyes. I couldn't move, I couldn't cry, I watched as his eyes turned blank, and he collapsed as he closed them.
His mother sneered and threw the stem on the ground then left. I couldn't absorb what was happening. She just left like that. Tears wet my face as I eyed Leo's lifeless body in my lap. I could barely contain myself, and I gently stroked his hair and face.
"Leo..." I barely managed to get out. It was all too much...
"LEO!" I cried as I hugged his lifeless body.
-Ib- Age 19-
I took a few steps forward, when there was a forceful push from a black scaly arm, and I yelped in surprise. I could hear Garry scream, but I fell onto the black bed and immediately fell asleep. I was still conscious, but I couldn't open my eyes. Why couldn't I open my eyes? Then, it felt as if I was reliving a memory...
"Mm...? The pains gone..." he mumbled to himself, then quickly stood up and took a few steps back. "There's nothing for you to take, I tell you!" Who was this guy... and why was he acting so weird. I just kept looking at him, then took the blue rose from my pocket and gave it to him.
"My rose...?" he said, taking it gratefully. "Did you get it back for me?" I nodded slowly.
"You must be from the gallery, no?" he asked. I nodded again.
"Oh, well I'm lost here as well. And it comes down to these roses... when they wilt, so do we... a bit strange, you think?" he said. I nodded again.
"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Garry. And you are...?" he asked.
"Ib..." I said silently.
This was the memory of when I first met Garry... it's been a long time since then. Everything's been just... so insane. This bed was actually really comfortable. I felt the least bit nervous, so I tried again to open my eyes, but they wouldn't open. I tried to move my arms, move my legs, smile at the pleasant memory, but nothing would move. I just had to keep my eyes closed.
"...Garry?" I said. His head still hung loose, and he was smiling and his eyes just seemed... off. There was something hot in my eye, and I blinked and tears came streaming down my face. This was the first time I cried over someone... the sadness was unbearable. It felt as my chest was heavy, and was in danger of dropping to the floor.
"Garry..." I said once more, weakly, tears wetting my clothes.
"I'll stay here with you, friend, forever!" he said. I froze at that. Was he talking to me? Did he want to stay with me forever?
"Garry?" I said again.
"Stay with me, friend," he said. I blinked back tears. What... did he want me here with him? No... it wasn't right. He hated this place.
"Will you stay with me?" he asked. Garry wasn't like this... he couldn't want to stay here... more tears streamed down my face, and Mary was saying something but I ignored her.
"Snap out of it!" I cried, raised my arm, and slapped him. The smile came off of his face, and his eyes were motionless.
"Garry..." I said, and hit him again, and he blinked.
"...O..." he mumbled.
"O-Ow! What are you doing, Ib?" he asked. All these feelings inside, I couldn't bear. I just threw my arms around his waist and cried.
Oh, I definitely remember that. That was probably the most emotional part of my childhood. Every moment after that was miserable until I found him ten years later. I wanted to get up and remind Garry of that, laugh with him because everything was over, but I couldn't move. There was no problem with sleeping... right? But I didn't want to sleep... I wanted to get out.
"I object to this marriage," the words echoed through my ears. Garry's eyes looked into mine, as if saying, "Now's your chance". I remained still, but couldn't move. All eyes were on Garry, and he wouldn't move his eyes from mine. I blinked, and tried to speak, but nothing would come out, my voice felt buried too deep in my chest. What was I doing? Garry came all the way here, to help me get the courage to stand up for myself... so I should probably say something, right? I tried once more, but still nothing came out. One more time, I mustered all my strength and courage, and closed my eyes.
"I... I object as well!" I cried, letting it all out. "I, the bride, object to this marriage,"
This memory... was just too much. It was all over now... all over. I hated Yoji... I feel bad for whatever unlucky girl gets him next... and I couldn't believe he dated Sakura at one point... it's just... not right. Sakura should rightfully be with Leo. I wanted to open my eyes, it just wasn't working. My eyelid muscles just didn't work. I didn't have another memory pop up after that for some reason. I just felt faint, like I was going to fall asleep. I tried to keep my consciousness in charge, but it got weary, and I slept into a deep slumber.
-Sakura- Age 20-
He promised he would stay with me in the end, but I don't think that's possible. I stood up and wiped the tears from my face, and looked at all the orange petals around the ground. I looked around for the stem, but it was nowhere to be found. Where had his mom gone to? She would pay. My feelings of sorrow eventually evaporated to feelings of hate and revenge. It was her own son after all, but she would pay. I took my rose and the key on the ground, and plowed through the toys to the staircase. I threw the dolls blocking to the side, and looked back to Leo.
"I'll come back for you... I promise," I said, in the danger of tears again, but I blinked them away and continued up the stairs. There was a long hall, and I rushed through the hall, gripping the key tightly. I came back up, and wondered where she would've gone. She might've unlocked the pink house, so she could be there. I dashed out the door and went down to the pink house and put in the key and unlocked the door. There was a long black staircase, and I descended the stairs quickly. She had to be here... I could feel it. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and listened. I heard footsteps, and I knew she was there. I walked through the lobby, and there was agonizing hate circling through my body. I wanted to break something, I wanted to shatter something.
I looked around the dark museum, avoiding the "Fabricated World" painting, looking for her. I turned the corner, and I saw her in front of the "Embodiment of Spirit" sculpture. I crept up behind her, and she turned around.
"Oh... it's you," she spat out.
"You selfish pig," I said through my teeth. She stood up straight and looked right at me.
"What did you just call me?" she asked, offended. Her pale skin and long eyelashes made her look unreal. Her platinum hair was shining as she tossed it, and I grimaced in disgust. This lady... I hate her.
"Are you going to leave?" she asked. "If not, I might just have to pluck your petals," I wanted to dive at her, rip that smile off of her face, but I tried my best to contain myself.
"What, do you not want to leave this miserable dump?" I asked.
"You know, this place lasts forever, and it belongs to me, and only me. I don't want anyone to come here, eternal beauty is only for me," she said and fluffed her hair.
"I'd love to leave," I said, "But I would of left happily if you didn't... didn't..." tears came into my eyes just thinking about him, and I tried my best not to have a breakdown in front of the person that killed him.
"Oh, Leo? He was useless from the start," She said. "He wouldn't die when I beat him, so at least he's dead now," I couldn't believe how selfish this woman was. What did she just say?
"I'm not going to leave without him," I said confidently.
"Oh? Is that so? What's done is done. He's not coming back. If you don't want me to pluck your petals, you better leave right now," I didn't care about anything anymore. I took my rose from my back pocket and lifted it up.
"Go ahead,"
-Garry- Age 30-
Tears went down my face as the last petal slowly wilted. It couldn't be happening, could it? Tears stroked the last petal and the stem and I watched Ib's breathing slowly come to a stop.
"Ib..." I said, and tried one last time to pull her off the bed, but to no avail. I decided I would find a vase, a way, paints, something... to get Ib back. There had to be a way... Before I left the room, I looked back to Ib.
"I'll be back. I promise," I said, then quietly left the room. I was in a large space, and there were three girls in the middle. One was Maira, one Mary, and one was some other girl I've never seen before with brunette hair and a short braid.
"Huh? Who are you?" the brunette girl said, looking up from her drawing pad.
"I'm... Garry," I said.
"Hi Garry!" Maria said, standing up. "Are we going to get out now?" I couldn't help but notice Mary sitting in the middle, not saying a word. Her eye was still bandaged and bleeding a bit, and there was speckles of blood along her hair.
"I'm not sure... but Ib's in danger, and I need to help her..." I said, looking around the room. There was nothing really useful, but as I was looking, Mary stood up. I tried to ignore her and tried to look for anything that could be useful, but all there really was were pads of paper and crayons in the middle of the room.
"Garry..." she said. Slowly, I turned around, but she didn't have any weapon of sort in her hand... but that wasn't really safe because her fists were just as bad...
"Yeah Mary?" I said.
"Leo abandoned me..." she said.
"So he did?" I said, surprised. Maybe he ran into Sakura or something... I'm not too sure about this. I wonder why Leo would leave behind his sister... but I mean, what if she tried to attack him?
"Yeah... I think he wants to leave without me," she said.
"Mary, we can't bend the rules. I don't know, we can try, at one point I was positive there was a way but I don't think so. Mary, I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay here," I said as best as I could. Mary sat down and held her head. I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her, and then she got up another time.
"Garry." she said.
"Yes?" I didn't feel too confident about what she was going to say.
"I can take your spot,"
-Ib- Age 19-
My eyes opened, and everything hurt all over. Yes, I could finally move! I tried to get out, but everything was so sore and ached. It hurt to breathe, and I ended up rolling off the bed. Where was my rose? Did Garry have it? Where was Garry? I looked around, and there were purple petals along the ground. Was Garry okay? I could barely crawl, and saw a puddle and my rose. There was one half-wilted petal left on my rose, and there was a puddle of water where the end of the stem was. This petal of water kept me alive... I took the rose, and needed a vase. There was a toppled vase on the table, but no water in it. Maybe that's where the puddle came from. I put the end of the stem in the puddle, and decided to look around for a vase. I crawled away from the bed, picking up the rose in my mouth, and tried to get to my feet. It hurt a lot, but I managed to take a few steps before I had to cling to the wall. I walked and went through the door to the rose room, and there was a single vase in the middle of all the rose statues. I don't quite remember this being here though... Carefully, I dipped my rose into the water, and the pain slowly dissipated. I let out a breath of relief, and looked back at the statues. I couldn't help but notice instead of only the purple rose being wilted, the orange rose was wilted as well. I looked at my purple rose, and it was back to health so I took it out of the vase.
I looked around that room to see if anything else had changed, and I looked at my red rose and smiled sadly. Those memories... I looked to the exotic one and wondered who it belonged to. It was a very pretty rose though. The purple one still looked the same, and the two words were still on it: "Unconditional Love". The yellow one was how it was, and it was definately Mary. There was a green one, just the same, but the petals looked bigger than the other ones for some odd reason. I wonder why... I looked to the white one, and the petals were beautiful, it kind of looked transparent. I wanted to extend my arm and touch them and feel the velvet feeling of petals, but I remembered it was a statue. Or was it? The silver nameplate was still blank, and I guess I would never know what it said. I looked back to the orange one, and not only the petals were wilted, but there was a change on the nameplate. I walked up to it and touched it, felt the smooth metal and the words that read: "Sacrificial love".
Where are the reviews? Many chapters ago I got like four reviews for every chapter, and now I barely get anything for like five chapters! Come on! Put a review || DOWN THERE PLEASE FOR ME...
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