The two of them sat on the bench in Deliverance Park, watching the world go by. Humans, Ma-non, Orpheans, Wrothians and even the occasional Prone or Zaruboggan walked past them, some alone, some together. Hope was taking the day off and the park itself was free from the usual crowd of people that the woman's talks so often attracted.
"It's nice here. The quietest part of the city. Even here, in this corner of the universe, it's nice to know that a fraction of Earth's beauty was saved."
Stella nodded absently. Christie was right: despite the vast expanse of stunning landscapes and oversized flora outside the walls of NLA, there was something comforting about sitting in the park without a care in the world. Just you, grass, flowers and whoever decided to sit next to you on the bench.
Stella had seen Christie there by herself, seemingly lost in thought. Not wanting to disturb the moment, she had simply sat down next to the other woman and opened her book. Sitting in her tree was nice and all, but it was hell for your back, even if you were a mimeosome. They'd been like that for a while before Christie had broken the silence.
"Yeah. It's good to have a quiet place in the city, away from the noise and bustle of the other districts. It's not as quiet as outside the walls, but it's far more comfortable and certainly less dangerous."
The two of them sat in silence for a while longer. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was starting to descend towards the horizon behind them, but neither minded. After the constant vigilance of the past few weeks of scares, both from ganglion and indigenous tyrants, half a day's peace was more than deserved.
Stella closed her book with a sigh. She only had a couple of chapters left, but it was getting dark and she'd need to find some food and finish the story under lamplight. She was about to stand up when something caught her eye: a group of tiny, pale blue flowers clustered around the back leg of her side of the bench. Curiosity getting the better of her, she bent down and gently pulled one up, turning it over and examining it.
"Forget-me-nots. They're pretty, aren't they?"
Stella turned, only to see Christie looking at her through tired eyes, a serene smile on her face.
"I planted them here myself. They don't have much scent during the day, but the fragrance really shows up in the evening and at night. It's quite calming."
Stella took a sniff of the one she'd pulled up. Christie was right: there was something about the smell that made her feel at ease. She passed the flower over to Christie, who took a sniff herself. Stella glanced at the cover of her book, and was suddenly reminded of something she'd been told many years ago.
"I heard once that Forget-me-nots symbolise timelessness and the eternal. Kinda fitting for them to have been brought from Earth really. Even if the planet itself is destroyed, our memories of it will continue onwards forever."
Christie smiled again.
"Yes. I'm sure they will."