Ex-V: Aloha, people. I haven't been on this website in over four months, all time I spent studying my writing. I return now a great author of short fiction, or so I like to believe. Naturally, my happy return was marred by the knowledge that I have been gone for ages and ages. Surely, I said, everyone has long forgotten me.

But Lo! Upon my disheartened return to , I realized that this story had continued to get hits AND reviews, even in my absence! I was thrilled and ashamed all at once. What kind of horrible, cruel, and greedy author was I, to abandon my readers like I did? It's unforgivable.

Forgive me? Please?

____________________________________________________________

It started as a normal day. May woke up, rubbed her eyes, and rolled out of bed. Groggy, she stumbled into the kitchen to continue her routine. Coffee, then a shower, and then…Work. She groaned. Today was stock day, were she was awarded the sought after right to sock shelves at the Pokémon center.

The coffee was gone.

A dark cloud of caffeine deprivation settled onto her day, reducing any chance of happiness to ash. May took a deep, deep breath. Slowly, dragging her feet, she made her way to the bathroom, where a soothing, hot shower would certainly await. She could almost feel the…..Depressingly cold water?

It took her a moment to realize she was actually IN the shower, and there was no hot water. Drew. Where was he, anyway? She pondered this while washing her hair, now fully aware of her surroundings.

She hadn't seen him since last night….And if he had to go, did he have to take the hot water with him? She shrugged off her anger, and reached for the soap. Instead, her fingers made contact with a slip of paper, surprisingly still dry.

May shut off the water, and pulled the paper off the wall. It was a note, unsurprisingly from Drew.

It read:

May, I had to leave early this morning, sorry. Errands, you know. I figured this was the only place you'd be conscious enough to find the note, since I used all the coffee this morning. Have a nice day.

P.S, meet me at the beach tonight at six.

She smiled. Classic Drew. May yawned, and dressed. As she left the apartment, she hesitated. Usually, in the morning, Drew left a rose for her in the mailbox. Today, it was empty. She frowned.

Great. A perfect way to start my day…

A few hours later, May was bogged down in the local Pokémon center. Joy was short two utraballs, and the storeroom was running out of Bread. For the life of her, she was unable to find any bread in the whole goddamned city. Her pokenav beeped.

She clicked it, and it whistled a reminder. Meet Drew at six. It whirred, and shut off. May checked her watch.

Five thirty. Might as well get going, she didn't want to be late.

She left the city, apologized to Nurse Joy when she passed the center, then ran the rest of the way to the beach.

She arrived just as the sun was setting. It cast a beautiful array of reds and pinks across a violet sky. The perfect end to a stressful day.

May smiled. At the waterfront, a small rose garden. She recognized Roselia's handiwork immediately, and ran to it, joyously skipping through the waist high flowers.

Suddenly, she stopped. At the end of the garden, with its bottom brushing the tide, was a pedestal. She hadn't seen it before, but when she looked upon it, her breath vanished. A golden array of the three most perfect…Most breathtaking roses she'd ever seen. They were simply stunning, One red, one white, and one blue, shimmering in the dim sunlight, inlaid with crystals and gorgeous fine jewels. They were joined in the middle by a small, golden ring.

She covered her mouth to keep from gasping. Hot tears flooded her vision. She picked up the flowers with shaky hands.

"D…Drew…" She mumbled, euphoria filling her mind. His voice echoed from somewhere behind her.

"They're the most special flowers I could ever create…They wont wilt until I die…"

She turned to him, running into his arms.

"Until my love dies…"

She barely heard him.

"Which will never happen. May, Will you marry me?"

She cried. "Yes…Dear god…Yes…" She summed the energy to say.

The sun set in the background, casting a final, brilliant ray onto their perfect love.