WARNING: This chapter will contain a major character death so be prepared.
Chapter 9: Dedicated to the One I Love
With nowhere else to go after learning what happened earlier, Elphaba headed downtown of the town where she lives in Munchkinland. The people there are more tougher than Elphaba and they seem that they want to fight her. She decided to go the new club that opened a little while as a place to stay, but a guard stopped her.
"Sorry, no minors." he said.
"Could you please let me. I promise I won't drink." Elphaba said.
"I'm still not allowed minors to be in this place."
"Please. I have nowhere else to go."
"Come along, little girl." The guard called in others and dragged Elphaba.
"Please let me stay! I promise I can be your bar singer singer!" Elphaba shouted.
Elphaba spent the whole night at a bench of the port in Munchkinland. She woke up during sunrise and looked at the port and ate a food she saved from her mother's party. Elphaba looked at the waters crashing into the shore as she thinks about her mother and aunt.
Elphaba went back to her aunt's place without waking her up. She went up to her room and laid in her bed wide awake without even practicing music. Elphaba suddenly heard the door closing and peeped at the window to see Lily leaving the house with a basket of flowers. Elphaba followed her aunt and found her putting flowers at her Uncle Daniel's grave.
"Did you love him?" Elphaba asked her which startled Lily.
"Oh, you frightened me." Lily said.
"It's a cemetery. It always feels haunted to me." Elphaba said, "Well, did you love him?"
"It's a horrible question to ask."
"You never show it."
"You never see it."
"With my eyesight, possibly. Also, I'm here to say that I'm not going to hold it against what my mother did 11 years ago."
"So forgive and forget then."
"Forgive, I can. But forgetting, I wish. Like I said last night, I always have nightmares about it. There's no point of hating someone you love. Is there really love, Lily?" Elphaba asked, but Lily doesn't know how to answer it. "I'm going to move out."
"What?!"
"The house seems a bit crowded all of a sudden. With me gone, maybe you and mom might remember you were sisters once." Elphaba then kissed her hand and touch her uncle's headstone and left the cemetery.
Later that day, Lily went home and went to the phone to call someone. When she touched the phone, Lily felt really scared because she thought it might be a bad idea. After a few seconds of thinking, Lily picked up the phone and called someone to meet her in a diner.
At the diner, it was revealed that Lily called Melena to meet her there. While waiting for Lily to arrive, Melena also felt really scared about meeting her since the night before. Lily arrived in the restaurant and felt really calm when she sees Melena.
"Have you ordered anything?" Lily asked.
"Yes, just coffee." Melena replied.
Lily sat in front of Melena and took a heavy sigh as she begins to talk to her. "So… here we are together again."
"I know. I feel uncomfortable about it after what Elphaba said to us last night."
"So do I. But I'm not here to talk how I was wrong. Not how you were wrong. And not even Elphaba herself. I just wanted to spent time with you as sisters."
"What are you talking about?"
"Elphaba told me earlier when I visited Daniel's grave that she'll be moving out of my place and it might help us remember that we were once sisters. I don't blame for claiming to move out since she's going to a university."
"I think Elphaba's right, Lily. After the divorce, we haven't been sisters since we want to claim Elphaba for ourselves."
"Oh how I miss the days when we grow strawberries together."
"I miss those days as well. With her going to a university, we have no one to look for but ourselves."
"So what do you say, sister of mine? Do you still want to see me?"
Melena hesitated for a few seconds and she nodded to Lily. "Of course I wantrd to see you again, big sis."
Many months have passed since the big fight on Elphaba's birthday and Melena and Lily quickly forgave each other. Elphaba went to a university majoring in art and she's the only one in the band to go to a university. The other members stayed in Munchkinland and took regular jobs while Glinda and Fiyero didn't to because they're still young. Even though Elphaba is in a university, the band still played together.
During a Summer afternoon, Lily and Melena were sitting on a lawn chair as they felt relaxed under the sun. Their relaxation we interrupted when they heard someone talking to them. "I see the sun's finally shining upon you, ladies." the person said which was revealed to be Elphaba returning home from university.
"How's Shiz." Melena asked.
"It's really great. Shiz' art branch is really the greatest art school in Oz. One of my professor is really great, even though he's a little goatish if you say. And how are you, Avaric my boy?" Elphaba asked him
"I'm really fine, Elphaba." Avaric replied as he was gardening.
"It's a shame that we didn't major the same thing in Shiz. We would have known more about each other."
"Well don't just stand there, sit with us." Lily said and Elphaba sat right in front of them.
"I see that you're planting strawberries in this house." Elphaba said.
"It's one of the first things we did during our reconciliation months ago." Lily said, "Me and your mother always planet strawberries when we were little."
"Don't you like it Elphaba?" Melena asked.
"Oh, I don't mind. It's just that the 'strawberry garden' is getting bigger."
"I think of it more as a field."
"So what are you two doing while I was at Shiz?"
"Mostly walk around Oz." Lily said, "I also spent time with your mother's stepdaughters twice a week."
"Lily also took me an opera. It might be a little boring but highly entertaining." Melena said.
"It's nice of you two getting together like sisters again. But I couldn't stay with you a lot longer." Elphaba said as she got up.
"Where are you going?"
"To Gilken Country. Glinda wrote some melodies that fit perfectly to one of my poems back in Shiz."
"Be sure that you return before seven." Lily said, "Me and your mother are making your favorite dinner."
"Don't worry. I promise I won't be late." Elphaba told them. As Elphaba left, Lily and Melena got from the chairs and clean themselves.
"Well, I guess we better start dinner now." Lily said and Melena nodded. As they are headed into the house, Melena collapsed without Lily knowing. "Should we just make cake or baked potatoes, Melena?" Lily asked, but she didn't answer. "Melena?"
Lily turned around and find that Melena is lying on the ground. Lily ran to her sister's side and found her eyes open but unresponsive. She called Avaric for help and Avaric quickly respond.
"Avaric, get inside and call the ambulance now." Lily said. Avaric nodded and ran back to the house. "Melena, stay with me now. Don't leave us now! I need you! Elphaba needs you! She really needs you!" Lily pleaded, but Melena still didn't respond.
