Silk Roses
"I'm finally a bride…"
"But…" Ayano frowned slightly before fidgeting with one of the long locks of hair. "Where did I put my bouquet?"
The lean and lanky girl of twenty one years allowed a small sigh to escape her lips, signaling her slight exasperation on her forgetfulness. Her thumb and index finger played with one of the long hazel tresses that rested gently on her creamy shoulder; chocolate eyes glancing left and right for any signs of her much needed bouquet. Her other gloved hand was constantly adjusting her pure white wedding dress in a fit of anxiety. The translucent veil was thrown to the back of her head and pinned with her late mother's crimson clips upon the top of her head, swaying gracefully with each movement made.
"Hnngh… why must you be so forgetful, Ayano?" she whined quietly to herself, puffing her cheeks out as she screwed her eyes shut. "Come on! Remember where you put them! Remember, remember!"
"Ah… Ayano."
Almost immediately at the sound of the familiar voice, her eyes snapped open as she spun around to face the owner of the voice. Her reddish-brown eyes widened in surprise as her fingers quickly ceased its previous actions on her hair.
"S-Shintaro?!" she gasped out, shock filling her chestnut orbs. "W-What are you-"
"Hey, Ayano." the twenty four year old boy interrupted her without any hesitation as he stepped forward; one hand being fed through his trimmed jet black hair and the other held firm behind his back. "Today, I realised something. We're both pretty much grown-ups now and it's been a long time since we've known each other. So…"
He brought the item he held behind his back to his chest and gripped it firm in front of him.
"… I'd like to give you this."
With that, Shintaro trudged forward; both hands clutched at the vibrant velveteen roses that were wrapped neatly in paper and plastic.
"Geez, Shintaro…" Ayano gave a small grin before swiftly brushing the right side of her bangs up and extending her gloved hand to take the bouquet. "I was looking for that, you know-"
Shintaro didn't even look at her as he moved right past her.
A sudden lurch came from Ayano's beating heart as the feeling of dread began to weigh down in her chest.
"They're silk roses, you know…" Shintaro muttered quietly as the gravel crunched as he knelt down and rested the bouquet next to the memorial stone in front of him. "Typical wedding flowers, aren't they? They're red… the same colour as the scarf you used to wear to school every day."
A hiccup erupted at the end of his sentence as Ayano continued to stare into the depths of nothingness; her eyes fixed in a mix of shock and horror.
"Ayano…" Shintaro's voice cracked as the tears began to seep and drip from his cheeks to the ground. "I… I really wish I could've given you a lifetime of happiness, Ayano…"
Silence filled the air with the exception of muffled sobs and sniffs.
Ayano had finally turned around to face Shintaro; tears beginning to brim her eyes as her trembling hand pressed against her lips to prevent any sobs from escaping.
She remembered now.
She was dead for six years now.
And Shintaro was being torn to pieces by that.
"I'm…" she faltered, her tears only just beginning to overflow from her reddening eyes. "I'm sorry, Shintaro…"
"I'm so sorry."