–Growing Big and Strong –

Once school had finished, Gilbert headed straight home. He walked into the large garden at the back of his house and started looking around. He eventually decided on a perfect place in the garden to plant his seed. It was between the small flower beds and the bird table, which Gilbird was currently feeding from.

Gilbert found a small shovel and watering can in the garden shed. After filling the can with water, he took it to where he wanted to plant the seed. He dug a small hole in the ground and gently placed the seed inside. After refilling the hole with the dirt he had just dug out, he picked up the watering can and gently poured the water out over the ground. Gardening wasn't something he had thought much about before, so he worried about how much water he should pour. It's really sunny today, so I should probably use enough water that the ground won't dry out, but I don't want to drown Birdie.

"The awesome me will keep you safe here in my awesome garden, Birdie," Gilbert smiled slightly "Here you can grow and I'll be able to see you every day. You'll grow into the most awesome tree in the world."

A week after planting the seed, it still had not sprouted above the ground. Gilbert grew worried that it wouldn't grow at all. He placed his hand gently on the area where he had buried the seed and started to sulk. Should I dig it up to see if it's growing? But maybe I shouldn't… I'll just wait a while longer… Please grow soon, Birdie, I want to see you again, even if you are a plant now.

Not long after, Gilbert noticed that the seed was growing. He was so relieved to see that the tree was growing. He looked at the small plant with a huge grin on his face. Awesome! You're growing, Birdie! The garden soon became Gilbert's favourite place where he would spend most of his time.

As time went on, the tree grew and grew. Gilbert grew happier the larger it grew, however, there was still sadness inside of him longing for Matthew to still be a person, even if had remained a ghost. Matthew eventually grew into a very large maple tree, and Gilbert was still visiting every day.

A day never passed without Gilbert thinking of his ghostly friend whom he loved so much, despite them only really knowing each other for a couple of weeks. Even though he had to move on with his life, he knew he'd never forget the ghost he loved so much. Touching the tree is as close he'll ever get to being able to touch Matthew.

Gilbert pressed his forehead and his hands against the tree. "I still wish you were a person. I wish I could hold you, Birdie. I want to be able to wrap my arms around you and cuddle you and kiss you. You were perfect, and I still can't get over how fast you left me. I guess you're not really gone because you were reborn as a tree… but it's different, Birdie. I can't hold you like this." Gilbert let his hands fall to his sides, with his head still pressed against the tree, and tears began to drip down his face.

Meanwhile, Gilbert's brother, Ludwig, and his friend, Feliciano, were at home. They walked past the window that allowed view to the garden. Feliciano couldn't help but notice Gilbert leaning against the tree.

"Luddy, what's wrong with Gilbert?" Feliciano asked as he stopped to look at Gilbert.

"Is he out in the garden again?" Ludwig asked as he walked back to the window to see the answer for himself. He let out a sigh at the pitiful sight.

"I think he's crying," Feliciano said with a sad tone in his voice. "Did something happen?"

"Remember when I told you my brother planted a seed in the garden believing it was someone he loved?" Ludwig asked, receiving a nod from Feliciano. "Well, that's the tree that grew from the seed. He checks on it all the time, but it sometimes makes him sad and causes him to cry."

"He must have really loved that person. Should we comfort him?" Feliciano asked, feeling very concerned about Gilbert.

"Whatever I say never seems to help," Ludwig replied, letting out a sigh. "I usually call Francis and Antonio; they're usually good at cheering him up, or at least getting his mind off things for a while. I just hope he'll be over to get over it completely one day. It's terrible seeing my brother like this."

The two of them left Gilbert alone to cry for a while, and then Ludwig called Francis and Antonio as he said he would.

Gilbert's friends rushed over as soon as they got the call. They knew Gilbert would be in the garden, so they didn't bother knocking on the front door, but climbed over the garden fence. This usually annoyed Ludwig, but he didn't mind as he knew they had come to cheer up his brother.

Gilbert had stopped crying by the time they arrived. He was slumped on the ground, sitting with his back against the tree and his head tilted backwards so he could watch the branches above him blowing in the breeze.

"You've been crying again, haven't you?" Francis asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Gilbert didn't turn to face him, but stayed in the same position, staring at the branches. If only these branches were stronger, I could build an awesome tree house and live here with Birdie forever.

"Gilbert, are you even listening?" Francis asked, unsure if his friend could hear him. He received no reply of any kind. "Don't just ignore us when we came here to cheer you up."

The trio were silent for about 30 seconds of awkwardness before anyone spoke again.

"Hey, Matthew sure grew into a fine tree" Antonio commented, gazing up at the red tree. "Don't you think it's about time you grew to? You know, move on?"

"He wouldn't want you like this, mon ami," Francis said, crouching down and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's not fair on Matthew that you cry in front of him almost every day. If he loves you, then it much really hurt him to see you cry."

"Matthew wouldn't want-" Antonio began to speak, but was cut off my Gilbert.

"You never even knew him!" Gilbert snapped at his friend. "Don't tell me what he would and wouldn't want!"

"So you think he wanted this? You think he became a seed just so you could cry to a tree?" Antonio shouted back.

Gilbert looked down at the ground in shame. He didn't want to think that what he had been doing had only been hurting Matthew. They're right. I feel so stupid. It's so un-awesome of me to do this to Birdie; he wouldn't want me to be sad… but how can I be happy without him?

"I'm sure became a seed so that he could still be with you in some way, so you'd still have a part of him with you," Francis said. "No, we never knew Matthew, but anyone who cares about you wouldn't want you to be crying like this. Please cheer up."

Despite being told not to cry, Gilbert burst into tear. His friends hugged him until he couldn't cry any more, but he swore that this would be the last time he cried about Matthew. He swore that he would move on with his life, but he would never forget the ghost, and now tree, that he loved so much.

A/N: Well that was this was the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I know it's kinda weird that I made Matthew a tree in the end, but I didn't want him to stay a ghost and I didn't want him to completely disappear. I guess it really messed up Gilbert for a while though… Sorry…
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