"I have fallen, to my knees... as I sing a lullaby of pain... I'm feeling broken in my melody... and I sing to help the tears, go away..." -Kutless, Promise of a Lifetime
- Sakura- Age 20-
Before we left, I noticed something gleaming in the box. I looked back, and there was a small hand mirror in the box.
"Leo, there's a mirror in here," I said, picking it up.
"Mm, never know what that could be useful for," he said. We took the mirror, and looked around for a bit and found a warm spot of sunlight. I stood there and closed my eyes, feeling the sun warm on my skin.
"Feels good, doesn't it?" he asked. I noticed the door was frozen over with ice.
"We can use the mirror here," I said, pointing out the frozen door. I reflected the sunlight, and the ice on the door melted.
"Oh, smart," Leo said. We entered the house, and there was a large rectangle with switches around it. On the wall there was a giant map of symbols. I looked at it curiously, not getting any ideas.
"I'm not getting anything..." I said.
"Me neither," He said. We left the house, and walked down the past and noticed a yellow heart on the house what wasn't there before. Hm? What's this?
"Is it just me, or was that not here a bit ago?" I asked.
"I don't think so..." he said, looking at the strange symbol. We kept walking, and there was a nice lake, and I knelt down and felt the water, and it was lukewarm. I sat down, and just stared into the water at Leo's reflection. Leo sat down next to me, and stared sadly at the water. There was a moment of silence, and I kept staring at his reflection.
"Leo..." I said, looking to him. "These might be the last moments we have with each other..." He looked up at me.
"I know... Sakura," he said.
"Will you be there to say goodbye at the end?" I asked.
"I'll be there, by your side until the end," he said. I didn't want to say goodbye to Leo... It was all too much... but there was no other way.
"Leo... could I stay with you?" I asked, but already knew the answer.
"You don't want that... you'd never be happy..." Leo said.
"If you insist... I'd be happy with you," I said.
"Sakura... you'd hate it here. Go back to the real world. I think we're almost there..." Leo said. I looked at him, and threw my arms around him. I was in the danger of tears, as this might be my last time with Leo.
"Leo... you are an amazing person. Please, just promise me one thing..." I said, tears starting to creep out of my eyes. I held him tighter, and I couldn't tell if his arms were around me, there were too many emotions inside.
"Yeah..." he said quietly.
"Promise me... just be my side until the end. You can forget me, you can hate me after I leave, just... stay with me," I said, starting to cry.
"I promise..." I could feel tears coming down on the back of my shirt. It was a promise.
-Ib- Age 19-
We continued forward, and there was a strange statue called "Annulated Woman", and it was a messed up statue of a woman. I looked at it, not really knowing what to think, and Garry read some text on the wall aloud.
"Drown in the Abyss," Garry said, and observed the text. "That's very kind,"
"Yep..." I said, and we continued into the next room. There were three large sculptures, and a giant painting in the back with stairs leading up to it. We went to the painting, and I read the title.
"Birth of Many," I read, and it was a vase with many roses in it. I couldn't tell how many there were, but there weren't enough to be a bouquet, but there were maybe... ten or so. The roses' textures were detailed, and the bold striking colors made it a nice piece to look at.
"I kind of get it," Garry said. "The roses are our lives, and if there are many roses, there are many lives."
"I think we can jump through this painting," I said, and grabbed Garry's arm. "Let's go," He nodded, and we jumped in. There was a kind of airy, liquid feeling, it was kind of strange, but it felt better because Garry and I were hanging onto each other. I opened my eyes and it was like we were in a tunnel with a slit of light at the end. I closed my eyes, and felt my feet on the ground again. Garry and I opened our eyes at the same time, and looked around. There were several statues of roses everywhere, including my rose and Garry's rose.
"Wow... this place is...cool," Garry said, and read the description for the red rose.
"A quiet individual, you are, but you also have a beautiful rose inside. There are few thorns on your rose, I'm afraid. When you fall into love that's true, you sacrifice all you have, your whole life, for being with that person. That is truly a beautiful rose, but those who you used to care about have been thorned." he read. "That sounds a lot like you, Ib," I walked over and read it again, and it was like it was reading my mind. I went over to the blue one, and read that one.
"You are kind and gentle, and extremely easy to like. Tragedies have occurred many times in your life, but your soul still remained because of love. Once you have found someone you truly care about, you will stay by their side no matter what happens. Very few thorns, but sometimes you don't know when to let go." I read. It did sound a lot like Garry. He came over and re-read his, and he looked stunned at ho and read itw accurate it was. I looked over to the green rose, and it had a description. I wonder who had the green rose. "A young soul, your rose has thorns, but they are not very sharp. You care about the ones you love, but you don't stand up for them. You must learn," it said. I don't know who has a green rose...
"Who has the black rose?"Garry asked, looking at the description for that. I went over there and read the description.
"TOO MANY THORNS" Was what it said at the top, and there was more under that. "In pursuit of eternal life and beauty, you have fallen into a brutal trap and will never escape. You have murdered the ones, not close to you, but you lied to yourself. May your rose rot for eternity," Wow, I bet the museum just hated this person... Avoid the black rose, I guess.
"That's brutal," Garry said.
"Yeah, I mean, I bet the whole museum is against this person," I said. I looked to another one that was orange rose, and read it. "Bright and truly amazing, but forgotten. You are a beautiful rose, yes you are, kind and caring, and you have no thorns on your rose. You help those in need, and leave the ones be who aren't. You are kind and amazing, you should be known throughout the world, but you are forgotten. No one knows of you, but your presence will be treasured to the ones who have experienced it," Wow... I bet this person is nice...
"Hey, I think this is Sakura's rose," Garry said, and I looked over and he was at a pink rose statue. I walked over and peered over his shoulder. "Your rose is beautiful, and has very few thorns. When things are very serious, you still seem all giddy and happy, which isn't a bad thing. Your spirit is truly beautiful, especially when you fall in love, you show your care and love like no other." That sounded exactly like Sakura.
"It does sound a lot like Sakura," I said.
"Yeah... this is a cool room... kind of like a horoscope," Garry said.
"It basically says stuff about all these people..." I said, and looked at a white rose, but there was no description.
"Hey, how come the white rose doesn't have a description?" I asked.
"I'm not sure..." Garry said, coming over. I looked to another one that was deep red, darker than mine, and it read what it did at the museum. "Embodiment of Spirit. Beautiful at a glance, but if you get too close, it will induce pain. It can only bloom in wholesome bodies." I read for the billionth time. I turned and saw an exotic rose that looked like a sunset. "Some thorns, but truly amazing. Despite thorns, you do whatever is right... even if it kills..." I wondered who that could be... I looked to another one that was purple and missing a few petals. It read "unconditional love,".
"Hey, this peach one doesn't have an explanation either," Garry pointed out. Maybe no one has had a peach rose? I didn't know... After we looked at just about everything, we continued through, and ended up in the dark museum.
"Wait, Ib. We have to get Sakura and Leo..." He said, "I wonder what their up to..."
-Sakura- Age 20-
We continued around and picked up symbols and remembered them. We got back to the house, and tried our luck.
"The heart is here..." Leo said, pressing the button. I pressed another, and we fiddled with it some more, then finally a key appeared in the center.
"Yes! Let's go!" I said, and picked up the key. We walked down to the house, when we heard a rough voice.
"I found you now," it said. Leo didn't even have to look back, he grabbed my hand and ran. We unlocked the house quickly, and sprinted inside. There was a dead end, only a giant toy box, and I tripped over the lid, and both Leo and I fell in.
It was a long drop, and I think I was unconscious half of the time. I woke up, and there were toys scattered everywhere messily, toy trains knocked over, and mannequins and dolls everywhere.
"Okay... we're in the toy box..." Leo said, sitting up. "Now, where's that key?"
I looked around past the dolls, under the dolls, under broken trains, but there wasn't a key. There were many crayons scattered here and there, and scraps of paper that had been scribbled on. Leo was somewhere on the other side still looking under stuff and I turned to him, and he was digging through bunches of toys.
"I think this is the biggest toy box I've ever seen... I said, and he silently agreed. I looked around, and took a big breath.
"Sorry, but I doubt we'll find a key with all this stuff in the way," I said, and picked up a doll with red liquid dripping from its head. I quickly threw it away, and it made a small plop.
"We still can try, can't we?" Leo asked, and we dug around some more and looked for that key. I eventually gave up and sat down on the pile of junk. Leo kept going, and I didn't know how'd we ever get the key.
"Sakura, we're going to have to try," he said, plowing through toys. I took a big breath and closed my eyes, when I heard a stern voice.
"Are you looking for this?" I opened my eyes, and Leo's mother was standing there, and pink key in her hand. She tossed it on the ground. Leo looked to where the stairs were, but it was blocked by dolls. We couldn't quite make a quick escape if we needed to... things were looking a pretty bad... but why'd she give us the key? I looked to Leo, and his face expression told nothing at all. It was neutral, but it kind of looked like he was thinking somewhat hard, but I didn't know if he was surprised, or scared or whatever he would be.
"What if we were?" Leo said, trying to be confident.
"Take it for all I care. I've got what I need," she said, and held up a pink rose.
-Garry- Age 30-
After that strange room, we continued forward and there was a large room with a large black bed. I looked at the nameplate, and it read, "Final Stage," I gave me a creepy feeling, kind of like someone was watching me... kind of like someone was behind me, going to push me on the bed. I don't know why it was so intimidating, but it was.
"Garry...?" Ib said quietly.
"Yeah, Ib?" I said, turning to her.
"I don't feel... safe..." she said.
"Me neither Ib... let's get out of here," I said. There was a vase, so Ib put the purple rose in and it regained a full fifteen petals. However, there was no way to go around the bed because there were barriers around it. I pushed the table aside quietly, and I felt watched... I felt... scared, more scared than I have ever been. I don't know if the gallery was tinkering with my mind, but it felt if I took a step everything would be gone.
"I-Ib... " I said quietly.
"I feel... watched..." Ib said.
"I just feel... uncertain..." I said, and clinging to each other, we took a step forward. Nothing happened and I exhaled in relief. Ib shook her head and snapped out of it, and blinked a few times.
"Who am I kidding... it's nothing," she said, and took another step forward. I could only wish I was that confident, but I doubt she was as confident as she sounded. I followed her, and quietly we went forward, one step at a time. Then, she loosened up, looking more confident, and started to walk, and all at once there was a black scaly arm that pushed her onto the bed, and Ib yelped in surprise. I screamed in surprise, and went to Ib on the bed.
"Ib!" I said, and she had immediately fallen asleep as soon as she touched the bed. I knew something was going to happen! I should have told her to be more careful... it was my fault. But being asleep wasn't a problem... was it?
Hesitantly, I reached out and shook her.
"W-Wake up, Ib," I said, but she continued breathing with deep breaths and didn't stir. I took the rose from my back pocket, just to make sure nothing was happening, but some of the petals were wilting.
"Ib!" I said and shook her once more, but with more force, and still her expression remained the same and she didn't stir. Another petal started to wilt.
"Wake up..." I said, and tried to pull her off the bed, but for some reason she was either too heavy, or stuck. Why wasn't she moving? I pulled harder, not trying to dislocate her arm, but she still wouldn't move. Another petal wilted, and I wondered why it wasn't hurting me as well. I turned around to the vase, and in that vase was a bright blue rose.
"Please... no..." I said, and took the blue rose from the vase. I dipped the purple one in, but another petal wilted. There were only five petals left, and nothing I could do. Would I just let Ib die in her sleep in front of my eyes? If I could do something, I would... Another petal wilted, and I slapped Ib, hoping it would help, but her expression remained neutral and she didn't move. Another petal wilted, slowly, and there were three left.
"Ib... please don't leave..." I said, my eyes starting to tear up. I didn't want to cry, not now, not here, but I couldn't help it. I blinked back the tears, looking at the purple petals scattered all over the ground, and the two that were remaining now. What if she woke up now? What if... suddenly, another petal fell and danced through the air. There was one petal left.
"Ib!"I yelled. "Wake up... don't leave me..." The last smooth petal of the deep purple rose began to wilt and release its grip to the stem.
Hello! I updated the first chapter, just so if you want to read that because before, a month ago, I was a really corny and choppy writer. It's a bit better now, and there have been more events. I basically re-typed the whole thing... XD Perfectionist alert!
I'm sorry there is nothing happy in this fic. It's just... life beats you. It hits you... it's brutal. Nothing ever works easy, if you see what I mean. I don't know if I should do multiple endings, so you tell me! Should I do multiple endings? I have an ending planned out, but please do tell me! I'm not going to spoil anything, whether the ending I planned originally is happy or sad, but there were two endings that I really liked and I didn't know which one to choose, but I eventually found one. I don't know... I might do multiple endings, but tell me what you think I should do! Tell me what you like, what you hate, errors, or whatever! Favorite and follow if you haven't already yet!