CHAPTER 7: An Apology and An Arrival

I've been here at the Eaton Center, aka "The Toronto Plant Base", for at least six days now. I've been getting along well with the other plants, and they've been getting along with me as well. However, something lately has been telling me that what used to be the Eaton Center is not exactly . . . the right place to be. Was I the same girl-plant who wanted to run away from home? Of course I am. Why, then, am I feeling as if I need to return home? Why am I feeling as if I need to return to the tortures of St. Henry CS, and the circumstances of my slowly crumbling family?

"Hey, Elyssia! No word of zombies! Wanna go to the Maple Leaf Gardens later?" Peater asked, shaking me clean out of my thoughts.

"Oh . . . o-okay . . . I'll come . . . in a little bit . . ." I mumbled in response to his question.

"Elyssia, are you feeling all right?" Peater asked in a worried tone as he put his leaf on my head. I didn't shake it off suddenly the way I did with Ash not very long ago, although I gently detached Peater's leaf from my head.

"I . . . I-I'm feeling f-fine . . . quite fi-fine . . . don't worry . . . " I murmured, before I decided to walk up Yonge Street.

I was shocked at how much had changed; the Metro Toronto Reference Library was deteriorating, and the North York Library right across the road didn't look as if it was in a better condition.

"Oh my . . ." I mumbled as I knelt down, and found the famous map of Toronto engraved in the ground less than a metre away. I gently traced my leaf along the outlines of all of the streets, avenues, highways, roads and boulevards of what is now Zombonto.
"All of these lovely places are all gone." I said softly.

"Hey, Elyssia!" I heard Annika exclaim as she walked over to me.

"I can see you're super glum. Y'all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine." I replied, pasting a false smile on my face a few seconds afterwards.

"Now, what's for lunch in the canteen?" I asked.
Annika grinned. "Sandwiches! What else?" she responded.

"Well, let's go already, Anni! Before we die of hunger!" I yelled. "

Last one to the TEC is a rotten sucker!"

"Ohh, heck no!" Annika shrieked as we raced all the way to what used to be Toronto's huge shopping mall.

"Elyssia, can I talk to you?" Ash asked as I proceeded to grab a sandwich from the icebox.

"Ummm, I'm busy. Try again never?" I quipped as I swept over to the already-crowded lunch table.

"Elyssia! I'm serious over here!" Ash protested.

"Ugghhh, fine! But make this quick! I wanna make it through lunch. Alive." I snapped.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" Ash asked.

"I'll be honest with you, Ash. I'm afraid that you'll . . . you'll hurt me in some way . . ." I answered softly.

"To hell with that ish. Now follow me." Ash replied, before he led me to his office.
He closed the door with a sigh.

"Elyssia, I'm just really sorry . . . for everything. Please, find it in your heart to forgive me." I bowed my head and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry if I seemed unreasonable to you, Ash. It's just that . . ." I trailed off, and let my tears course down my face in droves.

"I can see, Elyssia. Don't cry. I can see that you've had a hard past. But my fa ― I mean, some relative of mine, said that the past shouldn't have anything to do with you." Ash replied as he slipped my leaf in mine. I wiped my tears with the back of my other leaf as I tried to gather all of those horrible memories of mine and out them on the top shelf of my mind, where I'd never be able to reach them again.

"Feel good now?" Ash asked.

"Yes, Ash. And thank you . . . for everything, even though I was kinda suspicious of you." I whispered, before I gave him a final hug and went out the door and up to my room. As I stared out the window that was roughly cut into the plaster of the ex-shop's wall, I started crying softly. At first, I couldn't tell what it was that made me start crying like this, but I eventually realized what it was.

I was homesick.

I want to go home now. It's official. If I don't, I feel as if I'll commit suicide right here in this room. Did it mean returning to the torture of St. Henry CS? Of course! But this time, I'll stand my ground, and use my words, instead of my powers.

"Elyssia! Are you okay?" Peater had entered, and rushed to my side as soon as he had seen me crying.

"I . . . I'm okay, it's just . . . just . . ." I tried to get my words out, but my sobs had overpowered my ability to speak.

"You don't sound or look like you're okay, Elyssia. Please, tell me the truth. I won't get all "grr" on you." Peater replied.

"Promise that you won't ram a knife into my stem?" I asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to die! Stick a needle through my eye!" Peater answered. I half laughed, half sobbed at his silliness.

"Well . . . I wanna go home. I have a feeling that my family needs me. I mean, I really like you, but I must go. Please, don't be mad, and please don't say that I'm the most crazy-ass girl you've ever met." I whispered.

"I'll never think that way, as long as I'm alive, Elyssia. But since you're going . . ." Peater trailed away as he went digging about underneath his mattress, finally obtaining what looked like a silver chain.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a necklace that once belonged to my mother. Something to remember me by . . ." I could see tears well up in Peater's eyes as he gently dropped the necklace into my leaf. I saw it had a pendant with the initials EM and PH entwined together.

"So I'm guessing that your mother and father had the same initials as we do?" I asked.
Peater nodded, before he gently put the necklace around the top of my stem.

"My mother told me that the necklace has special properties that are almost magical. There's kind of like a bonding thing in there, but I guess we'll never know."
I smiled and gave Peater one final hug.

I started to say, "I have a feeling deep down that..."

"That what?"

"That I'll come back here... for you." I let my tears fall freely as Peater and I wept and embraced.

"Safe travels, Elyssia. And . . ." Peater trailed off. "What is it?" I asked.

"I have just one more request for you."

"What?"

"Elyssia," Peater whispered as he held my leaves in his.

"I want you to never, ever, ever forget me. In other words, never. Let. Go."
I smiled as I looked into his deep green eyes, seemingly with the whole world in them.

"That's what I'll do, Peater. Anything to have you right by me." I replied. We held on to each other just like that for what seemed like millenniums, never wanting to let go. I could feel a bond grow between our minds, our hearts and our souls. Finally, the sad, yet beautiful silence was broken by my voice.

"I'll never let you go. At least, not in these places." I whispered as I pointed to my head and my heart, breaking our embrace.

"I can feel it as well, Elyssia. It's like there's an indestructible bond between us." Peater responded.
I gave him one last hug as I said, "Goodbye. I'll see you again. Remember that I'll always be with you, no matter how far away I am. I can be in Emery Village, Yorkdale, Runnymede or Weston. You'll never be alone."

Those were the last words I said to him before I made my way out of the Eaton Center. I was homeward bound.

"Mom! Dad!" I screamed as I pounded on the door of my house at 4:00 PM.

"Who is it? Some stupid ―" my father began to rant, before he opened the door and saw me, his twelve year old daughter.

"Oh, it can't be!" he mumbled.

"Antonia, come here! Our daughter's returned!"

My mother came rushing out of the kitchen, with what looked like a lab coat on her body.

"Mom!" I screamed as I ran over to her. "Oh, my precious little sprout! I thought you died out there!" she whispered.

"Wait . . . why are you wearing a lab coat?" I asked curiously.

"Experiment." my mother answered simply.

My father walked over and kissed my cheek.
"I'm glad that you're okay, Elyssia. And I'm glad that you returned." he murmured. Then, he found the necklace that Peater had given to me.

"Interesting necklace . . . where'd you get it?" my father asked.

"I just . . . found it somewhere." I answered untruthfully. "In any case, do you have anything to say about school?"

"Well, we've arranged a meeting with your principal, vice principal and your teacher. We'll have to see just what's happening in your classroom." my mother answered.

I could sense a feeling of dread rise up, but then I remembered the vow I swore to myself: use words, not powers. I nodded, before I went up to my room with a sigh. I closed the door and looked around. The walls still had their holes, and the mirror hadn't been replaced. My room looked cleaner, although a window pane still had broken glass and dry blood on it.

"I made this bed, then I'll lie in it." I muttered as I collapsed onto my bed.

I was in a deep sleep a minute later, all the while clutching Peater's gift tightly, as if it was a precious sprout of mine. Did leaving Peater kind of break our promise to stay by each other's side? Not if I remembered to keep him in my heart.