CHAPTER 79: The Phenomenal Box of Ashes

The next day dawned much, much brighter than usual. I felt like I had cracked open my cold, miserable shell. I had never felt so alive on my life. I smiled for the first time in months, and I even managed to open my windows via telekinesis. I flung open my door and slid down the banister. Teresa jumped three feet in the air when she saw me whooshing down the stairs.

"Well, well, Elyssia . . . you look happy!" she remarked as she gave me a hug.

"Why are you so . . . so . . . ah, what's the word . . ."

"Blithe?" I suggested with a giggle.

Teresa clapped her leaves and nodded.

"Ha! That's the word!" she exclaimed.

To mark the occasion that I had finally become happy again, Teresa and I made chocolate pancakes. We happily mixed the ingredients and poured the batter into the frying pan as we talked about fun, happy things.

We cheerfully ate breakfast, but strangely enough, there were no bees around us. I was about to ask why, when Teresa laughed.

'Their work here is done, my girl! Don't you remember the dream you had last night?" I frowned, and then nodded.

"Oh, yeah . . ."

Last night, I didn't have a nightmare. Instead, I dreamt that I was in the beehive, dancing with the bees. I felt so happy, so alive. Then suddenly, a window opened. Without warning, all the bees went whooshing out of there, including Antonia. But before she joined the rest of hr hiver, I heard her speak to me. These were her exact words:

"We were sent here to rescue you from your prison of sadness. You are free now, and therefore, so are we."

I smiled and looked out the window, lost in my own happy thoughts, when suddenly, I heard a knock on the door.

"What in the hell could the outside world possibly want from me?!" Teresa grumbled sullenly as she stood up and dragged herself over to the front parlour.

I heard the door open, and I could hear an indistinct conversation between Teresa and whoever was at the door. And it seemed like the harder I tried to make out what they were saying, the more incoherent they sounded. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I stormed into the front hall and bellowed, "Now, exactly what is going on here?!"

Teresa blinked twice at me, and the stranger . . . well, he or she was just a mere shadow against the light that streamed into the room.

"Elyssia . . . I think this might be someone you want to see . . ." Teresa whispered as she led me over to the doorway. I shuffled uncertainly, and every step closer I came to the stranger, I wanted to look for an excuse to get away. Finally, I could discern his features. I looked into his eyes and gasped. No . . . no way . . . I thought in disbelief. Before I could realize what was happening, he had pulled me into a hug. I gazed once more into his eyes, before looking away, ashamed and afraid to show the tears that were slowly cascading down my face.

"Why did you come back when it's so obvious that I'm . . . I've hurt so many plants . . ." I sobbed.

"Come, and you'll see." Peater replied as he slowly let go of me.

He took my leaf in his and silently led me out of Teresa's home.

"Where are we going, Peater?" I asked as we turned right on St. Clair.

"Two very special places." Peater whispered as we walked into the St. Clair subway station.

As we stood and waited for the southbound train to pull in, I remembered that I had forgotten my bag at Teresa's home. Since I had somehow regained my telekinetical powers, I happily, effortlessly conjured my bag.

"Smart girl." Peater mumbled as I slung my bag over my shoulder. My leaf in his once more, we were swept along by the onslaught of plants and the occasional human rushing to get on the subway.

"Haven't taken this subway line in a long time . . ." I murmured as the train started moving.

"I thought you took the subway to school!" Peater exclaimed incredulously.

I laughed for the first time since being reunited with him. "I took Line 2, silly!" I giggled as I swatted his arm. Peater laughed along with me, before growing serious.

'I haven't seen you in three months, Elyssia. What's been going on?"

I sighed and looked out the window.

"Nothing. Just . . . uh . . . nothing." I said quickly, before pretending to be very interested in the fancy houses of Rosedale.

I began to feel an odd, probing sensation in my head, and when I realized that Peater was reading my mind, it was too late. Before I could do anything, he had slapped me hard.

"Elyssia! I might have been born at ten o'clock at night, but for the love of God, that doesn't mean that I was born last night, because I wasn't, for your darn information!"

I rubbed the spot on my head where I was slapped and let out a low hiss of air as my crystals turned a dark blue.

"First of all, do not slap me like that again. I thought we were over that! Second, I'll share my ordeals if I want to!" I snapped.

The plants sitting and standing around us paused whatever they were doing just to stare at us or whisper to one another. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window, not knowing what to feel.

"I'm sorry." Peater finally whispered as the train pulled to a stop at Bloor and Yonge.

As soon as the doors squealed open, the commuters were practically shoving one another over in their hurry to get off. One plant sitting ni front of us actually climbed over the back of their chair and mercilessly trampled on my roots in their hurry to get off the train. Damned commuters at these interchange stations! I thought angrily as the doors closed and the train started moving again. I remained silent until we stopped at Wellsley. A few plants exited the train, before we started moving again. I looked at Peater for the first time in ten minutes and sighed.

"I'm sorry too." I said.

"I don't know why I couldn't tell you about the past three months. They were just so . . . so miserable. I even had these really scary thoughts about wanting to end my life."

I rested my head on his shoulder and let a few tears fall down my face.

"Oh Elyssia . . . it's all right. These past few months have been miserable as well. And scary too. I had no idea if you were dead or alive." Peater replied softly.

"But hey . . . I got you now!" I smiled and kissed his cheek lightly.

"Hey . . . we're at King Station already!" he pointed out.

"You know what that means?" I shrugged as passengers piled out and rushed in.

Less than a second after the doors clapped shut, the train jolted to a start,

"There isn't a stop for a good 250 metres, so the drivers just go super fast!" Peater exclaimed over the high-pitched, squealing song that the train sang as it rattled along the tracks.

I leaned back and laughed as the view outside the window became a scenic blur. A little bit later, we pulled into the crowded Union Station. Gaggles of plants dashed off the train as soon as the doors opened. This time, I stood on my chair so that I could avoid being trampled by inconsiderate commuters. Peater shook his head and chuckled.

"Get down from there before the train starts again!"

I sat back down on my chair and put my arm around Peater, joyful that I was reunited with him once more.

"How much longer?" I yawned as I woke up from my little siesta.

"Now arriving at Museum! Museum station!" the conductor announced over the loudspeakers.

"Just a little bit longer, Elyssia. Don't worry." Peater mumbled as the train started up again.

Finally, we arrived at Spadina, another interchange station.

"Come on, Elyssia! We're going west next!" Peater said as the doors opened.

We both stood up and made our way to the east-bound-westbound platform. Three minutes later, a westbound train pulled in. Peater and I hopped on the train and sat down.

"I've always hated this subway line*. It's so bumpy and there's so much rattling." I muttered as we began to bounce along to Bathurst.

'These drivers think they're driving sports cars on this line! Once, when I was going to school, the driver was simply crazy! We were at Kipling, then the driver just decided to zip past Islington, Royal York, Old Mill, Jane, Runnymede, High Park, Dundas West, Lansdowne, Dufferin, Ossington, Christie and Bathurst! Crazy!"

Peater collapsed in a fit of laughter. "Cool! I want that to happen to ne someday!"

"Yeah, it's funny until the train almost derails three times, and you have to go up and tell the driver to stop! Besides, you have a much better chance at getting struck by lightning than having that happen to you!" I snapped, but there was no hiding my laughter.

"Of course, he didn't listen, and just went zip-zip-zooming until he stopped at Kennedy. I got the benefit of a quick ride to school though!

Peater just shrugged. "Well, it's good to know that we have five more stops left!" he said as the train left Ossington. The driver simply zipped past Dufferin and Lansdowne like they weren't even there, before pulling to a stop at Dundas West.

"See this? And the TTC isn't even doing anything about it!" I complained.

'Oh well . . . the faster the better!" Peater replied.

The train whooshed past Keele and ground to a stop at High Park.

"Well, here we are!" Peater announced as the doors opened.

We walked off the train and out of the subway station, my leaf in his.

High Park was simply lovely. Non-sentient flowers bloomed everywhere I looked. We walked along in silence, taking in the beauty of the park. As we passed a lilac bush, Peater reached over and grabbed a lilac blossom. He carefully tucked it into my crystals, making me blush a dark blue. Ten minutes later, we were in the middle of an apple orchard. In front of us, two magnificent gravestones sat on the ground like woebegone sentinels. The first headstone had a grieving Peashooter kneeling on top of it, praying. On the gravestone, in curly handwriting, the following words were engraved.

Elias Masarius Haliantherus

April 7, 1967- ?, 2014

Life is a journey that has its end.

Once Death hits, another begins.

The second headstone had a windswept Snow Pea standing on top, ready to greet the sun. It didn't take much to realize that this was Peater's mother.

"I can see why this place is special." I whispered as I sat down.

Peater sat down beside me, and we hugged each other, lost in our own worlds of loss.

After a bit more walking in the park, Peater and I were back on the subway, headed for union.

"Where to now?" I asked as we stepped off the train.

"Yet another really special place!" Peater answered with a sly smile.

We fought our way through the sea of plants and humans. Finally, we were on the front steps of Union Station.

"Let's hop on the 509!" Peater yelled above the city noise.

We climbed onto the 509 streetcar and we cruised along Lakeshore Boulevard, past the refurbished Harbourfront centre, and over to the Exhibition loop. At long last, the streetcar ground to a halt at the Exhibition Loop. Peater grabbed my leaf and pulled me off the streetcar. We then wandered over to a deserted Jack Layton ferry terminal, where the sailor was puffing a cigarette.

"You two c'n come on fo' free. Nobody wants to ride ter the island today." he grunted gruffly.

We boarded the ferry and bobbed towards Toronto Island, where we had destroyed the factory at the Billy Bishop airport a crazy long time ago. We alighted the boat fifteen minutes later and stepped onto Toronto Island. Peater then walked me over to a beautiful, sandy beach. The sun hung in the sky and made the water a gorgeous, shimmering turquoise. Peater motioned for me to sit down in front of the waterfront. I sat down in front of the gently lapping waves and Peater followed not long after, He slowly wrapped his arms around me, and I returned the gesture. We looked into each other's eyes, savouring the moment like we'd be dead tomorrow.

"Twenty-odd years ago, my father proposed to my mother on this very beach." Peater whispered, breaking the silence.

I gazed deeper into his eyes and gasped. My crystals turned a murky, greyish-blue.

"N-no . . . no, Peater. I can't do this . . . I . . . I can't . . ." I stammered as I squirmed out of his embrace.

I began to walk over to a pier, where a solitary, wooden boat was chained.

"Elyssia! What are you doing and where are you going?" Peater yelled as he began to follow me.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, bolts of ice flying from my leaves and into the ground.

I quickly knelt down beside the boat and opened my bag. I levitated a key out of there, and dug it into the lock on the chain. It didn't work, so in desperation, I grabbed the chain. It turned blue and broke. I then jammed the key into a lock on a small hold in the boat. Luckily, the hold opened.

"Elyssia, what are you doing and why are you doing it?!" Peater asked in a firm voice that was edged with steel.

"Don't take one step closer to me, Peater . . . just don't!" I growled as I grabbed a map from the hold and began reading it.

My plan was to sail along the St. Lawrence River and out to Newfoundland and Labrador, where I could start a new life and get away. Peater took one step closer to where I was kneeling.

"Elyssia, don't ―"

"SHUT UP! I HAVE TO GO! I CAN'T STAY HERE!" I screeched as my crystals began to turn bright red.

Suddenly, the map began to release a greyish steam.

"What the . . ." I mumbled as my letter to a future lover materialized in place of the map.

I read it, or rather read as much of it as I could before I broke down in tears. I tucked the letter into my bag as Peater knelt down beside me.

"Oh . . . Peater . . ." I sobbed as he hugged me.

"Elyssia . . . it's okay. It's fine." he whispered as I slowly calmed down.

I sniffed and looked into his green eyes.

"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't leave."

Peater sighed and bit his lip.

"As unlikely as it seemed at times over the past year . . . darn it, I care about you . . . I . . . love you."

I gasped, and gripped his half of the necklace, which had somehow gotten repaired. In return, he held onto mine.

"I . . . I've done so many bad things . . ." I stammered.

"But that was because you had no choice!" Peater flashed back.

"That's what war does! Here ― gimme pencil, paper, a tin box, and a match!

I meekly conjured the four things he had asked for.

"Now write every bad thing that you've done over the course of the war."

I did as I was told, and by the time I was done, I had filled fifty sheets of paper with accounts of my shortcomings, mistakes and wrongdoings. I then dug into my bag and pulled out the roses Zomboss dropped for me.

"Stuff those things in the tin box." Peater whispered.

I stuffed it all into the box, and lit the match. Quickly dropping the burning stick into the box, I watched as the small fire consumed the paper, and eventually, the roses.

"That is the flame of forgiveness, Elyssia. It'll consume even the toughest rocks f wrongdoing. And in the end, all you're left with is a garden ― no, a forest of hope and change. Let it burn through you." Peater whispered.

I smiled and took the box into my leaves. I scattered some of the ashes on the lake. The ashes made the waters look dark and stormy, but in a split second, the water looked even more radiant than before. I shut the lid of the tin box and gently slipped it into my bag, which was considerably emptier and lighter than before. Once again, we were wrapped in a warm, loving embrace as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"Thank you, Peater." I breather, before I kissed him.

I felt whole once more, and clean, like I had doused myself in a disinfectant of sorts.

And I wanted it to stay that way.