Bloom

39: The Hug

His eyes would be blazing an orange rage while drawing his weapon to their throat again. After running away from him not once, but twice, maybe more times they've known, the opportunity was before his very eyes. Tulip can only watch anxiously, trying to read every bit of his expression. At some point they were close to him, until they became divided, as if separated by cliffs. In the middle was a torrential rain, bearing the eyes of an infuriated god. No matter how much they sunk their curiosity into the pits of their mind, it would only resurface with those memories they had while sleeping.

Was he one of the other deities dancing with them in the clouds?

The chance for the orange-haired deity to plunge a knife through their husk is right in front, yet his attention is driven to the field of sunflowers. So they turn their head slightly to the golden yellow. They made it. Somehow, they made it through the forest. But even though the wounds that were on their skin have disappeared, their body is still weak. They can't even budge. They try to speak up with a croaky voice. Dante turns his head to them with furrowed eyebrows.

"Did you not hear me? I told you to be quiet!" He says with a whispered yet assertive tone.

Tulip zips shut. They bite down on their bottom lip. I want to know... why aren't you hurting me? How did you find me? How did I get here? Why can't I move? All of the questions can only metaphorically float above them, dancing with the breeze that still makes the forest sway.

They watch as every second goes by, Dante gets more and more wary. From his crouched posture, to the beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. Their eyes try to follow where he's looking, but all they see is the next part of the plan only a few yards away. The breeze picks up, pulling in the scent of earth and damp grass. Something tells them an eerie presence is nearby, but that is all their gut feeling says. They turn their head when they hear Dante moving.

Slowly he stands up while pressing a palm to a nearby tree trunk. His eyes scan the area. After almost a minute, he flops down and lets out a long sigh. Then his eyes fixate on Tulip.

"You're probably wondering what happened."

It's as if his weight is being pushed and pulled by an enormous amount of guilt. He's slouched forward, twiddling fingers in his lap. His gaze drops to them with another sigh.

"I thought you left me, Tulip," he says with a pained voice. "I thought you left me to rot away when we tried to run from Torrentus. Then I found out... your memory was wiped clean because of what I did." He lifts his head back up to them. "Do you remember me?"

How can I not?

Though, the words that escaped his mouth seemed desperate. Like a cry for help. He laughs a little, but the laugh can't cover his conflicted expression.

"We used to be really good friends," he says. "We're both on the same page. Birthed into a realm that carries the souls into the afterlife. We're the 'others', the anomalies of this world. It wasn't our fault, though. The world is imperfect, yet hungry for perfection."

The flickers of familiarity spark their mind.

"We're the 'imperfect', right? It doesn't make us wrong, though. Out there it's dangerous for us, because this world is hungry for perfection."

Their heart starts to feel heavy.

"I remember you telling me over and over, to not get so into my head. I have a short fuse, you told me," he laughs again. "Yet you remained faithful to our friendship. You did whatever it took. Even if I was the one who usually got us into trouble first."

The breeze tickles their cheeks. They try to adjust their posture, but their body still refuses to move. Dante's eyes meet them.

"You're still recovering," he stands up and helps them. "Damn, the forest really sliced you up bad. Somebody managed to find you and carry you to a safer area."

Pepper? They try to recall what occurred before they passed out. It couldn't have been them. The figure was more robust, the energy told them it was an elite, and the singing didn't match Pepper's voice.

"Who..." they utter out.

Dante shakes his head. "I'm not sure. Didn't even recognize them, either. They told me to watch over you and then - poof - they disappeared."

He sits back in his spot and dusts off his toga.

"Anyway, as I was saying... the day before we got chased by the god, I tried to come up with a plan. 'If we can just get to the bridge that shows the flow of time, maybe we can find out who we really are'. You told me it was a stupid idea, and, well..." he sighs. "It was, I admit. Still, I insisted on going, solo or not, so you followed along. When we finally got there, we found an area of the bridge that wasn't heavily guarded. But, as soon as we got there..."

He pauses for a moment to collect himself. He rubs his hands together, then animates an explosion while mouthing 'boom'.

"Between the two of us, it seemed like you were the one who was the most injured. I managed to wake you up. You were dazed and confused, but you were able to follow me. Then we ran. Ran as fast as we could. That's when the god found us and gave chase. I tripped over a rock and fell. I reached out my hand to you, called out for you, but you were already way ahead. You didn't even look back. You just kept running."

"Wait! Help!"

"... eventually I was captured and tossed into a dungeon like yesterday's trash. That damn goddess watched me like a hawk, laughing and telling me how useless I was in this world. That was probably... the first time in my whole life that I became emotional. All I did was cry. All I could do was cry."

The words play out over and over. They can feel the tears start to form.

"I'm sorry," Tulip says.

Dante turns to them. He shakes his head again.

"Why be sorry for something that's not your fault? I should be the one who's sorry. I got us into trouble, then thought it was all your fault. It was selfish and cowardly. So I'm..."

Before Dante can finish his sentence, Tulip pulls him into a hug. It's difficult for them to lift their arms, but they fight against it just to hug their friend, no matter how weak they feel. Eventually Dante lifts his arms and hugs them back, digging his face into their shoulder. Tulip can tell he wants to cry, yet it's being held back stubbornly. After a few more seconds they both let go. Dante rubs the back of his head, clears his throat, then returns his attention to the sunflower field.

Suddenly it hits Tulip. Dante mentioned a 'goddess'.

"Goddess...?" They say quietly.

As if on cue, something from afar spears a sunflower through the center of its disc floret. The tall sunflower topples over due to the weight of the spear.

"No," Dante mumbles.

Tulip feels their heart skip a beat from heightened adrenaline. They watch the distant sunflower droop down like a defeated swordsman. The spear is retrieved, but it's hard to make out the figure due to being blocked by other sunflowers.

It hits Tulip that Dante was never the threat. It was someone else.

That's why, all this time, they've both been hiding.