COSMOS

Yellow cosmos: wild beauty

I know I'm not the prettiest one out there. Some will say I'm average-looking - even boring, to be honest. But people don't judge a book only by its cover, just like how people don't judge a flower only by its looks. Sometimes, you just need to close your eyes and take a sniff.

That gives me a strange question: can we hear flowers?

Please tell me how the daffodils sound like to you. Please tell me what symphony the rose garden is playing. Tell me what chords the dandelions are singing on the crack of the sidewalk.

Am I mad? Please tell me I'm not. Because I can hear them. I hope you do too.

***

"Damn, they are so beautiful," Eddy muttered dreamily as he stared at the screen.

Brett scrunched up his eyes, following hot boys upon hotter boys dancing in the music video. K-pop was not exactly his favorite genre but he admits the video was pretty interesting, at least it was interesting to see Eddy so mesmerized into these muscular idols with flawless skin.

"They have more outfits than chords," Brett commented almost bitterly as he finished filming classical musicians reacting to K-pop.

"That's true," Eddy laughed.

Brett glanced at himself in the mirror standing at the side of the room.

Short stature. Pale face. Black short hair. Thick glasses. Average muscle tone. Mundane feature, really. Nothing spectacular, just Brett.

Brett intentionally made a funny face in the mirror, making him ten times uglier. The easiest way to become someone as handsome as those idols will be to throw himself out the window and try out the wheel of reincarnation.

He will always be just Brett in this life. Brett knew it too well.

Brett suddenly felt the violent need to cough. He crouched over, heaving heavily as he coughed into his hands. The coughing fit almost lasted for a full minute, leaving no room for air. Brett tried to catch his breath as he leaned to the table. Eddy turned to Brett worriedly.

"It has been almost a week, right?" Eddy asked.

"You know how a simple cold lasts almost a month for me," Brett croaked, wiping his mouth and hands with a tissue.

"Do you have a fever? I think you might," Eddy walked over to Brett, putting his hand onto Brett's forehead.

Brett froze in his track, feeling Eddy's cool slender fingers tracing his skin.

"I..I don't think-"

"Hard to tell," Eddy murmured as he suddenly leaned forward, pressing his own forehead onto Brett's.

Everything became still as the two boys stood in the middle of the room, their foreheads leaning against each other. Brett could immediately feel his heart beating out of his chest. He felt the breath of Eddy mingling with his. Brett's face flourished bright red as he closed his eyes, embarrassed and enchanted at the same time. The short moment almost felt like an eternity to him.

"Huh, you definitely feel a little warm," Eddy confirmed, pulling away.

"Yeah, I guess......" Brett's voice trailed off as he licked his lips, turning away from Eddy shyly.

"Wait here," Eddy rushed to the restroom. A few minutes later, he was back with a bottle of cough syrup.

"I know how much you hate medicine but this one will be alright," Eddy handed the bottle to Brett.

"Thanks, I will definitely try it out," Brett gingerly took the bottle, not daring to meet Eddy's eyes the entire time.

***