Verbena and Cosmos have been exploring the continent. They were seeing breathtaking places and Cosmos helped Verbena with the evolutionary process. But feelings built up, and it came to the point where even their slight comments towards the other started to reveal more truth than what they let on. Verbena realized her feelings toward Cosmos and tried to bite the bullet. So she waited for the right moment to say something, to say the three simple words "I love you."
Verbena was very romantic, wanting her confession to be made under the stars. Everything had to be perfect! So it wouldn't be a moment they would ever forget. She planned as much as possible, like the timing and what they would do before. She Wanted the confessions to be made under the stars, with a full moon in the background. Verbena had all these plans made before her but Cosmos just seemed distant.
Yes, it was true, their emotions for the other would slip through their dialogue. But as Verbena was setting things up she could see Cosmos emotionally check out. Not having as much enthusiasm as she did. Not giving and receiving in conversation, this stunted Verbena. She didn't want to be bitter at these actions because this was something she would frequently do before Cosmos came into her life. Taking steps backward wasn't on her agenda. So she continued to plan for the romantic gesture, and engage with him but it was draining her until the day of the confession.
Verbena always dreamed of bearing her heart to her soulmate under the moon. Over a small river, the moon's glow and reflection become distorted with the ripple of the steam. A willow tree hanging overhead, everything she envisioned was in motion and ready for action.
Cosmos was willing to participate in Verbena's small surprise. She told him beforehand that they were going to go somewhere magical. But he suspected her intentions behind the gesture. Cosmos was never willing to admit his feelings to himself about the woman he began to fall in love with "Verbena Hilo". Walls being built up around his heart due to his past, a past he was never willing to let another soul know. Falling in love was never on the agenda. Sure he really liked Verbena. The way she smiled and talked, her enthusiasm about the simplest of things. The way her skin began to shift even the slightest of hues under the glorious sun... So many things he could list off the top of his head but was he ready?
Cosmos put on a front of surprise when they were in the location.
Verbena kept her hand in his, swaying it around aimlessly. Looking into his eyes. "Cosmos I wanted to tell you something."
He remained silent
" We've spent so much time together, and for that, I am forever grateful. You've come down to help me and... help me evolve. But damn if you weren't so damn charming, I wouldn't have fallen in love so easily. Cosmos I love you, every moment that I spend with you that statement becomes more clear and more prevalent. I look up into your eyes and find myself stuck, drawn in like a fool for gold." Verbena stops swaying his hand and remains still, looking up at Cosmos, keeping eye contact.
"Cosmos I want to walk this plain with you. I want to spend time together exploring the deepest cave or conquering the highest mountain. My heart is open and expanding because of the love I have for you. You have done so much and given me so much of your time and love. I want to return the favor and give you all of mine."
Cosmos was at a loss for words. Verbena, a woman that he began to fall in love with, admiring her every feature and attribute; standing in front of him confessing her feeling directed towards him. But the walls weren't budging, he could not utter the same words back to her. He felt them but these weren't ready to manifest.
"Mama, I... cannot say thank you enough for telling me this." He pulled back his hands and cast a side-eye glance toward the path they came from. "But, I am not the man you need to be with. I love you too Verbena but my heart." He forcefully collides his palm into his chest along with a lump in his throat.
"My heart, cannot beat for another. My past Verbena has left such an impression in my heart. Im scared to let another in and hurt me Verbena. I do love you but I cannot let you in or accept your feeling and reciprocate them back to you. Mama, Im sorry but I cannot let you waste your love on me."
The crickets have never been so loud in her life as this very moment. Here she was standing on this wooden bridge. The stream below her feet and the waterbugs casually gliding across. The soft and gentle sways of the willow tree, move freely in the breeze. But her heart was hurting. Everything was hurting, she felt the pain expand past the origin of her heart and traverse into her limbs, brain, and hands. She was heartbroken, her waterline began to overpour. This world isn't fair, how come everything around her seems to be taking kindly to the news that just crushed her. The tree, waterbugs, and far-off crickets don't seem to care. Hell, even Cosmos was there standing stiffly back to her.
Cosmos thought that reaching a hand out to comfort her was going to help her acceptance of the news but that backfired. Verbena slapped his hand and began to back away.
Verbena was stuck in place, casting her eyes directly down onto the wooden slabs. She could not look up into those brown eyes. Every beautiful detail about that man was still shimmering in front of her. Her love may have been crushed but it seemed to heal those cracks immediately and want to reach out to him! Being near Cosmos was not the right decision right now.
" I need to go... please do not find me." And off she went into the dead of night. Not a destination in mind, solely acting off impulse. Her feet quickly stepped ahead of her, not a single glimpse back to the man she left standing at the bridge. How this scene was reminiscent of the day she was left behind by her childhood crush. She would never allow him to leave her memory, she still loved him even if it was a small amount.
