The Lotus - a Rini Story DISCONTINUED

The Arrival

WOOSH
Nina couldn't remember what was happening or where she was when she opened her eyes to find herself in a garden. There were flowers of every color imaginable. There were dahlias and daises dancing around near the daffodils, and there were rows and rows of beautifully smelling roses and lavenders.

Nina tries to see if there's anything past the garden, and she sees a little... wooden house? What's a house doing here? She shakes her head and rushes towards the house to see if anyone's in there, anyone that could help her.

"Is anyone in HEREEE" Nina yells out. She begins to wander around the house and sees the most wonderful wooden balcony. It had many different beautiful flowers draped along the railing and the opening of the most natural door she had seen. Standing on that balcony was... a boy? She'd expected someone super old, because this place looked like it had been here for centuries. She cautiously stepped towards him, unsure of what she was going to say to him. What she didn't know was that the boy had felt her presence the second she had appeared in that garden, and he was just waiting for her to come find him. This was a place where your decision create you path, and it wasn't his deed to find him. From the corner of his eye, he could see her coming closer and with a little smile, he decided to put her out of her misery. The boy abruptly turned around, and Nina jumped, but she had realised that he wasn't any danger through the sparkle in his eye and the sweet welcoming smile on his face, she started to notice his features.

He was cute. Nope, he was more than just cute. The boy had the most luscious, fluffy and gorgeously brown curls she had ever seen. They curled around his head to make a sort of crown, and Nina couldn't help but think how perfect a flower crown would look. And his eyes... at first glance they looked a chocolatey brown, but when she looked closer, they seemed more like a rich hazel, and there was a little twinkle there. But boy, did he look tired!? The boy seemed to have not gotten any sleep for at least the last week, and the dark eye bags that had developed were concerning. Nina wanted to inquire him about that, but she knew that she need to figure out where and why she was where she was first.

Before Nina could say anything, the boy spoke.

"So, are you gonna say something or just stare at me like that" He looked serious but she could tell from the humour in his voice that he was trying to lighten the mood. Nina blushed, realising that she had been staring for too long.

"Sorry, um where is this place?" The confusion quickly returned to Nina's mind when she gestured around and noticed how there was a pond in front of the balcony the two were standing at. The boy let out a silent sigh which he must have though was pretty quiet, but it didn't go unnoticed by Nina. He looked so exasperated, as if he'd done this too many times.

Before he could start, Nina interrupted him because she realised that she hadn't even asked his name yet.
"Sorry, I don't think I caught you name?" She left it hanging as a question, hoping that he would reply to a stranger.

"Ricky."

The boy let out a weak smile as he said this and gestured to her, asking for her name.

"I'm Nina." She had felt a sudden warmth and nostalgia when she heard the boy, no, ricky's name. It had felt almost like something that she had known so well but had forgotten. Nina noticed how Ricky's face crumpled up when he heard her name, and watched him struggle to say it, always saying 'Nini' instead, so she simply said that he could call her that instead. Nini took nicknames something very intimate and she wouldn't usually let a stranger give her one, but she'll let it be just this one time, because there was definitely something different... something special about this boy.

Ricky nodded before starting to explained to her that this was an alternate universe where someone was sent when they had lost their purpose in life, and they couldn't be sent back to their universe until they had discovered their purpose. Originally, the nature in this place was suppose to guide the lost souls, which was what the people that got sent here were named for the time being, helping them to find their purpose until one day, when a boy arrived here and he was unsuccessful in finding his purpose for too long, and the natural spirits decided that he would have to become the new guide.

At this, Nini's eyed widened, because how could they do that to an innocent boy? All he had done was that he couldn't find his purpose in time, but that shouldn't meant that he was stuck here. Would he be here forever? Where was this boy now? Oh. At that question, Nini finally realised why Ricky had paused after that sentence. She searched his eyes and didn't have to ask. He was the boy.

"Yeah, I'm that boy. I couldn't find my purpose, so it became my job to help other lost souls find their purpose. Many came and went, finding their purpose and returning to their lives, but I stayed right here, trying to guide them, but also taking help from them in finding my purpose so I could go back to the real world too. Some of them did try to help me, but we were unsuccessful every time. I've been through countless lost souls and i've basically given up on finding my purpose, it just seems pointless now." Nini could sense how much sadness was filled inside Ricky because of this. He had accepted that he was stuck here and that didn't seem fair to her. She was about to ask him more about his situation, but he cut her off, insisting that it was best if they started looking for her purpose. He also explained that time was different in the two universes, so when she gets sent back to her own universe, it'll seem as if she was never gone. However, she would remember remnants of this universe, and of course, her purpose.

Ricky led her to a little temple-like rock, decorated beautifully with flowers and fairy lights and cushions. When Nini asked him about how it became like this, because some of the things here weren't completely natural. At this, Ricky bashfully looked away before telling her that though he couldn't remember much about his real life, he knew that he was into engineering and science so figured out a way to make the fairy lights, and the cushions just made him feel so relaxed and safe so he made them too. He also told her about how he had spent hours looking for flowers that were calming and soothing to put in here and he had set up the whole thing for himself originally, but he thought that maybe being in a comfortable and homely environment would help the lost souls relax and find their purpose easier. Even though he couldn't find his, he couldn't bear to see others in pain, and this was his way of helping.

Ricky didn't notice this, but Nini has been giving him a look of pure adoration the whole time he was explaining this. Seeing how genuinely passionate he was about helping the lost souls sparked something in Nini, and she wasn't sure if she was necessarily happy about that. When she found her purpose, she would have to leave him here, and that was already starting to break her heart.

Ricky noticed how Nini has gone quiet, and softly asked her if she wanted to sit down. Nini made herself comfortable in the floor of cushions as Ricky pulled a blanket around her. She hadn't noticed until then, but the sun was staying to set and she was starting to shiver. She gave him a grateful smile, before preparing herself for whatever was coming.

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Authors Note

Hi!! I'm Eponi and I've always been quite passionate about writing. I've been writing for quite a while but this is the first time I've had the confidence to actually publish something I've written. i hope you guys enjoyed, and i'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible!!
love all of you so much, sending love <3

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