IKIGAI / Jake Sully

41 🍋

The soft speckles of glowing yellow seeds begin to float up, even the flower that Jake had put in my hair, when we first entered the festival, release their pollen.

I pulled the flower out of my hair and held it up to him. Glowing. Like witnessing the birth of galaxies and stardust right in the palm of my hands.

"I can see why this is your favorite holiday" Jake says, just watching me in the dimmed lit night.

"Why? Because I like sparkly things" I giggle more to myself than anything.

"Something like that" he responds glancing down to the glowing colors in my hands.

"Look" I say turning to flash him a smile. I clapped the flower gently between both my hands and the glowing pollen sprinkles out like floating glitter. Suspending in their own gravity, surrounding Jake and I.

I let out a sigh staring out at the glowing bits around us.

"Isn't it pretty?" I ask looking up at Jake, who's eyes are still glued to me. "What?"

Jake doesn't even speak, his mouth slightly open, just barely peeking his teeth while the twlinking from the seeds reflected off his golden eyes.

"You don't even know" Tru'it voices behind Jake who still hasn't divert his attention from me. I glanced over at Tru'it who also is just staring.

"Agreed" Jake says. One of his hands curl around the edge of my face letting his fingers rest on my cheek.

I just sat there in silence. My body froze not knowing if I should move or anything.

"Are you ok?" I finally spoke and neither of them actually responding. "Jake"

"How does it feel knowing you outshine the summer solstice" Jake asks me.

His golden eyes glowing under the glimmer of speckles. If I had any words to say they all had vanished. My mind was like mush in his grasp. Going completely blank as my heart raced uncontrollably.

"Just out here, putting the flowers to shame" Jake dotes, his voice so calm.

"I..uh..." I stutter trying to pull myself together.

"It really is a shame" Tru'it adds on. Jake doesn't even fight him about it. Like he also agreed with that statement. Their eyes just mesmerized as if I was a unique phenomenon that only happened once in a lifetime.

Seze coughs in the distance, becoming increasingly irate.

"I mean...my name is actually flower" Seze says loudly whipping her hair around "this festival was basically made for me."

"Then that must suck for you Seze" Jake responds to her "To be second right now"

"Ugh! As if! For that matter, I am prettier. I'm funnier, I am way more graceful...." She rambled on but honestly I had forgotten because they all sound the same.

I let out a yawn rubbing my eyes and Jake just nuzzles me under his arm. Both his legs crossed cradling me in between. Draping the blanket around the both of us to keep out the chilled moonlit air.

"Go to sleep you've been up past your bed time" Jake tells me while Seze is still listing off how amazing she was in the background.

"I don't have a bed time"

"Keep telling yourself that" he says caressing my shoulder

"Thank you for taking me" I say quietly almost in a soft whisper to him. Jake lifts one leg up. The one that was closest to my body as if to shift me closer to his chest.