Red Lilies

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The moon on the sky was brighter than ever, a shade she never knew could marry the sky around the bright objects in the sky. You can by the shades of blue, orange, purple and even grey if it's daytime, dawn, raining, everything.

The colours of the sky will tell you... if you have seen it before of course.

Knowing this, why was the sky red?

The blood red moon above did not frighten her, it was calming in a weird way. The breeze was soft and the brushing of grass against her skin only swept her drowsy mind away from her thoughts.

Laying on the sea of flowers she came to love even if she did not know it's purpose, her long pink waves blending with the greenery thanks to the red hue casting from above.

A rustle in the wind barely caught her attention, something approached her, but her mind could not care.

Her body was completely laxed.

- "Sakura." - the voice called out. - "I've missed you." - they spoke in a small brittle voice. Heavy with emotions.

However, the pinket couldn't speak. Her voice was gone as she could only take a deep breath, catching the scent of whoever accompanied her.

Above the characteristic smell of lilies and dirt, the stranger smelled like a whole different world. A spice she wanted to hold onto and dig her face in. instinctively, she turned to face them.

She was faced with a blurry vision as a raging headache kicked in, even as her body refused to cooperate, she tried to reach to that dark silhouette of a person next to her.

- "Don't." - they pleaded. - "You have to wake up." -

Only, she did not want to. Her attempts seemed to push that person away from her, their scent slowly becoming faint and her mind fighting against an uncooperative body.

- "I will be here next time." - she could barely make out their words before they disappeared. Leaving her alone, under the red moon.

Grasping at the ground with newfound strength, she blinked the fogginess away to assess her surroundings.

There she was, sitting on the ground, long white robes covering her feverish body. The red hues covered everything around her. The white lilies and white robe now red under that strange moon.

With a gasp, she found herself under the tree, it was behind her this whole time.

If she wanted, she could touch it. Finally reach for it and feel it. Prove herself it was real and not just an image in her mind.

If only it looked alive.

Long heavy branches she remembered would be covered by lush green leaves and heavy branches now hanged bare twigs from all directions.

The crooked branches now creaked with the pull and push of the wind and no longer held its shine. Almost black wood stared back at her.

- "What is this?" - she gasped. Even as the sea of red lilies was vivid and danced with the wind, she couldn't believe the tree was no longer alive. Shaking off her thoughts, she glanced at the tree, hoping it would just turn back to its original glory.

But it wouldn't.

She no longer itched to touch it, she wished to run away from it.

- "What can I do?" - she pleaded to field around her. - "What do I do?" - her eyes searched for the figure she always ran away from. It had to be there.

- "Are you out there?" - she rose to her feet. - "Please, answer me." - her heels digging into the ground until she found the resolve to move forward and away from the tree.