Garden of Aeternus

Lotus

As more days continue to pass, Gladiolus noticed that the flowers in the garden were still in poor condition, and he could not figure out what had happened to the flowers. But he dismissed it, and continued to live a comfortable, happy life with Daisy in their garden together.

However, Gladiolus felt something amiss. One day, Gladiolus notices that Daisy is nowhere to be found again. He questioned if she had gone to the garden again. Had he missed something? He noticed that Daisy seemed to do certain things less, he noticed that Daisy kept looking towards that other garden even when they were spending time together. But was Daisy not happy in their garden? Wasn't it everything they could ever want?

Gladiolus rushes to the other garden in the distance, feeling great anxiety. As he arrived at the garden, he noticed all of the epiphany flowers had died. New epiphany flowers had grown again nearby the dead ones. As he walks into the garden, he saw Daisy in the arms of another, touching each other in erotic ways.

Gladiolus feels his heart burst with pain. He yells, asking Daisy what the meaning of all this was? Daisy turned to him, and gave him a dead cold stare. "What do you mean? I love it here", she said.

Gladiolus could not understand at all. Wasn't their garden everything that they ever wanted? Then why was Daisy in another garden? Before Gladiolus had any opportunity to ask further questions, Daisy emotionlessly said "Who are you?"

Gladiolus feels his body grow numb. He feels his heart begin to painfully clench up like a raisin. He runs away, quickly heading back to their garden. What's going on? None of this makes any sense!

As he sprints back to their garden, he realized their entire garden was covered in snow. It became unbearably cold in a single instant. Everything was sunny and warm moments ago, what had happened?

As Gladiolus enters their garden, he was shocked at what he had seen. The lakes they used to play in became frozen solid, the fields of grass they used to play in were no longer there. The mountains they had climbed together had now become a harsh snowy landscape. The house that him and Daisy had built together had now become a cold desolate area, breaking apart at the edges.

He walks to the garden of flowers, only to find that there were no more flowers. All the flowers had withered and died. Not a single one remained. He shook uncontrollably, breaking down into tears as he realized what was in front of him.

It was Daisy. But she was lifeless. She was no longer smiling, or laughing, or crying. She was dead. Gladiolus held her in his arms, desperately trying to wake her. But it was all to no avail. It was all meaningless. She would no longer wake up.

Gladiolus sobbed, begging her to wake up. But Daisy would no longer wake up. The realization came to him. This was the Daisy that was left behind in their garden, while the living Daisy was in the other garden of epiphany flowers. This Daisy he held in his arms was the one left behind and discarded by the living Daisy.

Gladiolus held the lifeless Daisy's hand, hyperventilating. This was the Daisy he knew and loved. But she would no longer wake up. She would no longer hold Gladiolus. She would no longer kiss him. She would no longer tell him this Garden was all they needed. She would no longer laugh or cry with him. She would no longer run in the fields of grass with him, or climb the mountains with him, or bathe in the lakes with him, or relax in their home together.

Never again would Daisy wake up. Daisy began to slowly freeze up, as solid ice started to cover her entire body. Gladiolus desperately tried to push the ice away, begging Daisy to not go. But it was hopeless. The ice covered up Daisy completely. Before Gladiolus could react, all of Daisy shattered into thousands of tiny ice shards.

Gladiolus sobbed uncontrollably, digging away in the snow, hoping to bring her back. But this was a meaningless endeavor. He screamed in agony, walking to the home they had built together. It was cold, empty, and dark inside. He sat down, continuing to cry as memories of Daisy flashed through his mind.

Gladiolus cursed his fate, losing all the joy he had inside of him. Through the window of his home, he could see the living Daisy smiling and laughing in the other garden of epiphanies. He mourned, realizing that the Daisy he knew and loved no longer existed. The living Daisy was but a drastically different person, chasing after epiphanies in another garden. Gladiolus knew there were other gardens out there, yet he knew deep down that no garden out there could possibly ever replicate this one. This one was a special one. This one was a garden which would never be replaced within his heart, no matter which garden he went to.

As Gladiolus walks outside, he notices one single flower blooming amidst all the heavy snow. He touches it gently. It was a single pink lotus flower. Despite the fact that there was no body of water around anymore, and certainly no more sunlight, it was a surprise that such a flower could suddenly grow from the cold heartless snow. Gladiolus teared up, smiling at the lotus flower.

To this day, it is believed that Gladiolus is still in that snowy garden, living in that home alone, and tending to that single lotus flower...