[ Random Oneshots ]

Sentiment

11/03/23

Inspired by... this... hair item from PurenistaM. Yes, it has my name in it.

--

"Is that tight enough?" he says, grabbing a vine beside me, cut in advance. I don't respond. He wraps the vine around the tips of my hair, where he ended the braid, and ties a knot.

He lets go, revealing my hair, which was obviously braided by someone who was doing it for the first time. Nonetheless, I didn't care. My eyes focus instead on the wilting flower melting onto my palm.

"I'm sorry," he whispers. I can feel his forehead touching my bare back. "I couldn't do a perfect job. I know how much you valued your hair."

I only let out a small "mhm", crushing the flower between my fingers. Afterwards, I let it fall to the ground.

He remembered. I was someone who valued my hair, very dearly. My silky hair, which fades from a dark brown to an enchanting purple-red colour, was one of the only things I treasured. Normally, he wouldn't have a chance to touch even a strand of my hair. Tonight, however, I couldn't be bothered to care about it nearly as much.

I am, after all, just a husk of a person now.

With the scent of fresh flowers still overwhelmingly fill my nostrils, albeit just in my imagination, I quietly and slowly up, pulling up my robe with me.

"Oliver," I mumble, my eyebrows furrowing. I repeat his name once more, until I could hear him grunt as he quickly gets up. "I'd like you to search around for her things."

I don't look back, but I could hear him scurry to the bushes behind us. Once the sound of his footsteps dampen, my weak knees give in.

I expect nothing from Oliver. Not that I don't expect a good job from him, but I just can't imagine anything left of her after the tragedy. The day sunlight stopped shining, the sky went dark, and the flowers started to wilt - it was when her body started to give in. She was dying.

The day our once blossoming garden turned into something a gardener's nightmares would have been like, she coughed and coughed until her throat was hoarse. Desperately, she begged her lungs for air while they closed in on her, while she wiped away her tears on the fabric of my robe.

I could only hold her body close as the world turned dark. Nothing I knew of could ever make anything better. Her body slowly melted away with the dirt that started to solidify while an overwhelming amount of vines clinged onto every bit of her they could grasp.

She was dying, and I couldn't do anything to save her.

My fingers curl up on the ground, and I let my nails sink in the flesh of my palm. My teeth digs through my lip, causing it to bleed. Although the taste of blood trickles my tongue, I pay it no mind. I could only pay attention to the memories of her death, repeating in my head over and over again. I close my tearful eyes, waiting for something - anything - to engulf me in a similar way.

Suddenly, a smooth fabric glides over my skin. I look up to see Oliver, gently holding a folded beige dress.

"What's this?" I ask.

"It's a dress," he says, crouching beside my hunched figure and placing the dress and a letter on the ground. "These are all I could find of her."

I closely inspect the dress. As my fingers feel through the smoothness of the silk and the fabric shimmers through what remaining light source still remains, a sad smile creeps on my face. The smell of fresh flowers invade my nostrils, and for the first time since her death, comfort washes over me. To think this once belonged to her, even though I've only seen it once before...

Slowly, I shakily open the letter.

A dress made out of daisies - the fabric is delicate, so be careful. Match with a single, loose braid. Made exclusively for the wedding.

Wedding...?

A tear soaks the letter. And another, and another. I hold it close to my chest while tears fall down on my lap and onto the dress.

Once again, I weep for her.

A wind blows at my direction, blowing away all the wilted petals and vines surrounding me. The vine attached to my braid breaks, unraveling my hair and letting it dance in the wind. My robe sways along with my hair, although I did not pay attention to both. I could only focus on my feelings, the grief that comes with the loss of a lover. The grief of knowing her dreams have shattered and ended as quickly as they seem to have began.

My cries are carried throughout the ruined garden by the wind. The sky seems to have heard my pain, as a little dash of sunlight shines theough and lands on the dress. As I wipe my tears away, tiny specks of rainbow are reflected through the ray of light, making the fabric shine.

Carefully, I stand. As I let the remaining tears fall, I grab my hair and place it on my shoulder. My eyes are still red and my cheeks are puffy, but I take a deep breath and stare at the reflection from the sunlight.

"I think you should take the dress with you," Oliver whispers. I crouch and carefully pick up the dress, and the sunlight naturally follows through. A few wilting petals have landed on it, but he brushes them off with his palm.

A gentle breeze sways at my direction, slowly pushing the hair off my shoulder. I hand the dress over to Oliver, then I begin to search for a viable vine. I break it apart before sitting down and quickly braiding my hair on my shoulder. I wrap the vine tightly around where I ended the braid.

I look to Oliver, with a confused look on his face. "Give me the dress," I say, before he hands it back to me. Walking behind a lifeless tree until I couldn't see him anymore, I gaze at the dress with a flood of emotions, then I let my robe fall onto the dry earth.