Over The Horizon

The unknown legend

As the night passed, the flowers that were withered grew back up as a white light engulfed them, making them grow until they were fully grown and beautiful like before.

The flowers plucked by people from the places grew back up again; even the size of the petals was the same. One could not tell, even if they saw the difference. It was as if the magical valley could grow whatever it had lost.

No one knew why this happened in the valley of flowers or why the flowers never withered or grew old or died out. The only thing that people knew was that it was normal for the flowers to be in eternal bloom-a place where flowers never died-the "valley of flowers."

Yet very few were aware of the legend of the goddess of flowers, who died here; her reason for death is unknown. But her death made the flowers immortal, which still bloomed under the chilling gaze of the moon. Moonlight shone, illuminating the beautiful valley and will keep on blooming forever, just like a few stories.

During the night, fireflies could be seen sitting on the flowers as cicadas played their melody in rhythm.

The world remained unaware of what was going on, while the flowers fluttered. The soft wind blew, rustling the flowers together, making them dance in unison. Among them, a man could be seen crouching down as tears dropped from his eyes. The pain was evident as he sobbed, but one couldn't be sure of his pain or the reason for it.

"Why couldn't you love me just as I was? Why did you wish for me to change?"

His voice cracked, and the echo of his voice was answered with silence. He knew every one of his questions would go unanswered, yet when he looked at the flowers, he didn't know what to feel-hate them or love them?

As his single teardrop fell onto the " Yearning Red", the flower that represented the goddess of flowers, the man disappeared just as quickly. What was it-an illusion cast upon the goddess to torture herself even after her death? Or was it something that no one was aware of?

As they say, fate is cruel to those who fight it, yet crueler to those who yield to it. Maybe one day, there would be answers heard instead of the silence that always followed. The dance and melody of fireflies and cicadas were supposed to be beautiful, but somehow it made the flowers look glum. One could feel the gloomy presence even though there was no one around. Flowers cried for the departed soul, and yet, they would still carry the memories for all eternity.

As time passed, a small white light appeared above the ground, forming into a white shadow of a woman with long, silky white hair. Her face blurred due to the density of light. She sighed, her sigh soft and melodic as the flowers hummed along with her sigh. She spoke softly as the soft white light flickered as the wind blew ever so softly.

"I never wished for you to change. I wouldn't have ever wished for you to change."

After a long pause she looked around as if she had just been woken up after a long slumber of dreams.

"The valley of the flowers... is this what the people in this dimension call it?"

A clear, soothing voice could be heard among the flowers as they whispered along with the wind. As if agreeing with the voice, the soft sound of chuckling could be heard as the voice morphed into a foggy form of a woman. She looked around at the decayed and dead flower field, her smile fading like a distant memory. A sigh escaped her lips as the foggy form of the woman gazed into the clear, starry sky, reminiscing about a long-lost memory. How much time had passed since she came back to the surface, or was it just an endless torture she had to endure? But she was content with it, as it was what he had wanted from her, or perhaps what he might have wanted due to her betrayal.

"If we fight for the wrongs as godly beings, we are called brave and heroes. Yet, when we crush wrongdoings as individuals who are different from others and not the 'pure saint' or a god, we are labeled as heartless villains. How ironic. Even morals have aesthetics. But who am I to judge? Wasn't I the same?"

The woman said, her voice cracking, as if the wound was fresh, the painful memories torturing her even after years of parting. "The world itself never accepted the ones that were even the slightest diffrent, yet...why does it have to come to this..?"

"Why does it hurt? Why can my heart not stop aching even after I am no longer in the world of the living? Why? I am just a memory filled with emptiness and void, yet so full of love for you. Why is it that I am like a perfect graveyard that has buried all hopes, yet it still yearns for the warmth of someone that has already parted ways. I am still and silent because if I open my mouth, I may never stop screaming."

The woman said, her voice carrying a small smile, enjoying her eternal torture only to be replied by silence. It seemed to have been years since all the gods were wiped out, leaving only a peaceful world behind, but at what cost-well, that is something no one would probably ever know.

"I really have made a fool of myself, more than anyone can ever make a fool of me."

The woman said as she touched the flower, Yearning Red. As soon as she touched the flower, it turned into a form of a man. The shape was unstable, but as soon as the woman tried to touch him, he disappeared into thin air, leaving nothing but cold air and the woman standing, looking into nothingness.

"You once told me, I can decorate someone's absence by my flowers however I want, yet today when i tried, I still cannot feel your presence, the warmth that no flower could ever provide. Now, I have decorated the valley with my blood after your death, sacrificed myself to suffer eternal torture, yet I still feel it wasn't enough. I still feel I haven't given enough."

The woman's legs gave out as she fell on her knees and looked into nothingness. Even though her face was not visible, one could tell that she was crying for the departed soul left behind, all alone. One would even think how can an illusion be so strong, but who knows when pain is so intense that even death couldn't undo the suffering, especially for the goddess of flowers, Azalea.

"Azalea."

Someone called out to the goddess from behind, making her snap her neck in that direction in an instant, but there was no one around. It was the call of her lover, and she could recognize that voice among the millions. She stood up and ran in the direction of the voice, her form fading ever so slightly, but to no avail-there was no one.

"Hah...hahaha... even you are toying with me...?"

The goddess asked into nothingness, knowing very well that it was a curse she had placed upon herself to suffer. What had she done? To suffer the pain of parting, to never forget, and to never reincarnate. But alas, Azalea was tired, yet she knew it was what she had to go through, as this was the punishment that could make her lover's soul rest in peace. She bent down and touched the ground as the flowers ruffled softly along the wind, fireflies dancing along the soft ruffling of the flowers. As the night echoed the silent prayers of the couples that usually came to the valley, blessed by the goddess to fulfill their love, the flowers were the language meant to express the words that people themselves could not. A soft pink glow radiated from the woman's foggy white hands, making the flowers shine along with her. As the flowers healed themselves again, the everyday process of the night, where the flowers healed and regrew, today was different. There were dandelions among them, dandelions among the daffodil roses and blue iris.

"How... did that happen?"

The goddess looked at them, knowing what that meant. Daffodil roses represent unrequited love, meanwhile blue iris represents unconditional love, yet dandelion... The goddess looked at the flower, and a single tear fell from her eyes, falling onto the dandelion. As the air blew away the dandelion, the single dandelion flower among the rainbow roses scattered away as more dandelion flowers grew among the flower field, rooted forever in the valley of flowers.

"The love that cannot stay."

The goddess whispered softly as she spoke out what the dandelion represented, smiling bitterly as she looked at them. After a moment, as soon as the sun started rising, the goddess's form dissipated, leaving nothing but healed flowers and even more memories.

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Thank you for reading it to the end, it was just a small story i came up with, tho I plan on making it into a book, as I do have ideas so I might convert it into a book later.