Myosotis

Fluquor

'Itsuka kono omoi wa kimi no te maiorite

(Someday these feelings of mine will flutter down into your hands)

Fureteba tokete yuku yo inochi no yasashisa de

(And if you touch them, they will melt from the tenderness of your life)'

- Onoken / Vocal: Rin, 'Fluquor'

---

Alice awoke to the clink of her breakfast tray.

She blinked bleary-eyed at the nurse who delivered her breakfast who after placing down her breakfast, moved to her bedside table and placed another object down and left, unaware of Alice's awakening.

Sitting up with much effort on her part, Alice finally noticed her frail figure. Her arms were like twigs and looked like they would snap at any given moment. Feeling her face, Alice felt the unnatural hollowness that she possessed which children shouldn't have. Her stomach whined for food, yet she didn't feel hungry. She hadn't felt hungry ever since Hans' death had fully set in. She was sure that she would've vomited everything up after eating it, and she was especially sure that would happen now since her stomach would now find solid food foreign.

Remembering that the nurse had left something else alongside her breakfast, Alice turned her attention over to her bedside table and saw that an unfamiliar box had been placed there. Reaching out a weak hand, Alice grabbed the box and examined it. It was a smooth black and was tied with a silky white ribbon into a simple bow. Although she had never seen it before, it seemed familiar. After staring at it for a few seconds, it hit her.

It reminded her of Deemo.

Alice bit her lip as tears threatened to spill and she blinked them away. She internally berated herself. It wasn't like her brother could send her something, he was dead.

Finding the tag attached to the present, Alice flipped it over and read it.

To: Alice

From:

'Who was it from?' Alice mused with furrowed brows. Carefully undoing the bow, Alice lifted the top of the black box and almost dropped it as she saw what was inside. Inside was a circular quartz with a flower design carved atop it.

The exactly same circular quartz that Deemo, Hans, had placed her on and brought her out of her coma.

Drip.

'Huh?' Alice thought and lifted a hand to her cheeks. She made contact with a hot liquid spilling down her face and wiped it away. But as soon as she did that, another drop appeared and Alice was left wiping her face as tears ravaged her being.

'Why?'

Alice once again thought back to the events which lead to her leaving her coma and whilst doing so, she reached a notion she had never thought of before.

(Her brother didn't die and leave her alone; he had never left her - he was still with her.

He had stuck by her while she grew up and had been Deemo in her coma.

...And he was still with her.)

She was suddenly disgusted with herself. 'What am I doing?' she wondered. 'Why am I doing this to myself? Hans didn't do all this for me to waste away and die; I'm just disrespecting his memory. How could I? I'm such an idiot!'

Deemo, Hans, didn't go through all those things for her to do this to herself. He didn't protect Alice from death, play all those songs and try so hard for her to wake up, only for her to die when she did.

'I am going to stop,' Alice told herself, sobs wracking her body. 'And live in a way in which Hans would be proud of.'

---

When the nurse later returned, they were surprised to see that the tray had been wiped clean of all traces of food. They had glanced at the figure hidden beneath the blanket and smiled, wondering what on earth had caused the sudden change of heart as they left the room.

---

Underneath the blanket, Alice was still sobbing with only one thought resonating throughout her mind.

(He never left without saying goodbye.)