The Halves of Rose

A Rose for Opal

An eight year old Steven sat with a thoughtful expression as he heard yelling from inside the beach house, his sister next to him with her hands held against her ears.

What was happening now was something they had learned to live with over the years. Opal had forgotten about their existence. It was uncommon, but there had been days where Opal would forget entire years of her life. Back when their dad was alive, the Gems had kept the twins away from her until she calmed down, but now that he wasn't, they had nowhere to go. They could only wait as Ruby and Sapphire tried their best to explain what was going on and keep away.

Steven sighed as he heard Sapphire's calm voice interrupted by Opal's yelling. He heard the mixture of anger and sadness welling within her, just as he had many times ago. It made him feel guilty every time he heard it, like his very existence was just a mistake for her that needed to be corrected. But, he couldn't fix what happened.

Connie on the other hand, was too terrified to think about what Steven was thinking about. She would become overcome with dread when she'd see Opal walk into their room with a shocked expression and ask why they were there.

"We can't keep doing this." Steven said.

Connie uncovered her ears at the sound of her brother's voice. "Huh?"

"We can't keep doing this. Every time she forgets, we're going to have to listen to her talk about how much she hates us until she finally remembers. I'm sick and tired of it."

Connie turned to him. "I am too, but that's just how things are. We can't change it."

Steven thought for a moment. After a while, he stood up.

"What are you doing?" Connie asked.

"I'm going to help Opal." He said, walking down the steps.

"But Steven, Dad always said to just keep away from her and everything will be-"

"Dad's not here Connie." Steven stated. "We're here and we can't keep living like this. Which is why I'm going to finish this." Steven turned and ran away from the house, leaving his sister to wonder what crazy idea he had come up with this time.
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Opal sat by the table, letting out quiet sobs. At the table sat a bottle of alcohol, something she had apparently stocked up on in case she forgot again. To think that she had gone through the pain she felt right then multiple times was completely unfathomable in her mind. How had she been able to survive this long knowing that one day she was going to forget it all? Opal guessed it was just another thing she forgot. She hoped she forgot about that thought too when her memory came back to her. Until then, she just waited for her past to come back to her and allow her to once again live in the present.

Her teammates had finally managed to get her to calm down and face the facts, but she still needed her memories to become complete again. Until then, she was a broken gem crying over someone who had been lost long ago.

The creak of the door opening sounded, but Opal didn't bother looking up. Connie had fallen asleep outside and the other gems were inside, leaving only one person to be the culprit.

"What do you want?" Opal asked harshly.

She heard a gasp. He must have thought she was asleep. That would've been a terrific idea admittedly.

"Go away freak. Can't you see I'm busy?"

There was a moment's hesitation. For what reason, Opal didn't care. The silence only lasted a few seconds, but to her it felt like an eternity. Soon, she heard footsteps, but not going away from her.

"I said leave!" Opal snapped.

Steven didn't stop, he kept walking towards her.

Opal looked up to the young boy and gave him the most menacing glare she could manage. "What do you want?! Do you want to ruin my life some more, is that it?!"

"I-"

"Do you want to remind me of what you two took from me, is that it?!"

"I'm just trying to-"

"Or are you just here because you want to see me-"

Steven shut his eyes. "I just want to help you!" He shouted, silencing Opal.

When he opened his eyes, Opal's expression had changed. It was still full of anger and hate, but it was calmer, ready to listen.

Steven sighed. "I just wanted to give you something. Something that could help you remember Mom." He raised his arm to her, holding a flower.

Opal looked at it and then back to him. "What is this, some sort of peace offering?" She asked in a cold tone.

"No…it's…it's a rose."
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Opal sat up in her bed, stretching. Another wonderful day here on Earth. The sun would be shining, the birds would be chirping, and there was so much food she needed to find and eat.

She got up quickly. She had probably overslept. It was something that often happened when she decided to go to sleep, but she still did it; besides, it's not like Rose would mind-

Just as the thought of Rose ran through her mind, she saw something that sent a chill down her spine. There was a bubble, her bubble, floating in the center of her room, encasing a bright pink rose. She…she didn't remember putting that there. Granted, she didn't remember doing a lot of pointless things, but this was different. It was her bubble around something that wasn't a gem. Why would she have put her bubble around a rose? And then put it in the center of her room? Was there something important about it she just had to…remember?

Opal walked up to the plant that had been preserved in the bubble, popping it's prison so it would fall into her hands. Along with the plant came a picture. It was of herself, Sapphire, and Ruby with two kids that had goofy expressions on their faces.

Why did Opal leave this for herself?

Opal turned it around and immediately felt herself freeze.

"You love them like you loved her." Was written in her handwriting. And like that, she understood. She didn't remember, but she understood. And she broke down right there, not wanting to let those two see.