It has been like this for months now. He won't answer my calls or texts. He doesn't even call me 'love' nowadays
There are always excuses.
"I'm sorry, there's an emergency at work"
"Something has come up"
"I have to stay after to catch up on work"
And the classical,
"I'll be home in an hour, I promise"
But I knew he would break his promise once again.
I could see marks of infidelity. I could smell another on him when I embraced him. I could tell he was lying to me.
Day after day, would I sit by myself at the sofa. Hoping he would come in time for once, just once.
While I was waiting, cough attacks became more frequent.
And one day, the unthinkable happened. After my coughing fit had stopped, I looked down at my hand.
Three red dahlia petals sat neatly on my palm.
If he saw that something was wrong, he didn't question it. Perhaps he thought I was catching a cold.
But it was much worse than that. I was suffering.
First red dahlia petals, then yellow rose petals
Betrayal, dishonesty; jealousy, infidelity, undying love
After an agonizing, painfully long cough attack I decided to look it up.
Hanahaki Byou
The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from one-sided love. The patient throws up and coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love.
The infection can be removed through surgery, but the feelings disappear along with the petals.
If the love is returned, the infection will be cured, and ends when the patient throws up the entire flower with its roots.
If the surgery is not done, and the love is not reciprocated, the patient will eventually be choked to death/ die from suffocation.
