Sanders Sides One Shots & Shorts

Benches and Blossoms (But With a Twist)

Hi guys!

So remember that prinxiety short story: "Benches and Blossoms" from a while ago?

So I really liked the concept of it, and I actually used it for a school project so did in May. We had to write a three pages short story. There were some specific requirements but that was the basis of it.

I've grown a lot as a writer in the last year since I wrote that fic, and I also couldn't hand in a romance fanfiction, now could I?

So, I ended up rewriting it. So it's a little different than the original, and I have to say that I kind of like this one better. I decided to post it, in case any of you wanted to read it. It also serves as a direct comparison to an old piece of writing and it really shows my growth (I think).

It's like one of those artist's "art from before vs now" things but... you know with writing.

Anyway, enough of me babbling.

Oh! One more thing. I ended up changing the name of the short story to "Unreceived" even though no one seems to get it.
——————————
Date Published: Jul 28, 2019
Word Count: 1266
POV: 3rd Person

A bench stood on the grassy corner of an intersecting path, overlooking a steep hill that fell only to rise again into vast, fast mountains. The sun sinking toward them cast rays of gentle light to the bench on the hill. The seat wasn't manufactured or pristine. In fact, it looked as though it had almost grown right out of the the ground. The cadaverous metal legs were slightly uneven and brittle, but they were handcrafted to be strong and supportive of the whole. The wooden seat and back of the bench were rough and unsanded, but carefully placed and sized. The twisting arms mimicked a vine design, each curve carefully crafted, making it clear that someone took great care in building them. The cherry blossom tree that overlooked the bench was soft and bent. The flowers from it, the colour of the deepening sky above, tumbled softly into the lap and light hair of a young man, who sat on the bench as he waited.

Darwin sat off to the side, leaving space for someone else to sit beside him if they chose to. His hands protruded from his old jean jacket, his fingers delicately knitting the falling flowers into a small hoop, as he waited for her to arrive. It was her birthday, and two years after they parted ways, he still missed her. He thought maybe for this occasion, if he'd asked, she would come.

When she arrived, it was sudden; almost as if she had just appeared sitting there. Her nimble mind and bubbly energy had always made her quick. But, of course she didn't use to be this quiet. It had been a long time since Darwin had seen her, but she looked almost the same. Her long blonde hair in a loose braid down her back, and her slim figure would've appeared frail if it weren't for the power and height she held behind it, with a confidence that masked that it had ever withered. She might have been a bit more pale, but other than that, not much had changed. Her eyes still held the same brightness as they had held two years ago, and all the years before that. Darwin smiled at her, but was hesitant to reach out. Her eyes were sad, and her hands folded in her lap seemed afraid to be inviting. He discreetly tucked the flowers to the side, down by the leg of the bench on which they sat, not sure if she could accept them. He had missed her, but he was the one who had driven her away.

"Leigh...", was what he said. Not hello, not a greeting, but her name. The one that he'd been afraid to say for months. The guilt panged in his chest when he saw her smile back. Her lips unparting, and her words unheard. She turned out to the horizon, eyes beginning to follow the quickly slipping sun. His eyes held a little longer, unbelieving of the fact that after all of this time, she came. He knew that at this moment two years ago, she would be humming. Some little tune that she'd made up herself, that didn't have any pattern, the notes' only direction was to follow her happiness. But of course she had stopped singing, her voice ripped from her in a moment that Darwin could have prevented.

His heart stopped. Of course, that's why he was here. The real reason that lead him to sit here and hope that she'd do the same. The words that hung in the absence of her in his life that his voice could never seem to find. The ones that held him as mute as she would be for the rest of time.

His eyes turned to the sunset, the sickly pink sky was purpling like a bruise on the knees of a young girl, who fell off the monkey bars on a playground without anyone there to catch her. The words hanging off monkey bars in his head were quickly slipping too, and they fell out of his mouth with a cry so quiet he wasn't really sure if he had said them at all:

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The words he had never been able to bring himself to say tumbled from his mouth over and over, for every day he couldn't say them.
"I should've been there for you. I'm your big brother, that's my job. I should've stopped it." He hesitated. "I hope you're happier now, Leigh. I really do. I just wish that you could've been happy here, with me." He couldn't look over at her, and trained his eyes on the descending sun. It was all his fault, how could he ever ask her to forgive him?

But, he felt cool fingers entwine slowly with his own, a petite hand slipping into his. He felt the weight of his sister's head on his shoulder, her wispy blonde hair must've been what made his neck tingle. She leaned on him like she always had when they were little, and her gentle squeeze of his hand rang with her typical 'it's not your fault'. His eyes watered and stung, and though he told himself it was because of the burning sun, but perhaps there was more to it than that.

He looked away, eyes moving to the ground, and his sister let go. He leaned away, now focused on the flower crown that was lying at the foot of the bench. He reached to grab it, careful not to damage the fragile flowers and frail braids that held them together. He brought it up to his chest, and turned to offer it to his sister. However, just as suddenly as she had arrived, she was gone. Almost dissipating into the cool air around her. Darwin smiled sadly, but he wasn't surprised. He had known that she couldn't stay. He gently placed the crown on the seat beside him, hoping that she'd know it was for her.

He stood, and turned to look at the bench that he had built. For once since she'd left, he let himself linger. He stood in the freedom in saying the words that had prevented him from truly missing her. He reached forward, and ran his fingers along the hand-inscripted letters on the back of the bench.

"In Loving Memory"