Hanahaki (Short Story)

iv

03•23•20
Tuesday
8:35 pm

After walking for a while, he finally arrived home. He rang the doorbell, hoping that his mother would open it quickly.

He heard his mother's footsteps growing louder, then heard the door unlocking. His smiling mother greeted him. Her smile fading away as soon as she saw how worn out Connelly looked.

"Hey Conn, you don't usually come home this late. Did something happen?" his mother asked while letting Connelly in.

"My teammates and I practiced playing basketball for a little while since our game is coming up, " the boy forced a smile.

"Well, do you want to eat at least? I left some food for you."

"I'm good. We already ate after our practice. I just need some rest for now," Connelly answered, heading towards the stairs.

"If you say so, honey. Have a good night. I love you," his mother smiled

"Thanks, mom. I love you too," Connelly looked at his mother and smiled at her back.

Connelly didn't want to lie, but he needed to. He didn't want his mother to worry about him. In his whole life, he never once lied to his mother. Of course, he had secrets, but it never was a lie until now. He was always a nice young man.

"But I guess Xylan is better," the boy bitterly thought.

The broken-hearted boy entered his room and locked the door. His eyes started tearing up from the excruciating pain but he tried to suppress it. Society said real men don't cry, but how can he not? He was in pain, emotionally and physically.

He went to grab a pen and paper from his bag and started writing a note on the floor. The note contained all the things he was thankful for, and all the faults he has done and wished to amend for it.

While writing, he felt his chest tighten. He let go of the pen and paper to clutch his chest. Connelly started to run out of breath. 'Is this what Violet felt? Thank goodness she doesn't have to feel this pain anymore,' he thought.

He began to cough, blood and red petals emerged. He coughed to the point where he threw up more blood and the actual flowers. It was thorny roses, Violet's favorite flower.

He felt the thorns scrape his throat. The poor boy wanted to scream, but he couldn't.

Connelly's vision started to blur, feeling weaker by the second. In spite of that, he continued to write what he wanted to write, trying to make it understandable to whoever is going to read it.

Since Connelly mentioned the memories he had in his note, he had a trip to memory lane. He reminisced about all the good memories he had. It made him think if he will ever create more memories with the people he cherished.

He remembered that he still has the petal from Violet's head. Connelly brought it with him all day. It was like a lucky charm for him. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it with a slight smile on his face.

~F l a s h b a c k~

03•13•20
Friday
09:30 am

Violet and Connelly were eating recess under a cherry blossom tree, their usual spot on the school grounds. It was where they first met each other. They were talking about the most random stuff possible. But when they ran out of things to talk about, Violet struck a question.

"By the way, since I already told you mine, it's only fair for you to tell me who's your crush. So, who is it?" Violet raised an eyebrow at Connelly.

Connelly was caught off guard by her question. "M-my crush?" he said, surprised. "Hmm... I can't disclose to you the name, but I can describe what she looks like."

"Boo~! Just tell me the name!"

"I can't because of personal reasons."

"And what 'personal reason' is that?"

"It's called 'personal' for a reason, Violet."

"Hmph, fine. Just tell me what she looks like then," Violet said, pouting.

"Well first off, she has long black hair," he said while looking up, as if he was imagining his crush.

"C'mon, almost everyone has long black hair—"

"She has green eyes, is 5'4ft tall, and often has her hair up." Connelly cut her off to avoid hearing her complaints. "Good enough for you?"

Violet rolled her eyes and nodded. "Green eyes, 5'4ft tall and often has her hair up..." she repeated. She closed her eyes and was thinking deeply.

After what seemed like she found an answer, she opened her eyes. "Wait, this sounds like... me?" Violet's eyebrows furrowed.

"You? Yeah right, that's just a coincidence. For your information, you aren't the only one with those features, dummy," Connelly grinned, teasing Violet.

Violet couldn't say anything back to argue, so she just sighed. "Okay, okay. Point taken," she raised her arms up as if giving up. "I have another question, if you don't mind."

"Fire away."

"Have you confessed to her?

"I'm planning to," he couldn't help but show his smile.

Violet giggled at his smug face. "How cute! Okay, I have one last question!"

"Fine, this is the last question that I'll entertain for today."

"Do you really love her?"

Connelly froze. He hasn't thought about it that deeply yet, but for the sake of her question...

He smiled warmly, "Yes, I really do. I love her more than anything else in my life."

~e n d o f f l a s h b a c k~

"I guess this is the last of me," Connelly thought while coughing out more blood and flowers, his vision getting more blurry.

Connelly managed to finish his note, putting it beside him. After that, he just leaned on the wall, waiting for his death. The pain was too much for him to handle. He was wishing to die already. Is that too much to ask for?

He closed his eyes, hoping that when he falls asleep, he wouldn't wake up anymore.

-End of Chapter 4-