Hanahaki (Short Story)

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03•24•20
Wednesday
5:45 am

"Good morning, auntie," Connelly's mom was greeted by this sweet childhood friend of his son, Violet. Since her son and Violet have been friends practically since birth, she lets her call her "auntie" instead of "Mrs. Anderson."

It was a surprise for Mrs. Anderson to see the young lady this early in the morning.

"Oh hello there, future daughter-in-law," Mrs. Anderson jokingly said. Violet is used to her calling the girl "future daughter-in-law", "future wife of Conn" and such. After all, Connelly's mom is the number one shipper of the two. "What brings you here early in the morning?"

"I just wanted to fetch Connelly and walk together to school," Violet answered.

"I see. Connie's upstairs, probably still sleeping," she pointed her index finger to the second floor. "Oh, and by the way, he looked down when he came home yesterday. He also came home later than usual. Did you guys have a fight or something?" Mrs. Anderson asked, squinting her eyes. She's like a schoolgirl ready for some gossip.

"No, we didn't fight. We never do. Did he say why he was feeling down?"

"He just said that he felt tired because he had a practice game with his teammates."

"What? He said to me yesterday that he had errands to do, so he left the building early," Violet said with a confused tone.

"Oh? Maybe he had his reasons. Anyway, have a seat. I'll get you something to drink while you wait for Connie, okay?" she said. "What would you like?"

"Just a glass of water, please."

Mrs. Anderson went to the kitchen and got a glass of water for the young lady. "Here's your drink," she gave it to Violet with a smile. "I'll call your future husband now," Mrs. Anderson said in a sing-song voice.

Violet thanked Mrs. Anderson as she laughed at the 'future husband' part.

Mrs. Anderson went upstairs and Violet was alone in the living room.

Violet wondered why he lied to his mother. She knows for a fact that Connelly never lies to his mother. Why now?

She was about to drink her water when suddenly she heard a shriek from upstairs. It came from Mrs. Anderson.

Violet didn't waste any time and ran upstairs. She saw Mrs. Anderson crying as she looked inside her beloved son's room

"Oh my god..." Violet covered her mouth in shock. Her eyes were welling up with tears.

Blood and petals were all around his room. It was a garden of dead roses.

And the poor boy... Connelly was lying lifeless on the ground. Flowers and blood filled his mouth.

"CONNELLY!" Violet screamed as she went near her best friend's body. She put her hand on his stained uniform, hoping that he was still breathing. No heartbeat, no breathing.

Mrs. Anderson was still shocked by what she saw. She was standing still on the doorway while crying, not knowing what to do.

"No... no, no, no," Mrs. Anderson muttered. "NO! THIS CAN'T BE!" In a second, the devastated mother rushed to Connelly's body.

"Auntie..." Violet went to comfort Mrs. Anderson, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

Mrs. Anderson began to call the ambulance, hoping that there is at least a chance that he could live. They said that they'll arrive as soon as possible.

While she was comforting Connelly's mother, Violet was scanning his best friend's body. She saw something on his left side. It was a wilted cherry blossom petal on his palm and a note beside his hand.