The Beginning

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Spring

Where another flower of the garden blooms

On a bright, spring day the sun shone. Through a path, past the trees, over the rock lies a beautiful, secret flower garden. Blue roses covered the ground, with a size that felt infinite. There, in the middle of the garden, was a small hill with a tree on top.

And under that tree's shade, reading a book, sat a boy.

And under that tree's shade, reading a book, sat a boy

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Owen leaned against the bark of the tree. It was smooth enough to be comfortable, but rough enough to actually feel like a tree. That was the best part. He was reading his history book, as light peeked through the bright green leaves. Owen yawned. "Maybe I should rest a bit. It is a great day for resting outside, I guess." Putting the book over his face, he lied back against the tree and closed his eyes.

She didn't know what she expected, honestly. Maybe some kind of barren desert, or a jungle with large plants, or maybe even a tundra! But not some kind of flower garden. It was beautiful, she had to admit. It's an illusion, she thought. Don't trust anything on an alien planet. An alarm sounded. May backed away from the window she was peeking out of, and turned to the screen. The jets were going to start to soften the descent of the pod soon, so she had to get ready. A dagger slid out of a slot near the chair. It was made of titanium, and had a hilt. She grabbed it, and sat down.

"Calm down." May reassured herself. "If you have to, you can fight".

Remember what you learnt.

The jets turned upside down, and started pushing against the pod's momentum to dampen the fall. May lost her balance for a second, then sat back down. Taking deep breaths, she examined the dagger in her hand. It was made of titanium, and the handle was wrapped in leather. She tossed it in her hand a little, feeling the weight. From what she remembered, titanium was nice and light. It was also very corrosion-resistant, but it made the knife less durable. Just how she liked it. May flicked against the knife's metal, and it made a clink sound with every flick. She felt the thrusters working, which meant the pod was landing. May braced herself, and the thrusters started pushing back more. May felt herself floating for a little. The pod descended, without even a sound. May fell back down, stumbling to the door. She gripped the dagger, and the doors opened.

It made her upset how beautiful the flower garden looked. The sky was clear and blue, and the air was fresh. Right in front of her was a tree, which had some green leaves. The rest of the leaves had turned into cherry blossoms, so spring must have started. In the shade of the tree was a person.

May gulped. Obviously the pod didn't notice them, because the pod was made to evade as many people as possible. This person was lying down, and sleeping. An adult? No, someone younger. Actually, May assumed this person was around her age. Wait, how could she tell? This should have been an alien, and there was no way to tell age. But this alien looked just like her. Wait, not exactly like her. They looked like someone she would pass by when she walked outside. But the face was covered with a book. Then, it finally clicked in her head. This must have been a doppelgänger planet, copying her memories. But they might not be able to copy faces, which is why they hide their faces.

Better to end this quick, she thought. Gripping the knife hard, she tiptoed to the alien. The flowers rustled, making May wince. She noticed that they were blue roses, which were actually her favorite. She smiled lightly, with the memories as her father gave her one, saying that they were a symbol of true love.

Give them to your boyfriend, or something. She recalled her dad's voice.

Dad! I don't have a boyfriend, okay? May chuckled at her old response. But May shook her head. "Before" was dead. She had to kill this alien quickly. May held the knife upward, ready to stab the alien. But it looked so familiar, she hesitated.

Don't look, don't look.

She reached up, ready to plunge the knife into it. Still, alien or not, she was taking a life. Could she handle that?

You need to live.

"AAH!"

A scream broke through May's thoughts. She nearly dropped her knife, but kept a strong grip on it. The alien had woken up, backing away sitting down.

Dammit! May thought to herself. She clenched her hands into fists. May's pity had gotten her nowhere to her goal, and she failed to do what she was meant to do.

If I let this one get away, they're probably going to call the others. May held up the knife, getting ready. Better to finish this now. But May noticed something. She looked at the alien, and the strange thing was the lack of strange things. It was a boy, and he had messy, orange hair. There were freckles on his cheeks, and he looked perfectly normal. But, she had never seen this person before in her life. So was this alien not copying from her memories?

It's a trick! May reminded herself. It must be a trick! Everyone is dead! Don't hesitate!

"What in the world are you thinking!" The boy shouted. "Yeesh, don't scare me like that! I thought you were gonna murder me!"

Wait, what? May thought. Did he not realize that was what I was trying to do this entire time?

"Wait, what's that pod behind you?" The boy asked.

Shoot, he noticed! May had to respond quickly. He spoke the same language as her, so it should be easy. Hopefully he was one of the dumb ones.

"Are you an alien?" He cocked his head, crossing his legs.

"N-no! Why would you say something so absurd?" May blurted. She had to convince this boy quickly, or else she might be in trouble.

The boy stood up again. He grabbed his book, readying it.

The boy grit his teeth, glaring. "That's not enough to convince me. What do you think I am, stupid? You might be transforming based on my memories. Although, I've never seen someone like you. Are you using multiple qualities from different people?"

"That's exactly what I thought YOU were!" May was furious, and she wanted to lunge at this random boy. He seemed as old as she was, so how could he talk down to him like this?

"Go back home!" The boy shouted. "Leave this peaceful planet alone! What would you have to do here? Money? People? Land? Or just power?"

"What about just a place to live?"

A look of shock crossed the boy's face. May only noticed after, but she had started to cry. She kept the feeling of being away from home bottled down, but it was overflowing, clogging her throat. Sniffling, she turned away, and ran.

"Wait-"

"You're a jerk." May turned back, and ran into the distance.

"Wait a sec, ugh, dammit, why do I have to go and do things like this?" The boy slapped himself on the forehead, going back to the tree. "I think I'm gonna give her some time to breathe."

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