Good Things To An End

Sunset High Picnic

"Why are we walking so far?" May gasped, out of breath.

Claire turned to her. "Well, the place we're going to is basically at the edge of town."

"Edge of town- C'mon, are you serious?"

Owen laughed. "Don't worry, it's worth it."

May stopped, hands on her knees. "How can you walk this without breaking a sweat?"

Jean stared off in the distance, thinking. "It might be because of the Gaia energy enhancement we learnt recently."

"Gaia energy enhancement? What's that?" May asked.

"Basically, it's the phenomenon where somehow, the more Gaia energy you can use, it makes you stronger. This is probably because allowing more Gaia energy to course throughout your body makes your muscles stronger." Owen explained.

"So the more Gaia energy you can use, you get stronger?" May said.

Claire sighed. "You could have just said that, not give her a super long explanation."

Owen shrugged. "Hey, she asked."

As they walked, a small hill came into sight. A small, grassy hill with a flat top.

Claire clapped. "Yay, we're finally here!"

They jogged up, setting up at the top of the hill. But, May stared off into the distance.

"Hey, I thought there were other towns, right?"

Owen turned, looking in the same direction as May. "Hm? Yeah. But, the thing is our town is very strange. To make it feel like we're on a small island, there's a barrier around our town that multiplies the environment at its edge. So, that's why it looks infinite."

"But, you can still pass through it." Jean chimed in.

Then it hit May. She whispered in Owen's ear. "Hey, is that why the flower garden is so big?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, you're right on the money. But, it's still pretty big."

"Hey, hurry up or else I'm gonna eat all these! They're really good, you know!" Claire said, mouth stuffed with a sandwich.

"I can't understand a thing you're saying." May sighed.

Owen dashed over to the open box of triangle sandwiches. "Hey, let me have some of those!"

May crossed her legs, sitting down. The sun set with a beautiful, fiery orange. A fire. She'd nearly suppressed those memories of her home with the ones she made here. But, May could never escape that fire, even though she survived. The picture of the entire town would always be burned into her mind.

"Hey, are orphans rare in Gaia?"

Owen turned, faced stuffed with a sandwich. "Hm? Why do you ask?"

"Again, I can't understand you." May reached for a sandwich, taking a small bite out of it. "Well, this place seems so nice. I would think that accidents would be rare, right?"

"What? She doesn't know?" Jean said.

"Well, she lived in an isolated place." Owen explained.

"Ah. Well, they're rare, but still exist, of course."

May lied on the grass, staring at the orange, hazy sky. "Oh. I see."

Claire frowned, concerned. "Let me guess, you're an orphan?"

"Wait, but how did you realize? I didn't even tell you!"

"You think I couldn't piece it together? Anyone could realize. Plus, I was wondering why she was hanging so much around you. That's because your parents took her in, right?"

"It disturbs me how on-point you are." May said.

Claire sighed. "Well, while we're on that topic, may as well tell you. Although I'm not an orphan, my dad left when I was young."

"Hold on!" Owen stopped Claire. "You're already telling her this story?"

"Why not? It's not like we're strangers. Anyway, my parents got along very well. But, one day, I saw my dad yelling at my mom at the door."

Claire clenched her hands together. "I was too young to realize what was going on. My dad storms out the door, and we never see him again. Later, when I get older, I realize what happened. So, I study all I can about emotions. Every book, every lesson, and every cue or tic. So that nobody else goes through what I did."

May gasped. "Oh, god. I'm so sorry."

Claire chuckles, but it was dulled. "Don't worry. You lost both your parents after all. With all this research, I eventually got really good at reading emotions."

Jean raised his hand. "I have a similar story. My mom disappeared, so I wanted to find her. That's why I practiced a lot of logical reasoning, and well... You can guess."

Claire leaned toward Jean. "If you combine us, we become full orphan!"

"That's not something you should joke about." Jean turned.

Claire shrugged. "Hey, if we never joke about it, it'll always hold weight over us. Why should it be such a grim word? It only attracts unnecessary pity. I don't want that! People worrying over me-erm, us, is something that is just a burden."

"Do you want to find your dad?" May asked.

"Well, I hope. I want to bring my mom and dad back together, because they used to be so happy."

Owen took a bite of his sandwich. "Look, the sun's setting!"

Claire turned to the distance. "Oh, yeah! May, you've gotta see this! You thought last time was the sunset?"

"It wasn't?"

Owen turned May's head to the sky. "No, definitely not."

May saw a blazing orange, as the sky around the sun seemed to burn. But now, it didn't remind her of a destructive flame. It was a flame of passion, of goals. A rekindling of her own flame.

A flame of renewal.