[0 : Toddlers - The Parents]
Mrs Spencer and her brown eyes.
Mr Hemlock with his caramel hair.
The spouses of two ex-classmates who met at a reunion. It was awkward for the both of them but they managed. They had to take care of their children on behalf of their significant other.
Mrs Spencer's daughter was playing happily by herself in the reserved corner of the cafe for children, loud and active. Mr Hemlock's daughter, on the other hand, was quiet and shy, clinging to her father for most of the time.
"Go on. Play with that girl." He urged. His daughter hesitated but still obediently went over. When the Spencer girl saw the Hemlock girl, she raised her doll.
"Play? I take black hair dolly, you take blond." The Spencer girl spoke without fear, clearly not arguing with another's presence. The Hemlock girl took the doll nervously before sitting down.
"They're superheroes. They save people. To do so, they fly. So we run so they fly." The Spencer girl stood up and started running around the Hemlock girl. "See? Dolly flies! They must fly up deer to see people!"
With that, the Spencer girl ran up the playhouse there and jumped up and down. "I'm Super Dolly! I save people!" She shouted which garnered the attention of her mother. Mrs Spencer sighed loudly before calling out.
"Darling, don't shout. And you better pronounce 'there' correctly," she reprimanded which earned a pout from the little girl. The Hemlock girl looked up at the lady before turning to her father.
"Cherie, don't worry, go on and play." Mr Hemlock encouraged. With that, the second little girl climbed up the playhouse as well and approached the Spencer girl who was pouting.
"Your mama is right. Don't raise your voice." She emphasized. The Spencer girl rolled her eyes before a call came from below, Mrs Spencer again. "Don't roll your eyes, young lady!"
The Hemlock girl was just surprised at how the Spencer girl acted. "That looks cool. How do you do it?" The latter was surprised before grinning, "I can tea—" "No. Don't." Her mother interrupted beforehand.
[1 : Kindergarten - The Oath]
"I shall be deer by your side, till snacks do us part!" A girl with short black hair and brave brown eyes in a mini suit piece declared with a loud voice. A teacher stifled a laughter behind her in the curtains.
"It's there, not deer. And death, not snacks." The teacher whispered though the girl didn't seem to hear. She looked ever the more confident in her own abilities despite it being wrong.
"Oh, miss knight, how romantic you are!" A girl with caramel hair and gentle verdigris eyes in a white dress replied. The action looked simply amazing, as if the girl was an actress already.
"Of course, my lady! For you are the fairest in the land!" The girl with black hair exclaimed aloud and she walked over and got on her knees in front of the girl in the white dress. The latter giggled and blushed.
"You are certainly..." she paused for a moment, forgetting her line, "Oh! You are certainly putting me on a pedestal!" She sighed dramatically, putting her hands to her chest.
"Fear not, I udder no lie! Your hand I shall take in...wed?" She stumbled for a second in her words. She held the other girl's hand tightly. "And again, till deaf do us part!"
"Death! Not deaf..." The teacher from earlier hissed while another laughed. Soon, the curtains drew to a close as the teachers ushered the students on-stage and parents clapped from the seats.
Once all the students had lined up in a straight line, the principal picked up the microphone. "Thank you parents for your support and love for the children! The children will now bow in gratitude!"
The kids all bowed together, some later than others, some in sync, some early. "Thank you for watching us!" They all shouted out loud which earned a louder applause. The two girls turned to each other and smiled happily.
[2 : Primary School - The Promise]
"Ugh, I hate Maths!" The girl with black hair complained, her face an obvious frown. The girl with verdigris eyes smiled and laughed. "Oh, don't be upset, Ania. I'll teach you." She placed a hand on the other girl's head.
The black haired, Ania, looked up with a pout. "Why are you always so smart, Marie?" a hint of jealousy was evident in her voice. The girl with verdigris eyes, Marie, sighed softly.
"Ania, you're good in sports. Take that as your personal achievement, we're all good in different things!" she encouraged with a hand to her chest. "I'll do academics, you do sports!"
Ania's eyes were filled with a sense of joy, the simple comment lighting up her mood. "Hmph...okay then. Pinky promise that we'll always go to the same school?" She asked, raising her pinky.
"Always!" Marie chimed, enlocking her pinky with Ania's. Her laughter filled the air and was the only sound that got to the other girl's head.
"Forever together?"
"Forever."
The two girls exchanged smiles and laughs before continuing on with their own studies and things, the shared desk now silent for the time being.
[3 : Middle School - The Feeling]
Ania was now a loud and outspoken girl, always talking straightforward to anyone she meets. "I don't like that boy, he's so picky and bullies everyone else." She scoffed, standing beside Marie.
Marie shrugged. "You could say so. The teachers seem to like him a lot. Maybe because he represented the school in a competition and won first?" She speculated, a hand to her chin.
"So did I." Ania complained out loud, making a few students turn their heads in their direction. Marie jumped slightly from the stares, feeling nervous. The other girl noticed that immediately.
"You're nervous?" she asked in confusion, "you were the girl that performed as the second leading role during kindergarten and you're shy now?" She was quite baffled to say the least.
"Well...it's been some time since I did that..." Marie twirled a finger in her hair, garnering Ania's attention. Those fingers entwining the delicate caramel strands that flowed to her shoulders.
Ania swallowed awkwardly and quickly turned away with a cough. "Mn, I guess. But still!" She desperately wanted to prove her point. However, she didn't have any backup counter-argument. "Erm..."
Seeing her unable to defend her words, Marie laughed softly. "Heh, I guess even you are unable to prove a point in the face of an argument. That's much like you despite being outspoken."
That laugh sent a tingling feeling down Ania's spine, she felt her body heat up slightly and felt the urge to raise her hand playfully like she did with her other friends.
Yet, she stopped herself. How could she hit such a gentle girl, even if it was meant playfully. She sighed heavily. Maybe the both of them had been friends for so long that they could only act genuinely around each other.
[4 : High School - The Denial]
A letter. A love letter. Pink paper, tied with a ribbon and sealed with a red heart. Addressed to Marie. In her locker, in plain view of the person who opened it in person.
A pang of jealousy entered Ania's heart. "Which boy is it this time...I just want to help Marie get her notebook and I see this. Again." She frowned at the sight of it. The sound of footsteps approached.
"Ania!" A fairy-like voice called from afar, as the footsteps neared. It was Marie. "I finished talking with Mrs Reye—huh?" She seemed to notice the love letter as well.
Taking it out from her locker, she opened it. Boom! A huge amount of glitter landed on her face and clothes. "..." She kept silent, not knowing how to feel. Ania grumbled loudly.
"Are they playing a trick this time?" She said in frustration. She watched Marie blink her eyes open before reading the letter. It was another confession, unsurprisingly.
"Marie, I have had a crush on you since you joined. You're really pretty and nice. Will you meet me at the courtyard gazebo at 1 in the afternoon?" Marie read it loud enough for only her and Ania to hear.
Ania scoffed in disbelief. Pretty and nice? That's all? The girl who stood beside her was more than that. She was smart, gentle, kind, loving, generous — an angel. She was far more than just nice.
Pretty? Why, yes. With wavy caramel hair reaching her back, brilliant verdigris eyes that held the softness of the sun during dawn, glowing skin that seemed like she was sent from above.
Wait. What was she thinking.
"Pfft, what a terrible reasoning. Pretty? That's all? He's just simplistic." She spoke out in person, contradictory to her own thoughts. Marie indeed was pretty.
She looked like a doll that sat on top of a musical box, turning in time with the music as it sang a soft lullaby like the one Marie would occasionally hum when they studied together.
Damn it. She was thinking too much for someone she considered a friend. She shouldn't be having such thoughts. Marie sighed softly. "Ha, just follow me later. You can wait a distance away."
"I'm starting to feel sorry for those boys," no, she wasn't. "you're always getting confessions and you always reject them," she was glad Marie did. "But that's for the best." Yes, it was.
Marie took out her notebook from her locker and laughed at Ania's words. "I know you don't. Besides, I don't really fancy the boys here. I like smart people like me." She admitted with a smile. Good for you, Ania.
[5 : College - The Struggle]
Now, it was getting harder. Marie certainly was...gorgeous...
Ania stared at Marie, her hand hovering lightly over one of her textbooks as she admired her friend? in silence. "Marie, how do you get so beautiful?" She blurted out without thinking.
Marie turned to face Ania, slightly startled. "Oh? Well, I don't know. I just style myself the way I like it." She shrugged before teasingly ruffling Ania's neck length black hair. "You're beautiful too, don't put yourself down."
"I know, but like, you're so ethereal. Is that even allowed?" Ania hummed, "you look like a faerie that would trick me into giving my name and successfully do so." In all honesty, if that were the case, Ania would have given her name without being told.
"Good thing that faeries aren't real. You have the survival instincts of a cockroach." Marie scoffed lightly, pulling Ania closer by the shoulders and kissing her. Her forehead. Ania had hoped it was her lips.
"Geez, no need to tell me that. I'm aware." Ania frowned slightly though she didn't really feel sad. She felt quite giddy after that kiss. Ever since she complimented Marie's lipstick that one time, she always received a kiss.
Those kisses always led to inappropriate thoughts about her friend? somehow. Skin to skin, her larger hand from playing volleyball tangled in that now shoulder length caramel hair while the other slipped under the shirt.
Well, it was more of whenever she complimented Marie, she would receive a kiss and think that sometimes. So it was easy for her to get such thoughts, she could always compliment Marie. Though, sometimes, she felt like it was wrong.
She felt like she wasn't supposed to. She didn't know. Marie somehow sensed the bad vibes radiating off Ania. "Hey, Ania, don't be so down. I meant that teasingly, okay? I'll buy you any drink you want so that you cheer up."
Ania jumped slightly, she hadn't meant to let her negative feelings get the best of her. "Wait! I mean, I...sure, if you want to buy. But I'm thinking about something else, not what you said."
"Like what?"
Oh, that was a question even harder to answer than physics without a calculator. How does she answer that she had thought of kissing Ania's lips and snaking her hands to under her shirt.
"Physics pop quiz." It was the best answer she could have now. She was studying to be an engineer, quite ironic for the girl who used to complain about how hard Maths was.
"Oh, that must suck." Marie seemed genuinely sorry after hearing that. The girl was studying Accounting, a supposedly harder topic that Physics. There's the irony again.
"I know right." Ania groaned before wrapping her arms around Marie's waist. It fit perfectly. She resisted the urge to comment on it. It was getting harder with time. Ania has to admit, she was struggling.
[6 : University - The Desperation]
Marie has found someone that she fancies in this new university. Turns out, she does like boys.
Ania laid on her bed after unpacking her belongings. "Hah! Perfectly soft bed!" She exclaimed, laying down for a moment. Her mind replayed that chat between Marie and the male university student who was helping out with the orientation.
The blush creeping on Marie's innocent face as she looked up at that male student who smiled fondly at her, the nervousness and skittish behaviour. Was she jealous now?
She likes smart people. She likes people who aren't mean. She likes people who listen to her. She likes compliments and words of affirmation. Am I not all of that?
Damnit, Ania, pull yourself together.
Just then, the dorm's door opened. Lo and behold, the core reason of Ania's adoration, Marie. She stepped in with her luggage in hand before closing the door. "Ania, you really relaxed yourself, huh?" She teased.
Teasing...if Marie knew the way such words affected Ania to the point that every rose tinted dream of hers featured Marie. It's wrong, but she enjoyed it. She just needs a single ounce of affection to brighten her day.
Marie walked over in the new dormitory assigned slippers and leaned over Ania on the bed. "Tired? It was several hours on the road, I don't blame you." She chuckled lightly. Ania wanted to shut those lips.
"Don't bully me, Marie." Ania huffed as Marie laughed her ringing laugh once more, kneeling beside Ania's bed. The first scoffed lightly. "I'm tired but you have so much energy, it's unfair."
"Want me to share some?" Marie joked, leaning in closer. Just a few inches more and their lips will meet. Ania didn't waste a second, she say up slightly and made sure they did meet.
The room was silent. Ania, overwhelmed by her desperation, ran a hand through the hair on the back of Marie's head. She worried that the other would pull away yet she stayed.
Marie took one of Ania's hands and interlocked their fingers together, pushing down the latter onto the bed. Yet, she still was the one who pulled away first. "Now you have my energy."
...I want more. Please, Marie, give me more.
"Thanks, feeling refreshed." Ania chuckled, though most of it died in her throat. So that's what Marie tastes like. Sweet plum and apple. Like the first breath of spring. "That was...something."
Marie nodded her head. "You bet." She said, "actually, the guy that helped with the arrangement of our dorms is quite my type. He's majoring in Accounting as well." Her face burned slightly red.
...him? Am I not your type? I worked so hard, won't you notice me?
"Ah, good for you." Ania muttered under her breath. Marie smiled once again. "Well, that aside, you really like that kiss, huh? I can give you more during other days." She suggested with a smirk.
Ania didn't reject it and Marie kept her promise. Sometimes, it went beyond kisses but Marie often stopped it at that. Of course Ania listened, even when her body ached for more. She loved Marie.
[7 : Working - The Fiance]
Ah, so we're both working. Marie's an accountant, I'm an engineer. She lives together with me. I live together with her. It's almost like a couple.
Almost. Because she's now engaged to that man from our university days. How...wonderful.
His name is Erik, a normal name. He's exactly Marie's type. Smart, calm, relatable. It's almost as if all my efforts were in vain.
Marie stepped into the room, interrupting my thoughts as she returned from her date once again. "Ania, Erik bought a bouquet of flowers for me! It's roses though, but it's the thought that counts."
Ania smiled once, though it didn't really reach her eyes. "I suppose that's fine. But maybe he doesn't know what your favourite flowers are, so tell him next time. Hopefully he buys the correct one."
He's useless. You don't like roses. You love rhododendrons. You love how they appear so delicate yet elegant. You constantly drew them in your notebooks.
Everywhere we went too. Those middle school field trips. High school visitations. Campus tours. You always drew them when there was nothing to write.
I still remember the smile on your face when I first asked you what your favourite flowers were. You had asked for mine, and I was unsure. But now I'm pretty sure that they're my favourite too.
"You think? I forgot if I told him earlier, I'll text him then. We're planning to have dinner tonight, wanna join?" Marie asks Ania, an innocent smile on her face.
Ania shrugged, focusing on her work. She was designing something unimportant (in her opinion) for a commission. "I'm not sure, I might be busy tomorrow night as well."
It's not that, I just don't want to look at him. To look at him making you smile the way you used to smile at me drives me insane with rage. But to act on it would be to disappoint you.
"Ah, hrm, alright then. I'll go shower!" Marie placed a quick kiss to Ania's forehead before scurrying off. Ania's hand trailed over to that exact spot, holding onto it tightly as if it were a lifeline.
As the sound of water started in the bathroom, Ania leaned back on her chair, taking a break from her commission. She then received a text from the person who has requested it.
"Could you make have cute frog motive? My wife loves them for some odd reason but as long as she loves it, I'll pay."
Oh.
So that's what love is. To accept them no matter what. To see the flaws and compliment them. To hug them tight even when they're covered in thorns. Or just that frog, I guess.
Ania leaned forward, returning to her desk to edit the design as requested. My wife. That title, that word, that promise. She remembered her kindergarten years. They had put on a play, it was definitely romance.
She forgot the script, but one part was ever an clear in her mind. "Fear not, I utter no lie. Your hand I shall take in wed. Till death do us part." She mumbled to herself incoherently.
The words were sweet but felt bitter in her tongue. Those were words she can't vow to Marie. Or maybe she could, but not now.
Her fiance...he's really incapable...why shouldn't he leave?
[8: Wedding - The Acceptance]
Oh. Now she's getting married. She looks so beautiful, so gorgeous, ethereal, shining, mine? No. She's going to marry Erik. I wish I had uttered those vows earlier.
Marie stood in front of her, laughing with the other bridesmaids before they left. Ania was supposed to be one, the Maid of Honour actually, but she turned down the offer.
She didn't want to stand next to the woman she loved acting as a friend. She would be lying to herself. She agreed to emcee, however. If it meant she could utter Marie's name over and over again without suspicion.
Without doors closed. Without Marie out of the house. Without a voice message playing on repeat. Marie spun slowly in her wedding gown. There were only ten minutes left until she had to walk down the aisle. Ania felt suffocated.
"Ania, thank you for coming. I'm slightly sad that you won't be standing with me as my Maid of Honour though." She frowned slightly before her smile returned, "Nonetheless, you're still here with me."
- Seven minutes -
Ania chuckled lightly, "Of course." It was meant to always be me by your side. "I'll be by your side on such a special day."
We were created for the other. You're the peace, I'm the chaos. We're perfectly intertwined no matter what.
"You both were created for each other. You're the peace, he's the action. Perfectly synchronized."
- Five minutes -
To wish you to be happy, it must be because of me. We are each other's source of joy.
"I wish you a happy marriage, you both are each other's source of joy."
So please...
- Three minutes -
I love you.
"Enjoy your new life."
Even if it's without me.
- Time's Up -
I sat in silence without stepping forward to object to their marriage. I held my peace, they would say. To have as much self-control as possible.
Even if my soul, mind, and heart all screamed out to me in unison to object, I didn't. Why? She looked so happy. So glad. So...peaceful...
My chest hurts so badly as applause sounded when they kissed. My own heart is tightening, it's trying to kill itself.
...
Marie. I love you. Even if you love another. Perhaps there was a universe where Orpheus never went to save Eurydice. But that would mean he never loved her.
I love Marie. I would walk into the underworld to claim your soul back to the living. I would turn around to face you, over and over and over and over and over in every lifetime.
Because maybe our love is never meant to be. Only a fleeting moment. Only half of a lifetime. So, maybe, we live in a universe where Orpheus and Eurydice never married at all.
[9 : The Hospital - The Silence]
Marie?
I heard that Erik was no good for you. I heard he beat you and abused you. I was heartbroken when you stopped calling me. I thought that you had found out and were disgusted.
Yet, the first person that was called to visit your unconscious body was me. This ward should be filled with your voice. But it's only the machine humming.
Sitting down by your bed, your bruised face still looks so beautiful. So what if the glass penetrated half of your face and left you scarred?
I fell in love with your eyes. I fell in love with your voice. I fell in love with your soul. I fell in love with you to the point that I could never answer why I loved you.
I brought rhododendrons to your bed. I placed them in a vase for you when you wake up. You can stare at them and hum the tune you always did.
I am sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't aware of your abuse. I'm sorry I had assumed too quickly. I'm sorry that I...that I forgot about you.
Will you forgive me, Marie? For all I've done — good and bad. Just so you can wake up. If caring for others is your core personality, let it be the reason you awake as well.
The nurse entered midway as I held your unmoving hand, your heart beating normally as I brought it to my lips and kissed your knuckles. Your heart rate didn't rise. But I know mine did.
The nurse apologetically moved aside to check Marie's vitals, and I didn't mind. Once the nurse left, I continued to stare at your face for an hour. I miss your smile, Marie.
Ania and her yearning look.
Marie and her closed eyes.
