When All Withers Away

Clear skies and a sun in full bloom set forth on what looked to be a decent day within the suburbs of California. From slow traffic to relatively comfortable weather with an occasional breeze, you'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. This is precisely what 18 year old Ai Akari aimed to do in an attempt to make ends meet once again off her backyard garden. "AHH I finally sold it" exhausted Ai wiping the sweat from her forehead, sometimes she felt as if her long black hair made things twenty degrees hotter.

"Whoa, I see you managed to rid yourself of that pesky thing" These were the words of Charlotte, Ai's peppy blonde friend. "うん、今支払います" Charlotte laughed "English silly." Ai even after two years in America forgot to speak English on occasion. "I said now pay up" "Aw come on I was just jokin around." Ai laughed "Sure you were, you of all people know I can't afford to waste time telling jokes" even being a top-notch gardner found it impossible to find work, although she knew this was more so due to the fact of her being a Japanese immigrant. "Ugh fine but only cause your ma girl."

Said Charlotte "don't look so sad you should know by now that I never lose a bet". These words were spoken in truth Ai rarely lost a wager and she knew it. You'd be an absolute idiot to bet anything more than a dollar with her. "Anywho do ya think you can spot the gang and me some daisies tomorrow?" Said Charlotte "wait what, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, the protest is tomorrow as in like the day after today?" "Well yeah didn't your man relay this already?" "Of course not, you really think he'd have the brain to actually take initiative for once" Ai then rolled her eyes in utter annoyance. "Yeah your right my bad just see what you can do, After all your on thin ice with the gang as is, your devotion and legitimacy is being questioned yet again."

"Yeah I know," Ai was now anxious and a shock of zero degrees shot through her body at the speed of light. With gardening as her only skill, she relied on those associated with the hippie lifestyle to provide the money she needed to keep her life afloat, for flowers were used as a symbol of peace and love within it. As for a result of this she constantly would pose as a "fellow groupie" to gain the trust of others in the culture. If she didn't show up to the protest she knew she wouldn't be getting get paid and in a somewhat frustrated manner Ai grumbled "look fine, I guess I have no choice in the matter" "That's the spirit" shouted her peppy blonde friend. "Remember seven o'clock sharp, that's when the fun begins, oh and make sure to bring your hubby with ya!" "Yeah sure if he decides that I'm his wife maybe I will" and with that being said Ai died inside as her friend walked away.

Clearly overwhelmed Ai found herself eating ice creme yet again her normal stress reliever and way to relax. "So what's the flavor of the day?" these words were spoken by none other than her husband Kouta Akari as he scratched his head in pure confusion "Really none of your concern considering your not here half the time" groaned the woman in distress. "Look I told you this time and time again, once the guys and me rid the world of these, these" He hesitated and struggled to get the words to speak his mind.

Being a full time advocate of the hippie culture, Kouta often put his beliefs before his wife" Elitist, govermentalist, supremacist, well which one is it?" said Ai mockingly. She was in an utter state of worry and anxiety due to the financial stress of everyday life. "Why are you getting so bitter man chill out for once" In response to this Ai gave him some ruthless hand gestures. "chill out, chill out, how am I supposed to calm down and relax when your gone almost every second of the day, leaving me to taking care of our only source of income and making sure we actually get to eat, fortunately for Kouta she ran out of breath otherwise this might have kept going.

" I ... I don't know okay, but what I do know is that once I change the world for the better everything will change between us." "Yeah I haven't heard that one before" she rolled her eyes in hoping he'd take the hint. "Look since your saving the world does that mean your coming with me to the protest tomorrow?" "Of course I'm with you all the way."

Walking toward the couch his wife occupied He put his arm around her opposing shoulder and attempted to comfort her and suppress her mixed feelings. And before they knew it they had both passed out on each other, both supporting each other's weight in perfect unity. As the sun rose on Berkeley California, both Ai and Kouta woke up and shared a kiss forgetting about most of the events that had occurred the day before. "I guess we should be on our way?" " Wait what about breakfast?" "Did you like forget that we can't afford that?" "Oh yeah that's right" packing the last few loose articles and plants needed for a proper protest they made their way inside the vehicle nick named rusty due to its rusty trusty nature.

"One day, I'll be able to give you the world I promised you" Ai just smiled and thought to herself "I don't need the world I just need you" " hey, we're pulling up to the prefecture" Ai woke up beginning to regain conscience after the long car ride. They were at once greeted by the sights and sounds of a large scale power protest. This included the acoustics of six strings, flower petals and pollen in the air, and signs galore at every turn, all neatly tied up with the smell of incense coming from tents canopies and commuter vans, "Over here!" shrieked Charlotte"Hold your fauna I'm coming" replied Ai. Grabbing the last few essentials couple made their way over to the canopy where Charlotte was spotting. "Glad you could make it, ya had me worried" Oh really now, are you sure your not just worried about the daisies?" Charlotte laughed "fine you caught me but seriously it's always good to see ya" "Sure if you say so" mumbled Ai as they exchanged hugs.

"Hey on the bright side at least you'll be able to make the money back fast with this crowd" Ai nodded in agreement and began to start setting up her plants on a throw rug beside her friends canopy. The prefecture was laid out with the parking lot being the first thing you set foot on upon entering the gates. Second was the grassy island bordered by concrete, this separated the administration building from the road circling the whole ordeal. "How about some tunes" pulling out his most prized possession Kouta began to strum. "Not that old thing" laughed Ai as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder. "Move over, no way am I missing this" Charlotte grinned as she squeezed her way between the couple.

All the commotion going on had attracted fellow hipsters from all various walks of life to the throw in which the band of friends had been occupying. "Whoa far out guys looks like she's selling flowers" spoke Markus who had just passed by waving posters. "Do you have any Jasmine?" " has anyone seen any hydrangeas" "Oh my she has daises "Hey everyone, settle down I'm sure theirs something for everyone" screamed Ai in a bit of a panic. Both Kouta and Charlotte both stood up to aid in getting things more organized. "Didn't I tell ya, something this would happen?" snickered Charlotte "Oh stop it, not the time" snapped [name] "at this rate I'll be able to buy a new guitar for sure" "not so fast this goes towards our bills, maybe just maybe we'll be able to eat breakfast tomorrow" "Oh yeah I forgot about that" Charlotte's face grew a smirk as the playful interaction between her best friends brought a warmer atmosphere.

"Oh, oh, the fun's about to begin" said the peppy blonde pointing toward the administration building. One by one those adorned in floral accessories, sporting paper signs, began to preach what they thought to be the right morals and correct way to live among others. After having been to many hippie protest to sell her flowers Ai was still madly puzzled by the fact that they wanted peace and love, yet they caused much of the commotion themselves. Kouta so found this culture to be his calling in life. The school's doors burst open and floods of teachers and staff members attempted to weave their way through the parades and protest banter.

"The stiffs are here make way!" It's the law man!" "Stiffs at three o'clock." "Wait stiffs, what's that mean" said Ai scratching her head in confusion. "That means it's our time to go" being a fellow hippie Kouta knew all to well that stiffs was another word for law enforcement within the community. Crowds and crowds of brightly color individuals ran in what seemed to be Ai's direction. "Shit, hey start grabbing all the valuable plants" screamed Ai to her husband. "Ugh...how am I supposed to know which is which?" "Just grab anything then" "that's works" she glared and continued to pack away her merchandise. "Hey Charlotte grab my guitar" "can't you see I'm busy" she was in now a similar mood to Ai and continued to deconstruct her canopy.

"No not the... strings" By then it was too late any way for his guitar fell victim to the trauma of being trampled by hundreds of groupies and roadies. "Forget about it already let's get out of here" Kouta sighed in response to his wives last words and made his way to rusty where she had been standing. "So can't wait for next week's protest am I right?" said Charlotte rhetorically. She rolled her eyes in annoyance but gave her blonde friend a hug goodbye thru the car window. "Bye-bye now" "bye thanks for everything" said Ai, still coming to terms with what just happened she stayed quiet trying to put things together in her mind. Silence fell within rusty as the couple tried to calculate the loss resulting from the protest turned riot. "So um...we made quite a bit of progress today" said Kouta trying to break the ice. "..." Ai remained silent and anxious yet again, "Um...we made a bit of cash huh?" "Just shut up already we didn't make a cent" "But I thought..." "Did you forget that we only have like two plants in here" out of shock Kouta remained silent for the remainder of the ride.

"You want some hot fudge or whipped creme with that" chuckled Kouta in an attempt to cheer his wife up. "Ha, ha, ha, look just leave me alone" Ai was yet again falling to sweets as a stress remedy. " I just wanna help" "You can help by leaving me alone" she passed out on the nearby couch trying to cope with the events occurring hours before. Wrapping her in a blanket Kouta kissed the woman he loves on the fore head" I promise I'll give you a world that deserves to have you" overhearing this [name] thought "I just want you next to me is that too much to ask?" she eventually fell asleep her husband ironically awake at her feet right beside her. "Wait that could work" "I know like it just randomly popped into ma brain" Ai awoke to the familiar voices of her best friend and husband trying, all while trying to make sense of the conversation. "Hey everything okay?" said Kouta in reassuring manner." Yeah every thing is just peachy over here, but what are you doing here Charlotte?"

"Oh just saving you both of your behinds from certain death" Kouta thought "Just leave to her to over dramatize everything" but he knew she had a point, so he didn't argue over specifics. "Um... okay did something happen?" Ai had spent most of the night trying to forget the incident and it paid off, so the bubbly blonde refreshed her memory. Ai let out a sigh "In case you haven't noticed we don't have like any plants left, I can't pay for garden supplies, and Kouta can't even get a part-time job".

"If I just had my guitar I'd be able to pay everything off and then some" "Yeah right" mocked Charlotte meanwhile Ai became a victim to tears yet again as an overwhelming surge of emotion hit her like a tidal wave. "Fear not for I have a solution if you'd just let me speak" "And what might that be" sniffled Ai "Just wait till you see this" The blondie pulled out multiple items from her satchel like side bag, a ceramic pipe was first, second a small pouch of powder white as snow, lastly three different varieties of plant's. Even experience with many types of fauna didn't help Ai identify these species Charlotte had pulled from her bag. "So what do ya think?" "I think what does this have to do with fixing anything?" "Oh that's right you probably haven't experienced the dark side of hippie culture yet" Charlotte then gestured Kouta in hopes he would explain things.

"So...um honey" "Yeah I'm listening" "What you um...well... see before you are, well you know dru-gg-ss" with the aura shadowing the room in awkward state Kouta had struggled to get the words out. "Nope I'm not doing it" "Aww your no fun" cried Charlotte "Hon would you at least consider it, this may be our only chance" "I'd rather go rob a bank" to escape the awkwardness Charlotte snuck into the kitchen and watched from afar. " Please just give it a chance, I promise as soon as we've made enough to move we'll stop" "How do you expect me to trust you when you haven't fulfilled any promises so far?" Kouta fell apart inside as he struggled to continue speaking. "Your right okay I get it, It's just anytime I see the potential that our life could be better something inside me just says to go for it." "Do you really think this could work?" wholeheartedly Kouta replied "Yes" "Oh is it safe to come out now?"

Charlotte made her way back to where the couple were conversing. "So are we doing this or not?" shouted the blonde growing more impatient by the minute "I just need some time to think" "that's fair no rush, hey why don't you guys meet me tomorrow to explain things a little further?" "hmmm I guess that would be okay." "Then it's settled we meet tomorrow at dawn, say at Bette's" Both Ai and Kouta nodded in agreement as the cheerful blonde made her out the front door closing it behind her. "Is this really happening, you know what maybe I've been hanging around the pollen for a little too long" Kouta gave a couple snickers but was still flustered from the previous conversation. "I'm sorry okay I've just been dealing with a lot and I'm not sure if I can take anymore loss" said Ai "I understand I just don't wanna lose you." Hearing this, Ai came to tears of joy, wanting nothing but to feel the warmth of her husband. "Does this mean no ice creme tonight?" Ai burst into laughter "Stupid" Kouta then hearing this joined her in laughter as well as fixing up the garden for the potential of a changed future for the better.

"Hey, hey over here!" shouted the rosy blonde, now slightly embarrassed the couple made their way across the bar and coral to the booth Charlotte was occupying within the small diner. "Oh my goodness where do you get all this energy from" Charlotte glanced down toward her side bag hoping Ai would catch the subtle hint. "Oh yeah that, um no need to explain any further and sorry for being late not used to not having a rusty". "Don't worry about it after today hopefully you won't have that issue anymore. "Oh man why'd we have to meet here" groaned Kouta, "Relax my treat" said Charlotte enthusiastically. Good evening everyone my name is Jasmine and I'll be your waitress for the night now that the group is all here what can I get you all to drink?" one by one they each gave they're drink preferences. "Alright I'll be back in a jiffy" "Okay now that that's out of the way allow me to explain everything" Charlotte then explained how the selling of substance would benefit them as well as endanger them.

"So let me get this straight we grow the stuff and find either a supplier or individual buyer to sell it to all while avoiding suspicion from the law correct?" "Yup that's all there is to it, oh don't for get you'll also have to hire a courier to deliver the product out but don't worry about that you can just hire me!" "Alright so I have tea for the lovely couple and soda pop for the Blondie now what can I get ya to eat?" "Um we need just a little more time to decide." said Charlotte.

"Take all the time you need, and when your ready just send word for me" "Okie dokie" "Honestly I'm sold" Ai took all the information and scanned it as if she was a machine to see if she could find any holes" "Wait really you mean like were doing this for real?" hearing her agree shocked Kouta. "Yes I have made a decision but only if your in as well" "Of course, we're gonna make so much cash" "pipe down stupid" yelled Charlotte. Kouta then thought to himself "Why can she get away with yelling" "Alright then every thing is settled, I'll get you some plants to start growing just remember it'll take about a year and a half before you sell anything." "Thank you so much Char I couldn't ask for a better friend" Said Ai "Of course what are friends for." With everything settled Kouta called for Jasmine and the group moved forward with their dinner plans." How about a ride?" now being in her car Charlotte couldn't stand the thought of knowing her friends were walking home. Both Ai and Kouta declined as they agreed that their blonde friend had already done so much for them. "Okay then suit yourself" "Well do you think your ready for this?" asked Kouta, Ai now far less worrisome found it within herself to answer right away. "Ready as I'll ever be." Content and looking only up Ai grabbed her husbands hand smiling, Kouta then returned the smile and they continued on home with the sun setting elegantly behind them.