Chapter 4: A Bloom Meant To Fade

_____________________

The sun had risen a little higher by the time they returned.

Monday crept up like it always did. Not unexpected, but not welcome either.

Mio shifted her bag higher on her shoulder as she walked through the school gates.

The familiar noises of students filled the air. Casual chatter, the clatter of the lockers, or the occasional ball getting kicked across the field.

Normal.

But somehow, Mio felt a little… different.

Maybe it was the weekend. Maybe it was the forest. Maybe it was… Akari.

She caught herself glancing a little to the side.

Akari walked beside her, just a step in front of her like usual, casually swinging her bag.

She wasn’t saying much. But then again, she didn’t need to.

There was a kind of rhythm in their steps, as if the silence between them had its own shape.

It was comforting.

Mio adjusted her grip on her bag. Her knuckles lightly grazed past the cold metal keychain.

That little half-star they’d bought still hung from her zipper, clicking faintly every few steps. It wasn’t much really. But somehow, it grounded her.

Maybe small things mattered more than she thought. Maybe that was the appeal these keychains seem to have for teenagers these days.

A breeze drifted through the open field, and for a second, Mio caught a glimpse of Akari’s hair lifting gently in the wind.

She reached up. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears, almost without thinking, a small but instinctive movement.

Mio gently pushed her hair a little as well.

Akari glanced sideways, catching the motion.

“Fu fu.” She said, a teasing smile curling at the edge of her lips. “Copying me now?”

Mio blinked. Oblivious.

“…coincidence happens.”she murmured, looking away.

Akari let out a small laugh. Not mocking. But… warm. Like she didn’t mind being copied at all.

Or maybe… it was just Mio’s eyes. Maybe she had always seen Akari through a gentler filter.

Mio felt her ears heat up a little, but forced her expression to stay neutral.

“Whatever you say.”

Akari said, letting it drop with an easy-shrug.

They continued walking.

Somewhere along the way, Mio paused. She didn’t overthink anything this time. Not every step, not every word, like she usually would.

She didn’t over-analyse either.

She… just followed.

Yet it didn’t feel wrong?

It was a pleasant feeling.

She wanted it to last a little longer. To enjoy it a little bit more. But no, where they were headed… was where piles and piles of work waited.

She didn’t want it, and dreaded it.

“…let’s go buy a drink. I’m a little parched.” Akari insisted suddenly. Seemingly having noticed Mio’s mood.

Mio, wanting any excuse to delay coming anywhere close to class, agreed without missing a beat.

“Sure, I’m feeling a little thirsty too.” Mio keeping calm on the surface, but genuinely happy on the inside, a complete 180 from what she was feeling just moments ago.

Akari took the lead, bringing Mio along, pulling her towards the gym and back gate.

The vending machine wasn’t close to anything. A distance away from the gym, where you’ll be caught if you tried sneaking to it, but a little far from the back gate as well.

Akari tugged Mio, pulling her closer when they reached.

“Woah. I didn’t know there was so many options.” Mio said with pure innocence. She looked like an excited puppy who has just discovered a new toy.

She didn’t use the vending machine at all. It was far from the canteen, and more expensive than what the cafeteria sold. Impractical and inefficient.

“What are you going to buy?” Akari asked casually, contemplating with her own choice too.

Mio stared at the glowing buttons, each one promising something different. Tea, soda, juice, even some unfamiliar brands she had never seen before.

“Hmm… I’m not sure either.” Mio admitted. “Maybe I should choose something I’ve drank before. Or stick to water.”

“Being healthy now?” Akari chuckled under her breath, but it wasn’t mean. Maybe like a… thread weaving smoothly between them.

Mio eyes scanned across the options, landing on a canned peach tea. She hesitated.

It wouldn’t hurt to try something new, she didn’t want to be boring either, always picking water because it felt like the norm.

Her hands reached out anyway.

It wasn’t something she usually picked, or ever picked. Peach tea wasn’t healthy, nor was it cheap. But she still chose it.

Maybe it was the way Akari stood there, arms folded loosely, just waiting.

No judgment.

No hurry.

Just… waiting for her.

The can clattered roughly into the pickup slot. Mio bent down to grab it, the metal cold against her fingers.

Akari glanced over and smiled. "Peach tea, huh? That's rare."

Mio shrugged, pretending she did not care. Perhaps she really didn’t. After all, a drink doesn’t define someone.

“Seems like I wanted to try something new today.”

A pause.

Then, a small, almost knowing smile crossed Akari’s lip.

“That’s nice.” She said simply. Popping her own coin into the machine. “It suits you.”

Mio blinked. “Hm?”

But Akari had already turned away, shaking her own drink before cracking it open.

Mio stood there for just a moment longer, the unfamiliarity settling in her hand.

It was just a drink.

It shouldn’t mean anything.

…right?

Still, as she followed after Akari, the cool metal pressed against her palm, a small warmth bloomed quietly in her chest — steady, but a little confusing.

Maybe, just maybe, small changes weren’t so bad after all.

They looked around a little. They didn’t come to this part of the school often, and for Mio, she never came here before.

Akari wandered off the paved path. Her drink still in her hands.

Akari didn’t say anything but Mio followed anyways. Maybe Akari knew she would follow?

The soft crunches of the grass sounded beneath them.

Past the side of the gym, tucked behind a worn-out chain link fence, was a messy looking path of flowers. Like splashes of colour against the greens.

It was a unique set of flowers with a random assortment. Mosts was well grown, but some seemed to have withered.

Akari crouched before them. Balancing on the balls of her feet.

“Let’s stay here for a bit. They smell nice.” She said simply.

Mio copied her, clumsier but managing beside her.

They sipped their drink in the comfortable silence.

The breeze smelling a little like peach, the flowers dancing as the wind blew.

Akari reached out. Brushing her fingers lightly against one of the blooms — careful, but fond.

“I wonder who’s taking care of these flowers?” She said, a little curious, a little lazy sounding.

“Have you ever thought of who came up with the names of the flowers? Or its meaning?” Akari said.

Mio blinked. “Meanings?”

Akari nodded. Still gently caressing the flower’s cheeks.

“Yeah. Like some may refer to… loyalty? Or to some, it means strengths. Or a whole lot of other meanings.”

Akari tilted her head. Still brushing the soft petals.

“Doesn’t it make you wonder? Who… even gets to decide its meaning?”

Mio blinked again. Caught off-guard by the sudden question.

“Er… maybe it’s the discoverer? Or researchers?” Mio uttering whatever reasons that made sense to her.

Akari smiled faintly. Perhaps happy that Mio was listening. “Maybe it is. There are books documenting it, traditions, or whatever. But isn’t it exciting? There are others who don’t follow the norm, associating it with things like anniversaries, or special individuals. Coming up with meanings for it.”

She said so with enthusiasm plastered across her face to match.

She placed her drink on the grass. Maybe it had gotten too cold for her hands.

“Sometimes, they match it. Sometimes, they twist it a little. And sometimes…”

She gave a small shrug, but a gentle smile.

“They create something new. To fit what they feel.”

Mio, listening, glanced down at the sprawl of flowers around them.

It was a strange thought. They’re just flowers.

That people could decide what something meant.

That it didn't have to be written in books to matter.

Akari smiled to herself. Like she could hear Mio’s thoughts.

“Just like flowers, people give meanings to moments.”

She turned her head towards Mio.

“Love. Memory. Feelings.

They don’t have to come from traditions.

They come from what you make of them.”

The breeze shifted. Carrying traces of peach scent, among the scent of flowers.

Mio sipped. Letting the thoughts settle. Or maybe cooling it down?

Maybe that was true.

Maybe meanings don’t have to be set. Or the best ones doesn’t have to be officially written.

Maybe they were the ones you build yourself. Piece by piece, feeling by feeling.

Aren’t they just flowers though? How would flowers give moments meaning?

A small flower nearby caught her eye.

It wasn’t like the others.

Smaller.

Petals thin and soft. Colours unusual. Brushing against the breeze like water colour strokes.

Soft colours blending across it. A pink bleeding into orange, melting into a white-ish pale gold. Like someone had poured a spectrum of colours across its face.

Some petals curled inward already, touched by the wind and time.

But even so, the colours shimmered stubbornly under the sun.

Despite its vibrancy, it had started to wilt a little.

Akari followed Mio’s gaze.

She smiled. Soft. Almost proud.

“Curious? It’s one that doesn’t last long.” She said, reaching over to hover her hand over the delicate bloom without touching it.

“It blooms fully. Beautifully.

But it fades faster than any other.”

Mio’s hand tightened around the can a little.

“…that’s a little sad.” She said without much thinking.

“It’s such a shame it doesn’t stay longer… it’s so pretty.”

Akari didn’t answer immediately.

She let the breeze pass between them. Ruffing the edges of her sleeves.

“Maybe” she said at last, her voice lower now.

“To mosts, that’s how they see it. But that’s just one way of seeing it.”

She leaned in a little closer, examining the flower.

“Some may say it’s weak.

Fragile.

A waste that it doesn’t last long.”

Her fingers trailed the air just above the bloom, tracing an invisible line around its shape.

“But some, can say that, maybe… it’s the strongest of them all.”

Mio looked over, confused but listening.

Akari smiled again, softer this time.

“Bloom as the flower did,

even knowing it won’t last.

Share as it shall, its colour, its scent.

Everything it had — for just a little longer.”

The breeze stirred again, making the petals tremble gently. Almost like they were in agreement.

Mio didn’t really get it. They’re just flowers.

They grew. They withered. They died.

Wasn’t that all it was?

But no. Akari’s words still carried her — sticking to Mio anyway.

Like seeds, buried quietly under the surface, waiting.

Akari sipped her drink. As if that was the end of it.

Then, with a small, amused tilt of her head. She added:

“I wonder what flower everyone would be?”

Mio blinked.

Akari chuckled under her breath, standing up and brushing grass from her skirt.

"Everyone’s different, right?

Everyone’s got their own colours. Their own way of blooming."

She held out a hand to Mio.

“Just like how people may mock a flower for its fragility, or feel disappointed when they can’t witness it in its purity — you don’t have to witness everything in its own perfection, to appreciate it for what it is.”

Mio reached up instinctively, letting Akari pull her to her feet.

The peach tea sloshed a little in her can, but she barely noticed.

The school bell rang faintly in the distance.

Time to go back.

They started walking, the patch of flowers slipping out of sight behind them —

but not out of memory.

Not completely.

Like a seed she didn’t even know had been planted.

Maybe meaning wasn’t something you were told.

Maybe it was something you carried,

without even realising it.

___________________