The Last to Blossom

“Prelude”

Everything seemed blurry like a camera when it freezes in and out of frame, but in the moments when I could see… his crystal blue eyes, so beautiful… bore into me. I was aware that I couldn’t move. Despite my poor attempts I couldn’t even bring myself to flinch. It was like a horrible nightmare, one where you can’t move or speak but you can see everything. I could feel myself slipping away into a state of half consciousness.

Still his face remained. A look of fear and confusion clouded his expression.

I breathed in deeply and a sharp pain pierced my side. In a split second my back arched slightly in response and then dropped back down. Immediately his arms seemed to tense underneath me and he was looking around frantically- was he screaming something? Shadows seemed to be clustering around him, but nothing was as clear to my sight as his beautiful face.

Tenderly he pressed his hand against my cheek, still whispering, “You’ll be alright, don’t be afraid of me. I won’t hurt you.. You’ll be alright.” It was almost as if he was trying to convince himself of this instead of me.

I didn’t even try to understand the rest of what he said; I didn’t have the energy to do it. My body was slowly shutting down as if to repair itself. My eyelids were becoming too heavy to keep open. The last thing that I can remember is that my body felt as though it was floating. I could feel my arms and legs swaying as they dangled. I breathed in deeply again, but this time the sharp piercing pain was worse. I jolted, he stopped moving- and then, everything went black.

“Chapter 1”

I’ve always wondered what I was meant to be, what my place was in this world. Something, anything that made me part of the greater picture..

I’ve yet to find it, but I’ll keep looking.

I’ve always seen the world as a sea of flowers (with an unfortunate abundance of weeds mind you) all in a perpetual bloom. I seem to always be behind everyone else my age though, like I’m two steps behind. It’s not as though mentally I struggle it’s just that I don’t really have a lot of peers who can relate to me. I can’t even bring myself to compare my life to any of theirs because when I do it makes me feel even worse about myself, it’s quite pitiful. Their beautiful flower of life is fully pollinated by advancements and outer beauty. There is no comparison- at least by the world’s standards, and that’s why I see me and the world as a sea of flowers. If you were wondering, no I don’t happen to be one of those flowers because I’m still a bud.
I guess I’ll be the last to blossom.
*~*
My name is Honoko and I live alone in a cottage on a hill. It overlooks the houses of my quiet neighborhood. Technically it’s not really my home it belongs to my Aunt Claire who’s a famous designer. She travels a lot so I never see her, and therefore she’s never home. Which suits me, I guess. I don’t hate it? Thus, the house is mine.

Aunt Claire took me in after my parents died in an accident; I was only a year old so I don’t recall anything about them. Ever since then it’s always been just me and Aunt. If I had any other relatives then I would never know since Aunt never talks about anyone in the family. She’s too busy talking about herself. As for my parents, they were models and quite popular too. Aunt has always tried to push me into the fashion industry as a way of living out their legacy and connecting with them. Somehow, I could never allow myself to earn money based off of looks; it seems so shallow to me. Besides, I don’t really have the typical “look” for fashion I’m not really “normal.” I already get unwanted attention as it is, I can only imagine how much worse it would be if I actually put myself in the limelight… I shiver at the thought.

Naturally, my hair is a light faded shade of dark pink, my eyes are emerald green, my skin is slightly tan, and my ears have a slight point to them. Other than that I’m pretty typical looking, slender and tall. Aunt told me that when I was born, doctors went on a feeding frenzy. They took blood samples, tissue samples, and monitored everything I did. Apparently, I’m a genetic impossibility and very rare- A.K.A not normal (which explains a lot). All the testing and prodding ended when my parents died. Aunt refused to have me treated like a lab rat for the rest of my life. So, we moved to a small country town in Japan where I found this cottage and now live. Whatever deal Aunt made with all the doctors and scientists must’ve worked- I haven’t been bothered by them. To “blend in” with natural society I just pretend like I dye my hair all the time. The tragic thing about that is my hair refuses to retain hair dye- I’ll forever be pink-headed. Luckily my hair is long enough to cover my ears so no one bothers me about them unless I accidently tuck my hair back impulsively. Other than people looking at me like I’m a social deviant, it’s not that bad.

Minus my looks, my social skills are poor, I can’t drive (even though I’m 19), and no one will give me a job which is sad since you can’t get a job without work experience yet to get the experience you need a job.*Sigh* Yay me.

Basically, I fail at being a young adult.

Aunt Claire pays the bills of the house- thank goodness.

I buy the groceries, but since I don’t have a job I have to find alternative ways to do so. I’d ask Aunt Claire for help, but her career has a way of making it impossible to contact her without an appointment set a year in advance. It’s so demanding I doubt that something as trivial as food even crosses her mind. Her staff must take care of all that for her.. which is really funny actually- I don’t think she’d ever survive alone.

Anyway, my life for now is quiet simple, quiet, and a little lonely. I don’t have many friends; I know a lot of people. I used to be a lot more outgoing- but when you’re nice, the world doesn’t like it and tries to squelch it. I hate people but I love to learn about them and have empathy for them so I love them too- I’m just weird. *chuckle*

I do have hobbies though, and they preoccupy the majority my time. I fancy photography, playing piano, and writing so I have a chance to get out of the house. I just get this itch under my skin to explore, I love the excitement.

When I can’t take the world any longer or I just want to be alone and read (and I do that often) I journey into the forest by the house. I spend a lot of time there and during one of my adventures I stumbled upon a great secret.

The forest is a calming place and hidden within there is a spot deep in the midst of it far from the world and it’s scrutiny. It’s like a little dome of peace. The area is always very cool and is shielded by blanket-like layers of leaves from all the trees. Among the younger trees in an open mossy area stand two massive ancient trees (if that is even a worthy name for them). Their roots have formed an outer lining of what has become a pristine pool.

Stupid as it may sound, I have no idea where the water comes from to form this pool. I’ve come here in all seasons including during storms yet strangely outside weather has never seemed to be able to penetrate this part of the forest. The only thing the trees seem to permit through their leafy skin is sunlight and moonlight. No matter what though, there is always a soft light that cascades down into this secret place. During the day the area is encompassed by a faded light tint of green and at night the tint evolves into a light blue. Still it does not explain the pool. It’s quite mysterious actually. The water in that pool has to be the purest/clearest water I’ve ever seen or tasted and I’ve never found the source of it; A curious phenomenon.

To be honest, I don’t know if I want to know the truth behind it all. That meadow is like a piece of heaven God created just for me. It’s the one place where I can be who I am no matter what my mood or feelings- and anyway- I’m too selfish to share it.
It’s my home.