Sakura opened the window to the room as soon as she woke up. To say she was shocked that yesterday wasn't a dream was an understatement. She pulled her hair back and found a porcupine needle sitting in the jar on a small table in the room. She quickly poked it through her pinned-up hair to keep it in place. She was surprised to find a small bath nestled into the other side of the room but knew the hot water would let her hopefully relax.

She waited till the bathtub was nearly filled before closing the golden tap. She turned to take off her shirt and remove her pants before climbing into the water. She let her head rest against the back of the tub and inspected the wrapped vines on the ceiling. A few drops and seeds fell into her bath. She watched the water splatter and within seconds there had sprouted colourful Lilly pads in the places of the seeds. Her eyebrows shot up in shock.

Everything here grows at an accelerated rate. As if time knows no actual bounds. Yes, there's night and day, but what if night and day are separated by days or weeks instead of hours?

Sakura questioned these things as she swirled the Lilly pad through the water. A knock at the door pulled her out of the trance and in an instant she sat straight up. "Yes!" She shouted in reply. "Breakfast is ready," Igong shouted through the door. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute." She replied. She heard no footsteps move away. "Also the Lilly pad wants you to leave the water in for them if you can," Igong said, she could hear in his tone that he didn't exactly want to say it out loud.

"Alright." She replied unsurely. Her hand moved away from the flower and she removed herself from the water as quickly as she possibly could.

She found a flowy purple dress made from a light fabric and pulled it over her body. She then added her white robe and a pair of shoes. She gave herself a once-over and decided to leave her hair pinned up. With a bright smile, she exited the room and descended the stairs to the massive room in the middle of the building.

"Where is the kitchen." She shouted to no one in particular. "Just follow the sound of my voice." Someone replied from the distance. They kept talking. She moved past the living room space, turned left at the end of a bright corridor, took a right in front of a rose bush the size of an iron gate and finally found herself in the kitchen where Ignong sat at a round marble table.

She stood there taking in every detail. The white marbled floors, countertops and pillars. Green cupboards and gold lining every single important object.

"I was unsure of what you ate so we made you everything," Igong said before taking a long sip from a delicate teacup in his hand that had gold-rimmed edges.

"We?" Sakura asked curiously.

"The kitchen staff of course. Now take a seat." Igong said quickly. She moved to the nearest chair and quietly took a seat. Before her appeared dozens upon dozens of selections. Pancakes, fruit, fluffy cheesecakes, toast, eggs so many options she couldn't possibly fathom.

"This. This is a lot." She said shocked. Her hand moved in front of her mouth to stop her from saying something wrong. "I just want a coffee and some fruit. That's all I need." She added.

A coffee and a bright variety of fruits appeared on the plate in front of her making her push back in her seat from the sudden surprise. Igong lifted his gaze to her as she muttered an apology and moved back toward the table. "There is a field of hydrangeas that needs a lot of care today. I think you should start with them." Igong stated as he grabbed a pancake from the stack in front of him.

"It feels odd to speak of people like that. Does every flower mean a certain time of your life?" Sakura asked. " It goes more about their personalities. A person gets sorted into what the main focus of their life will be and the rest they develop with time. For example, a rose could indicate finding love. A yellow rose indicates someone who is feeling bright in their relationship and is working on making it better." Igong stated. You are more than welcome to see the meanings of them all in the library. Just go to the top of the building. No one has been there in a while." He added. She smiled. "I'd love to see the meanings. " She added cheerfully.

"Good once you're finished then you can go to the gardens," Igong said as he stood from the table. He wore a blue robe today that had dandelions popping from the shoulders mimicking wool.

"Hey Ignong," She started.

He turned from where he was already halfway out of the kitchen. "What type of flower was I?" She asked curiously.

He gave her a weak smile. "Don't bother yourself with what you were. Focus on what you are. If you still want to know after being here for more than a week, then I'll tell you." He said.

With that last thought, he left her to finish her breakfast.

***

Sakura stepped into the field of multi-coloured hydrangeas. Their essence lifted her spirits instantly. For a split second, she remembered what her grandmother had once taught her.

The colour of the hydrangea is highly influenced by its soil. So is the personality of a child in the type of home they are brought up in.

A smile formed on her face as she remembered sitting next to her grandmother on the lawn as she watered the flowers and when she wasn't paying attention her grandmother would splash her with the water.

Memories felt distant to her now. Nothing felt quite like it was hers. Her mothers' eyes or her dad's sense of humour didn't seem to matter, because they weren't there. There was no one to compare herself to. Nothing that made her... her.

She brought her thoughts back to the task at hand and saw the pink flowers turn a little grey. Not like they were dying, but like they were losing colour and becoming dull. Her heart dropped at the sight.

The library! She thought as she quickly made her way back to the building. She ran up the stairs, she witnessed the flowers making space for her as she travelled up four flights of stairs to the library.

She stopped in front of the white doors. Thorns covered the door in protection. A brow raised she reached a hand out to the door, cautious not to touch it. Her hand was less than an inch away from the door when the thorns disappeared and even pulled away from the door. She let out a sigh of relief and pushed the door open. The inside of the library was huge.

Walls filled with books and plants and there were a few tables in the middle. The sun beamed into the room and landed on one table on the side with a stack of cloth-bound books on top of it.

She stepped through the door half expecting it to shut behind her and trap her in the safety of the room, but nothing happened. She stepped over to the table filled with books and read the titles.

"Botanicals for beginners."

"The herbalist guide to protecting flowers."

"Flowers in terms of souls."

"Illnesses that blossom through flowers."

Her hands swept over the dusty books until she finally opened, illnesses that blossom through flowers, and went directly to the index.

She gently turned the pages until her hand landed on the word 'hydrangeas' and used it to find the right page number. She quickly flipped through till she was on the right page. Her eyes first caught sight of the purple flower pressed into the page and her eyes filtered through to the situation at hand.

The greying of a flower can indicate that people are experiencing a situation that is faltering their belief in life.

Directions to fix issues:

- Give water.

- Bring up words of affirmation.

- Take one singular leaf from this flower and mix it with river water and salt for protection.

- Ask for guidance from the water and see into the situation that is causing the greying.

- When the issue is recognised then take action where possible and if needed plant the flower in new soil away from the negative issue.

She left the book open and ran down the stairs. She moved to the kitchen and grabbed a glass vile that was filled with water and ran to the greying flower and grabbed a piece of it.

She rested a gentle hand on the flower. "You are okay. I am going to guide you to be healthy." She stated. She poured the water onto the hydrangea hoping it would work as fast as the water Lilly had appeared in the bath, but after ten minutes of nothing, she decided to take different measures of approach.

She moved to the river she sat next to yesterday and grabbed some water and added it to the vile. She hoped in her head that this would work.

She took the water and flower back to the kitchen and grabbed a glass bowl and placed the flower which had turned almost completely grey by now into the bowl. She poured some of the river water on top of it and then grabbed salt from a nearby table and poured it in with a clear intention of being protected. She stirred the flower with her fingers letting the water make whirl around her. The water instantly became more active and heavy. She removed her hand.

In the water, an image came to light. A little boy stood in front of a grave. Flowers were in his hand as he had fallen onto the ground heaving. He dragged his body to the stone and held it as tears fell freely from his face.

"A beloved mother and wife."

Was all Sakura read before understanding what had happened? What do I do? She thought. Her mind was running wild with ideas.

"Talk to the flower," Igong said. "You underestimate how strong words can be Sakura." He added.

She left everything as is on the table and with a pain-stricken heart, she went back to the flower.

She took a seat in front of it. She held the ground around it and took a deep breath.

"Things seem difficult now. I know you miss her, but you cannot let this kill you. This needs to make you stronger. Please, I am begging you to not let this define you." She said heartbroken for the young boy. "Come on, please!" She screamed not caring if anyone heard. She lay her head on the ground next to the flower holding the stem. She closed her eyes, breathing out a sigh of defeat. She was unsure if it had worked, but she didn't leave. Even in defeat, she didn't want to open her eyes.

Sakura!" Igong yelled. She heard footsteps approach. "Sakura look!" He yelled just as he reached her. She sat up, smearing the dirt from her face and wiping at her tear-stained cheeks. "What?" She said back defeated. Her voice was hoarse. He pointed at a flower next to her. Her head shot in the direction he pointed at and she let out a scream. She stood and immediately hugged Igong. The flower had returned to its violet colour. No signs of grey whatsoever.

"I did it!" She screamed still holding on to him. He stiffened under her hold which she had only noticed after her joy had dissipated. "Sorry." She said taking a few steps back.

"I am glad you were successful." He stated cheerfully. "I did it." She said with a sigh of relief.

"Well, it seems like you have things under control." He stated. "I'll leave you to it then." He said as he turned back toward the forest.

Sakura felt a newfound confidence rise in her as she dusted off her white robe and walk back to the steps to turn into the house.

Something inside of her tugged her to the side. She turned her head to a passage that seemed like it had almost been closed off. She watched her surroundings to make sure that no one saw her and made her way through the dark arches that called to her.

The tunnel felt as if it had gone on forever and even darkened for a while. The energy seemed to shift around her.

She pushed the string of pearls that were a gorgeous lime green out of the way and entered a field filled with Marigold, Tulips, Dahlia and Pansies.

Curiosity flooded her as to why these flowers were guarded away from the rest of the open fields.

Sakura. Sakura. Sakura.

Something called. Her head moved to the bright purple Pansies that sat in one corner of the garden and right in the middle sat one white and pink Pansy. She couldn't understand why this pulled her toward the flower, but she knew better than to question these things.

She touched the gentle petals and something within her felt like it clicked together. Her body felt a familiar sense of this flower. Is this the garden of those who passed? She wondered. Is my body calling to me? She feared. Did I die before I was supposed to? Another thought popped into her head.

"What are you trying to tell me?" she asked her voice just above a whisper. Her mind felt weary and her eyes tired. "Tell me in my dreams if you won't tell me in waking life." She said before resting her head on her arm and finally closing her eyes.

She dreamt of a different life. A life where she was happy and had love and didn't take away her life by following the advice of her friends.

She was sitting in a kitchen. Her legs crossed as she sat on the counter and a man stood with his back toward her. She swayed her head to the music that played and laughed as he remembered when she told her why the song was important.

"My love, you are nothing more than a daydream, but I will search for you in every second of my waking life." He said. She didn't recognise his voice, but it made her heart flutter.

Her vision blurred and before she knew it she found herself in a different place.

It was a club with neon lights that covered the walls. A boy approached her he seemed around her age. "Where were you? I signed us up for karaoke." He said snorting. His face was a blur but his voice was the same as the vision before.

Her visions moved once again. It seemed like a memory more than a vision.

She sat on a couch at a house party. Her thoughts drifted elsewhere as she was once again dragged into a mess her friends were the cause of. She held the beer bottle in her hand and her leg jumped up and down anxiously.

A boy walked over and gave a subtle wave which she gingerly returned. "Hey." He finally said, but her head wasn't with her. "Dude, I'm not interested." She stated before giving him a chance to speak. He nodded in understanding and without another word he left.

She woke with a cold sweat. Her chest rose and fell with panic. She looked at the Pansy in front of her. "No." She stated plainly. "No, I don't believe it."

She pushed away from the flower that whispered in her head. She shook her head unsure of how else to react. She walked back to the entrance of the pearls.

Don't leave. Stay here with me. Find me. The words repeated in her head. Her heart pounded. The air seemed cooler than before. The skies are grey. Something is wrong. She said to herself. Without warning a bolt of lightning crackled through the sky and pounding rain poured down.

She ran through the arches with a pounding heart. Another lightning bolt slammed against the earth rattling the ground. She felt her chest constrict with pain and fear.

She hurried up the steps, slipping a few times, but holding her balance as she slammed through the hedge door to enter the solid building. Igong sat on the couch as she entered out of breath. Her hair had fallen out of the knot she had it in and he face must've been red from running but she stood there hoping nothing screamed that she was up to no good.

"Someone was busy," Igong said with a smirk. She never thought she would've ever seen that. A smirk on a God. Someone who must be composed at all times. Smirking and sitting lazily on the couch.

"You have no idea." She stated before dragging herself up the steps.