Dedication goes to @Depressionattheprom for this lovely idea!

~

Although everyone else seemed to be recovering fine after the loss of Rose, Pearl still expected her to be around every corner. Every time she finished a mission, or every time she was lonely, she expected Rose to be there for her. It broke her down all over again when she realized that she wouldn't be.

The baby was a few years old. It wasn't because Pearl kept track of the baby's growth or cared it. It was because the day that Rose left, Steven came. He had taken her away from them, and he left this huge empty void in the temple that felt like it would never go away.

It hurt. So much more than Pearl expected. She had nine whole months to prepare for the loss of Rose, yet this was so much worse than she ever expected anything in her life to feel. On the other hand, Amethyst and Garnet were struggling, but still moving along in life. Rose's loss left Pearl completely stagnant.

And it was days like these that reminded her that she was alone now. The temple was empty, with Garnet and Amethyst training together. The smallest gem was still wild and reckless, but learning quickly. The temple was completely empty. Before all this happened, Pearl might have followed Rose around like an adoring puppy, but now that she was alone there seemed to be nothing but a crushing sense of hopelessness.

The temple was nothing more than a horrible memory now. Pearl didn't even bother checking if everything was in place before leaving. She wasn't sure where she was going, but anywhere away from the temple would be preferable. The soft crunch of damp sand underfoot, the crashing of waves, and the salty smell of seawater all lulled Pearl to a tracelike state. She wasn't sure where she was heading, and at this point, she didn't care either.

It was a surprise when Pearl slowly realized that the ground under her didn't shift with every step, and that the sound and smells of the ocean were faded and distant. Somehow, she had walked past the edges of the city and was faced with a looming forest. The sun was just starting to set, and lit everything ablaze with its bright colors.

Pearl was just about to walk back home and try to erase the thoughts of her when she paused for a moment. There was singing. Someone was singing in the woods. She was about to turn away again and return to the dreaded temple, but the song stopped her.

The voice was so much like Rose's. Pearl wasn't sure in what way. The voice that Pearl was hearing was lower, and their beat was faster, and this wasn't Rose singing. Yet there was an undeniable resemblance between the two voices.

There was still time.

Pearl stepped into the forest. Twigs and dry leaves crackled under her feet and she felt terribly clumsy. The singing still didn't stop. It wasn't too deep into the forest, and the path towards the sound was relatively clear.

There was no clearing, no sign that would suggest that this part of the forest was any different than the rest of it except for the fact that the singing was now louder and more soothing than before. Pearl looked around, confused. Where was the person singing.

The sound was from the trees. There was a girl, maybe nineteen or twenty, sitting in the tree's branches above, humming mindless tunes that held more meaning than anything else Pearl had every heard. Because of the colder weather, she was wearing a jacket that covered well more than the upper half of her body that it was suppose to, and loose, comfortable looking pants.

"Hello." Pearl felt like this was the most appropriate greeting in situations like these. The human looked around, and shifted her weight slightly to look down at Pearl. The branch shook a little under her weight.

"Hello." the girl parroted. There was a heartbeat of silence between the two.

"Your singing is very nice." Pearl shifted her weight from foot to foot. This conversation was not going the way she had planned for it to go in her head, but then again, conversations rarely followed the blueprint that Pearl wanted them to follow.

"Thanks." she seemed embarrassed by this. Maybe it was the fact that this twenty year old girl was sitting in a tree. It wasn't a common human ritual. She was singing as well, which wasn't a rare thing for humans to do, but they always seemed flustered when people asked for them to perform. And so late at night. Humans had terribly nightvision, and tended to be most active during the lighter hours.

"What were you singing about?" The question was strange, but there had been no words to hint at any moral to the song. Just melodious notes.

The human turned her head away and her nails dug into the tree bark. She seemed angry. Sad. Heartbroken, if anything. Humans tended to be like that. Gems were, too, sometimes.

"My parents." If it wasn't for Pearl listening and the distinct lack of sound, Pearl might not have heard the muttered words.

"Why?"

"They died."

There was silence.

"How?"

"One from Alzheimer's. The other one from suicide."

Pearl was silent in thought, the girl was silent in mourning.

"Did you love them?" The girl's entire body swung in the tree to turn and glare at her.

"What type of question is THAT?" she seemed unnaturally upset. Pearl could understand why.

"You aren't obligated to love someone. People may try to force you to, but making a voluntary choice to have affection for someone always makes it feel worse." Pearl hugged herself, thinking about Rose. the girl seemed to calm down. Perhaps they had something similar after all.

"Yeah. Loved them. I loved them a lot." she sighed, her entire body seemed to settle down a little. Pearl had no clue how she could be so relaxed in a tree. Humans weren't build for that type of environment. One leg dangled hazardously off the tree limb and her arms were loosely holding her knees. "Did you lose someone? Someone you loved?"

"Rose."

The girl didn't ask for an explanation. Pearl wouldn't have given one anyways.

"How much did you love her?" Pearl laughed, and the cheerful snapping of brown leaves only fueled it more. She could feel tears building in her eyes.

"I wouldn't died for her. Everything...I would have given everything for her. I already have."

The girl nodded, and jumped down from the tree limb with surprising grace. She was around Pearl's height, but was much bigger. She carried the extra weight on her like it was a diamond tiara on her head.

"And you may be?" Pearl asked.

"Just call me Mystery Girl."