future.

No one saved her. That pathetic, little girl. Even Oikawa refused to.

So she saved herself.

now.

SUNFLOWERS STAND STARK UNDER THE SCORCHING SUNLIGHT. Sunbeams reflect off the water, and rainbows appear. Straw hat worn over caramel locks, Akatsuki Mana smiles. Summer break has reached its middle step, but Mana doesn't feel a single shred of anxiety.

Her aunt has been everything amiable, buying her new clothes and giving her a garden to tend to. Her room inside the titanic manor has also been the same size as her apartment. Complete with tatami mats, a comfortable futon and just about different flower arrangements whose scents gave her a relaxed feeling.

She's been creating bonds too, being friendly and the whole charade was certainly refreshing.

True, her skin has gotten a little darker after discovering her new hobby: gardening, but she likes the sun on her skin and the summer breeze on her face. It makes her feel reborn, and she feels a newfound sense of satisfaction after making those plants survive. If she had a favorite flower, it would be the geraniums, and the stargazer lilies.

The gardening and the splendor in this house was certainly lovable, but it was the familial vibe the entire place permeated that made Mana stay. The couple, Anenokoji Asahi and Anenokoji Kotone nee Akatsuki, were very hospitable.

Although they weren't what you would call 'close'- since Kotone was busy with business and Asahi was almost always on other countries expanding his empire- they made Mana feel a sense of belonging.

"Those sunflowers look very beautiful, miss," the gardener, Riko said with his trademark straw hat and big grin. "They would be perfect presents."

"I plan to gift Kotone-san and Asahi-san these," Mana says, reminded of her aunt's love for just about anything yellow. "I hope they like it."

"The mistress and master will love it, miss!" Riko chimes. "The master just about accepts anything from the heart and mistress Kotone absolutely adores sunflowers. They say she reminds her of her childhood."

Mana nods. "Her brother, my Papa loves sunflowers. He'd give us bouquets so we could feel better," she says. "Papa always said that he gifted flowers to his little sister to make her feel better. It's no surprise that Kotone-san loves them."

"I see," Riko says, nodding to himself. "Then she will really love them."

"Do you know any store which sells materials that I can use for a bouquet, Riko?" Mana asks, picking up the watering can to water the hollyhocks. "Someplace to buy paper and art materials?"

"I know quite a few, Mana-sama, but I'm sure the mistress would love it even more if you use vases," Riko informs as Mana continues watering the carnation pink flowers. "She has always liked porcelain."

"Business partners from China adore sending the mistress porcelain vases," Riko informs her, his posture similar to that of an intellectual giving a lesson. "Sadly, the mistress gives those vases away to each of us workers every week since she has no room left for them in their room and she's afraid that those will break if she puts them on the hallways because the children are so rowdy."

"I see..." Mana says.

Riko smiles at her. "Don't fret. Maybe you can ask Sayo, the head maid, to give you one?"

"I hope she does," Mana says and it's almost hard to believe that after weeks, a genuine smile from her isn't difficult to come by. Moving on is a strange process.

Riko leaves after a short while, saying he has to tend to the northern gardens. Mana lets him; she has to finish watering the plants after all. Sunbeam on her hair feels warm, almost hot so she fits the straw hat even tighter.

A trickle of perspiration falls from her forehead but she wipes it all away in a single stroke. The faint sound of footsteps fail to reach her ear so she continues watering the hollyhocks. She moves to the yet to bloom marigolds and roses, trim a bunch of withered leaves and pull some weeds.

Her hands are grimed with soil and some scratches but she feels perfectly fine. And then-

"Mana!" A cheerful voice resounds throughout the quaint garden and a girl with hair the color of beautiful peach blossoms frolick towards her.

Mana immediately turns around and faces the girl, putting aside the water can. The girl wraps her arms around Mana's waist and she giggles. "I missed you!" she says, with a smile so brilliant it may have rivaled the sun.

"I missed you too, Aika," Mana replies. "But I have to wash my hands first. They're full of soil, you see?" She raises both hands and Aika giggles at the sight.

"It's okay!" she yells with that high pitched voice of her. "Aiko pushed me unto a mud puddle once and I got to eat a bunch. I'm used to soil."

"Aiko did?" Mana asks incredulously. Aiko was the straight A, rule enforcer type whereas Aika was the opposite. She can't imagine the older twin pushing Aika into a puddle of mud.

"She did!" Aika presses, bouncing on tiptoes, a smile still etched on her face. "But she jumped soon after and we were rolling on the mud like pigs!"

Mana smiled at the girl's effervescence. "That's the Aiko, I know," she says, heading to a faucet and Aika trailed after her like a puppy. "Where are your siblings, anyway?"

"I don't know," Aika says, shrugging. "We were playing hide and seek, but Aoki got lazy and gave up on finding us. I got out of my hiding spot and decided to stroll."

"I see," Mana says, washing her hands. She's finished her tasks in the garden and she doesn't have anything to do anymore. She's set to prepare for school, weeks after so she doubts she has to prepare now.

Her aunt enrolled her in some fancy all girl's private school and it was according to her request. Mana just wants to stay away from boys for a while and focus on her education.

"Aika, there you are!" Another high pitched voice calls, but unlike Aika's, it's a deeper and richer voice.

Anenokoji Aiko, with her trademark glasses and poker face sashays into the garden, Anenokoji Aoki following her.

"You've been bothering Mana-neesan, again, haven't you?" Aiko says and points an accusatory finger at her younger twin.

"I didn't!" Aika shouts back. "Mana-neesan likes my company. You're just jealous because no one likes you because you have a pole stuck on your bum."

Aoki, the silent older brother and the one who got facial features from Kotone, snickered at his younger sister's comment.

"Why you-?!" Aiko says and she heads towards her younger twin.

"Stop it Aiko, Aika," Mana says immediately before the conflict reaches an even greater height. "Didn't I tell you to stop fighting?"

Aoki flushes red, ashamed that he was tolerating such a ruckus and nodded at Mana's words. He was the most peaceful Anenokoji sibling, opting to remain in his quarters of silence rather than doing anything children his age would do.

"We're sorry," the twins chorus, before sticking tongues out at each other. They may have been the biggest reason that Mana stayed. They were so different from Estuko (no one could compare to her sister and comparing them was wrong enough as it is), but she loved them dearly. Even though she only knew them for weeks.

She guessed that was what made children special. Their ability to brighten even the darkest of day with their effervescence and charming naivety.

Shaking her head to clear of the thoughts that would just obfuscate her current state, Mana begins twirling a lock of her now above shoulder caramel hair.

"Are you bothered about your hair, Mana-neesan?" Aiko asks with a worried look on her face. "If you're only sporting it to keep yourself from being furious with Aika, I'll tell her."

Mana dismisses the girl's worries with a shake of her head. "I actually quite like it," she tells the girl. "Perfect for the weather. It ameliorates the heat caused by the sun. I like it."

Her caramel colored hair flows as Mana watches Aiko follow her other siblings enter the manor with a smile. That girl is carrying too much on her shoulders, she thinks as the servants open the door for the children.

Mana still can't help but be awed by the gargantuan structure, a traditional type of Japanese house with wooden sliding doors, bamboo screens, a tiled roof, and rice paper screens in lieu of glass. All around the manor were stone walls coated with white plaster and gates made of metal. What was most breathtaking was the magnum opus of the Himeji family of landscapers- the beautiful gardens full of efflorescing flowers and tress. The lotus pavillions with the magnificent paper lanterns were beatiful too. There were four gardens, each to a specific direction. North, south, west and east, all carrying ten thousand species of flowering plants.

But then, like all art, what made the wonderful piece of architecture special was the fact that it had been passed from generation to generation, carrying all kinds of secrets and histories that would make a regular historian's mouth water.

They head to the tea room, a vast tatami filled room with different bamboo paintings and calligraphy paper. There's an old table at the middle, filled with baskets of fresh fruit and steaming cups of tea. The twins hurry to the table (Aiko having more grace than Aika who literally dove into the cushioned seats).

Aoki merely sat primly in front of the table, saying grace before munching on some grapes.

It didn't take long for Aika to open her mouth and begin yet another conversation that was meant to enrage her older sister.

It went this way:

Aika (munching on a piece of garlic bread): Did you have a boyfriend in Miyagi, Mana?

Aiko: Neesan! You should always add neesan, Father said. It's impolite.

Aoki: ...

Aika (munching on a banana): Well he's not here and Father is a hypocrite. He calls Mana, Mana too. Besides she treats me like an equal, don't you Mana?

Aiko: Wrong! Father is older than Mana-neesan so it is applicable. Besides she's just being nice.

Aika (munching on a piece of strawberry): I like adults like Mana and you can't stop me from calling her what I like!

Aoki: ...

Aiko: You can't do that, Aika! It's improper.

Aika: Shut up, Aiko! Besides you're missing the big picture here. So Mana, did you or did you not have a boyfriend?

Aiko: We're too young for that! And don't tell me to shut up, ask politely!

Aika: You're the same person who asked Amane-san from the maids what falling in love is like.

Aiko: You're diverting!

Aika: Whatever, so Mana, did you or did you not?

"I did," Mana said and it's strange how easy the past tense escapes her mouth.

"What was it like?" Aika asks in rapid fire.

Mana feels the pinpricks of nostalgia on the back of her head and the word escapes her mouth before she's even aware. "Amazing," she says.

The two girls look in amazement and if Mana hasn't learned, she would have told them of the terrors too, but even if you kept on giving warning signs, love would still hit you.

And you'd have to let things go eventually.

-because in the end, you can't always choose what to keep. You can only choose how to let it go.

"You said did, that means it's over, right?" It was Aoki, ever perceptive of the shifts and changes in one's speech.

"Right," Mana responds with ease.

Aiko looks disappointed. "Why?"

Mana pats her head and when she sees the pout gracing Aika's face, she does the same to the younger twin. "We both deserved better. We wanted better things for each other and we knew we couldn't give those things anymore."

"That's sad," Aika comments.

"It's not," Mana respond. Maybe at first, but after realization, it's not. "It's actually quite happy. Because, after that, we're given a chance to rectify our mistakes on the next relationships and the whole possibility of having more chances is appealing, right?"

There's that look on Aoki's face that appears as if he doesn't believe her. It's strange to see the usually reserved Aoki saying things and with determined eyes, he says, "When I grow up, I'll fight."

"That's not wrong too," Mana says, a ghost of a smile on her lips as she retreats her hand from the girls' head and places her sun kissed hand on top of Aoki's head. "Just be sure to fight for the right things."

* * *

e n d.
-
[ Supermarket Flowers ]

'sometimes, it's just better to let go.'

[ a u t h o r ' s c o r n e r. ]

the quote: and you can't always choose what... is derived from crossed by allie condie.

and idk if you guys are aware, but this book has only four chapters left. two for casual chapters, one for the 'end' and the remaining one for a parting message of sorts.