Faltering Fantasies (Wally Darling x Reader)

8. The World When Dressed in White Carnations

"You know, I kinda miss you wearing Wally's clothes," Barnaby chuckled. You'd just came back from Howdy's shop with some new clothes to wear. You had a f/c sundress on which you thought looked pretty good. Now you were having doubts.

"What's wrong with this?"

"Eh, nothing much. I'm just sayin'." It shouldn't have effected you that much, but you'd always been a bit self conscious.

"Oh, I'll see you later," you mumbled, already turning to leave.

"Alright!"

You didn't know where to go. For some reason, no matter how welcoming the neighbors were, you never really felt included. Everyone had a talent, everyone had a house, everyone had a best friend. Everyone but you.

You felt a few tears welling up in your eyes. Pathetic. You'd never gotten emotional over something so arbitrary before.

The tumble after tripping on a rock didn't help. "Ah," you groaned. It wasn't too bad, just a little cut on your knee. You just pressed on it until it stopped bleeding so much. Not in the mood to go deal with Poppy's paranoid nonsense, you settled without a bandaid.

What were you going to do now? Anywhere you went someone would start gushing over your tiny so-called injury. So you went where no one was.

The forest. Eyeing the lack of neighbors around the edges of the entrance, you slipped in unseen. The comforting smell of damp grass and fauna overtook your senses. Getting through wasn't half as difficult now that you weren't in over-sized trousers.

Eventually you made it to the clearing. Except, it didn't look anything like it had before. Gone were the colorful flowers, replaced with a deep blue lake. And rather than the evergreens and fallen branches were, instead a lovely few white flowers. The serene scenery enraptured your thoughts. Tucking away any pain left from the neighborhood.

You sat down on the tall grass just on the end of the lake. Taking a moment to imagine all your thoughts and fears drowning in the mysterious depths of it. Left with nothing but the moment you were in. All the vibrancy of a thousand worlds couldn't compare to this.

You soon collapsed on the ground, surrounded by the florals. You picked a single flower from the sun kissed field and stared up at it in wonder. Each petal folded over another. Rather than being painted with the pains of reality, it laid there, an untouched white. How you longed to be in its place. An innocent little piece in the vast world surrounding it. Though, maybe you were a bit like it.

Would it hurt to show it a bit of cruelty?

You began picking out its petals. Starting at the ends, it seemed everyone that left made room for another in its place. Eventually, you were left with three petals. A mere fragment of its former self. Removing those were the hardest. The inside, where it hurt the most.

As those last three fell to the earth, all you held was a stem. Having been stripped of its beauty and meaning, it silently cried out to be released of its pain. Dropping it in the lake with as much care as you could muster, you had the decency to mutter a quiet, "Sorry," as it descended out of sight. The once beautiful flower, reduced to a forgotten memory.

You thought for a bit what it would be like if you were in the poor flower's place. You'd think of yourself as a disgusting creature. One who'd destroy perfection for sick fun.

Why you felt so bad for a single flower, you'd never know. What you did know though, is that someone found you.

~•~

617 words

"Two questions. One, you saw the chapter title? "The World When Dressed in White Carnations" I honestly thought I should name the whole book that, reason for the white flower on the cover, but instead saved it for this chapter. Did I make the right call? Tell me.

And secondly, are you guys enjoying my little commentaries on reality, or do you want me to go back with a lot of dialogue from the neighbors? Reader is often in their own thoughts compared other stories with them talking to the neighbors all the time. Idk, please tell me if you like my writing style.

And lastly, vote and comment and I'll see you next chapter!"

- Coffee