LONELY ROSE

IV- Saving A Life

"Then, can you tell me your name?" Jacinto asked. Cali said as his gaze softened, "My name is Cali."

"Nice to meet you Cali. My name is Jacinto."

Jacinto smiled and said with ease, "Okay then. Good night. Don't ever leave my side."

"Good night, I won't." Cali said.

And with that, Cali used his ability to let Jacinto enter the dimension.
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Jake felt scared. Every time he woke up, it was still the same timeline. It was that night when he picked up the flower and went home.

Still the same routine, it was Gale leaving him, found a rose, and went home and sleep. It was a continuous cycle. It never stopped.

It was as if he was trapped in a time loop.

Right now he was in the same road again, standing in front of the rose lying in the ground. And then he suddenly remembered, Cali warned him before he left.

But because when was immersed with sadness upon Gale leaving him, he forgot the most important thing.

"Where am I? Why am I still here? Please help me..." Jake muttered slowly as he gripped his bag and stared at the rose. Right now, he doesn't want to move at all. He was just staring at the rose below him. He knew that it was pointless to pick it up, he would still end up in the same road. He doesn't know what to do, and how to get out from the nightmare.

"Young boy, will you pick me up? Take me home, I'm lonely..." A whisper echoed in the air. Jake felt goosebumps as he gripped his bag tighter.

"You're alone too right? Stay with me, you won't get alone..."

"I was abandoned too, like you..."

"We're the same, might as well keep each other's company..."

"Don't be afraid, I'm not gonna hurt you..."

The voice kept getting closer. Jake's tears flowed right from his cheeks as he freaked out from the voice.

"Don't listen. You won't come back if you do."

A man's voice sounded from behind. Jake immediately turned around and saw Jacinto staring at him.

"You... How'd you get here?" Jake said with his eyes red from crying.

"With the help from someone. Here, hold my hand," Jacinto said as he stretched out his hand. Jake was about to grasp it when they heard a weeping voice.

"Don't leave me here. I'm scared! I don't want to be alone. Come and play with me..." The voice continued.

Jake was about to turn around when he heard Jacinto spoke to him," Don't listen, don't look back, you'll be stuck in here forever," Jake looked at Jacinto with horror and immediately grasped it tight.

"If you feel scared, just close your eyes and follow me," Jacinto said.

Jake nodded and closed his eyes. Then, Jacinto followed the blue rose that bloomed on the ground.

"That damn monster! He always interfere with my plans!" The voice roared angrily but Jacinto simply didn't care. He held Jake's hand and led him to seek for the door.

"You won't get away!"  The voice echoed loudly and followed them. Jacinto and Jake ran as fast as they could to get away from the demon. Howbeit, Jake's pants got stuck on the rose, and accidentally turned back.

Jacinto turned as well. He thought, 'oh no!'

They saw the hideous creature with a red, torn dress and huge eyeballs. Her mouth was stitched and she was carrying a rose.

"Hahaha! Too late to escape now!" The hideous woman cackled when he heard Jacinto scream, "Cali!"

Out of a sudden, a man appeared in a thin air.

"You mongrel! You always interfere with our plans! You cowardly freak!" The woman hissed. Cali expressionlessly looked at her and said coldly, "Too bad, I messed up your plan. But unfortunately, I'm going to mess up your domain for real."

"You!..."

"Good bye demon..."

"Demon? Hah! Aren't you a demon yourself?! You self-proclaimed righteous?!"

"At least, I'm too good looking compared to you. Get out of my side, ugly mosquito."

"I just want someone to love me! I just want someone who accompany me! Is it that hard?!" The woman shrieked.

Cali looked at her with pity and said, "You're dead, and you've taken many innocent souls. Tell me, have you even asked them how it feels to die? You just want to collect souls as much as you want and eat them later if you're hungry. Does a life even that important for beings like you?"

"You deserve to be alone."

"You bitch— I will kill you!" The woman attacked Cali with all her might but she can't compare the strength of Cali.

"Die." Cali said coldly. The woman was hit by a beam of light, which made her explode.

The woman looked at him in relief and closed her eyes, admitted her fate.

Cali then looked at Jacinto and Jake. Jake was still a bit confused but he chose to go with his own body first. Jacinto looked at him with worry and signalled him to go back to the original dimension.

Unbeknownst to Jake, his memories from that scenario will be erased.
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Rose demon

Once a long time ago, there was a girl who lived in a small village. She was an average beauty, and almost unnoticeable by all people who lived there.

But then as she sat down by the crook, a man approached her and confessed his love.

And, he was also her first love.

The girl was happy that she got the man he ever loved. She started having fantasies about him living in the same roof, had kids, and growing old together.

The two eventually became lovers, and all went happily.

But then, suddenly, the man grew cold. He suddenly gave her a cold shoulder that left her confused.

She wondered, what did I do wrong?

But I guess, in this world, beauty still wins.

She saw his lover with another girl. She saw his man, with another woman in his arms. That night she cried, for that girl was pretty and she was just average. All their love, their bond...all gone.

For he had found a pretty tulip, and replaced the rose he onced loved.

She was melancholy. She felt betrayed, the thorns in her rose grew. But then she knew, he was gone and will never come back.

The girl was depressed and forgot who she was, because of the sadness, she left the world.

But the melancholy remains, and the root of hatred grows. Once again, a monster reborn.

That is the story, of the fellow rose demon.