Mirror Castle

Flowers

Reaching up I brush the woman's tears, she is heartless like me. I find myself crying, and sobbing. Why did that man do that to her? Why did the woman take her baby? Why was she left all alone after all she's done for them? The ghostly woman fell forward her head resting on my chest. My heart thumps solidly in my chest filling her own empty chest with the ticking of life. Hugging her tightly I whisper, "I won't leave you... I love you..." 

Her voice is like the wind, breezing past my ears, "You're like me... Heartless right?" 

Heartless... I nod, "I'm a lost one. I don't know if I was born with a heart, and it was ripped out. Or if I had no heart, to begin with... I never loved, never cared. I didn't fight as you did. I don't remember ever feeling like everything has fallen away. I do think... I want a heart... I want to find myself." Wiping away more of her tears, I show her the hearts on my chain, "If I gather enough I can get one... A heart... You can hunt too if you come with me. We can both find a heart together!"

She lightly touches my hearts and shakes her head, "It is too late for me. My body is ashes now... Long gone and destroyed... but you are still fresh, alive. You have time..." 

"You don't know that!" I cry out. 

"I do though." She sits up, lifting me with her.  We sit facing one another, brilliant light glowing beneath us. Flowers, blue flowers glowed rising to the surface surrounding us. 

As the flowers bloom around us, the ghost's gown shifts to that of a dark black and bright blue. She lifts her veil, peeling back her flesh, bony hands crack, ensnarling her yellow hair, "I am dead... No one cared about my death, no one cared to hear my story." She peels her nose off, her teeth fell, and her eyes melted away. Before me is a clean skeleton of a woman. Her bony hands rub my cheeks, "You have helped me. In ways, you will never know. I thank you..." 

"Let me tell you a small story. I came here and was only able to pass one challenge before I gave up. I could not get past my grief, my self-loathing, my hatred for those I used to love. And for that I haunted these waters, that is my grave. But now... Now I think it is time for me to move on. To the next world, whatever that may be..." Reaching into her skeletal chest she clasped in her bones a small little heart, "Please, take this heart as a gratitude for what you've done." Leaning over she kisses my forehead, "I pray that you will find your heart." Standing up she leaves, fading away into the flowery graveyard. 

I feel Leader grab my shoulder, rubbing my head, "Ye ok? Mm got a fright when you both seemed to disappear. Mm feared mm lost ye."

I shook my head, "She was only showing mm her memories. It was all sad like and mm could barely believe an adult could live a life as sad as hers..." Shivering I grab at my shoulders forcing the war from my head, "She was in war after war, never able to raise her kid, who was taken from her by another woman."

Leader grasps my hand leading me up, "Well, she went to a better place now that ye helped her."

"I hope so..." Together we go to the festival. It consists of cheering, hoots, howlers. Sweets, and savories. Bugs and Adults alike dance, play, tease and loved. The tough-talking boss was getting love from her parents. Bully is being chased by little bugs tickling him. I even see Snob teaching his younger bugs things as his parents dance all jolly like.  

Leader drawls my attention back to the lake. From inside each flower little faces poked out sucking in the air. Delicate faces sleeping, danced and twirled in the air, blue flames spread forth from them like little wings. Each one opens their mouth and music echoes about. Their voices wrap around us, and the festivities increased in ferocity and joy. 

Is it possible to cry one's heart out? That is how I feel at this exact moment. Like all my tears are being sucked dry from my very heart. 

Leader see's my tears smiling. "Legend has it that every dead person who was impure has a chance to clean their souls. It's hard and those who fail become these flowers. Their memories te only thing left of themselves." He turns to me, "They watch over ve villagers coming out every year to see if it's their turn to become a bug and live another life...there memories are so strong, should one touch their flames it will fill any missing memories with anew and vise versa, they take in memories long forgotten."

Wiping away my tears I whisper, "That why ye all have the forgetting this night, to share memories with te ghosts."

He grins pleased, "Ye leaving aren't ye..."

Heart burning I nod slowly, "Mm think it is mm time to leave."  I reach up clutching at the moon, "Mm wants a heart... Mm can't stand being heartless. If mm don't find one... Mm will become just like her..." 

Leader shrugs, "Mm will miss ye. Remember should ye fail," he points to the ghosts, "Mm will find ye and do mm forgetting with ye." He winks at me, "Mm can't go forgetting me best friend." 

Through all the pain, I laugh. Light, true, a smile much like the old man spreading across my face. I want to stay forever with Leader. Stay a bug with him forever. But that's impossible. I have to go. If I want a heart. "If ye find mm go on ahead. But don't go tying yourself to just mm. There are countless good memories up there." 

He laughs with me, "None will be like ye." He gives me a meaningful look, "One more slap for old time sakes?" 

If it is possible my heart might stop beating at this very moment... I can barely speak, "Mm would like that." 

He teases me, "Mm will knock the bug right out of ye!" 

I pull back my fist and hit him hard. To my amazement, he falls into the water. It takes him only a few minutes to get back up eyes blazing in excitement, "That was te best punch ye have ever done." He pulls back his own hand, "Promise mm bug, that before ye go leaving ye will tell mm your adult name. And mm will tell ye mm." 

He hits me hard in the face. I fall backward. Time slows down and I smile up at my first friend. "Mm promises!" I shout before I land into the water. 

  The water is cold, yet warm. The surface meeting up with me, and embracing me in the softest of hugs. Twisting and turning, empty blue flowers tangle around me. I cannot get out of their hold, each time I turn they tighten more and more. 

My body grew, I can feel it, a sharp pressure filling my sense of self. I hear their whispers in my ear, inhuman yet human. Whispers of their lives, of their loves, of things they enjoyed. Finished, they release me and I bob out fo the water. I'm no longer in the lake. No longer with the blue flowers, or with the bugs. I'm in a tiny little pond, with frogs barking at me. 

I'm no longer bug... now I'm an adult. Gathering myself out of the lake, I find the path once more. I won't let that happen to me... I will keep collecting hearts, to gain one for myself.