The Love Letters 「P1」

「Sunday」

It was a bright and sunny afternoon that was meant

to be spent outside. There was not a cloud in sight in the blue sky, and the sun himself took the liberty to use its warm rays to lure people of all ages outside. 

Talia was different though; she didn‘t leave the quarters of her house, choosing instead to stay inside and half a cup of home made ice cream that she had just made. Today would have been a better day if Rick were here. 

Yesterday, Rick called Talia and told her that he was leaving to go to Rome for a week. A week! A whole entire 168 hours! So Talia stayed indoors as confinement, forbidding herself to stay indoors until Rick came back. Selena worked almost every day this week....she was lucky, though. She worked with the same guy who harbored the exact feelings for her! 

In a slump, Talia flipped through the channels on TV. Everything on the screen was either a boring old rerun or an annoying TV commercial with that familiar yet naggy old tune. Just as Talia was about to fall asleep from utter boredom, the doorbell rang.

Talia closed the door behind the mailman and went back into the living room. She set the package down onto the coffee table and studied the label: it was Rick‘s address! His address? It was from Rick? But how??

After ripping open the package, Talia found enclosed a single, piece of stationary. It was a letter neatly folded; the folds were sharp and crisp and Talia shook from excitement as she realized what she was reading.

「 I, 

 Really really miss you already. I hope you are doing well. Make sure you‘re eating enough and drinking enough water! You better not be in a worse condition when I come back. I am depending on you to take care of yourself so that when I come back we can go to the Firefly festival. I am always thinking of you, so please be careful with yourself! I would like to return to you as a happier and more dependable Rick, so please...be safe.

Please wait for my return. 

「From, 

         Rick

Talia‘s face lit up in glee and she sank back onto her couch with the letter pressed to her heart. Rick always knew the right thing to say...even when he wasn‘t physically here. 

°°°°°「P1 END」•••••

These thoughts [Daffodils of Destiny]

Asia: I have the looks, the cash, the fame, and the talent. I'm better than any of these idiots here. And Talia may be pretending that she doesn't want a damn thing to do with me, but we all know that she wants some of this. Who is this Rick guy? He looks like a total loser; I'm faster, stronger, and hotter than he will ever be in this lifetime. I won't have to chase after Talia, because I know for a fact that she'll come running back to me. Just like she does....every. Single. Time.

Rick: Man, I really really like Talia, but I wonder if she likes me? I hope I don't come off as too sudden for her. I need to find a way so that she doesn't get go back to her stupid ex-boyfriend. She doesn't need him, but she doesn't seem to believe me every time I say so! Is it because she only sees me as a friend and nothing else? I hope not....otherwise, my chances are ruined. Maybe I'll get Selena and Zico to do something about this. I'm sure Zico wouldn't mind punching that dude's lights out! Actually, Talia may not actually like that if I go that route....better not risk it or she might distance herself from me more...and I really would not like that...

Selena: I know I'm supposed to go after Talia and all, but I can't focus! Zico just smells so good and my heart just pounds so hard in my chest every single time he accidentally brushes my arm and....Oh, God. What am I saying? Er....never mind! Let's just focus on finding Talia so that this whole entire thing can just be over. I know Zico says to leave it to Rick, but I don't know how this will all work out! But we all know that they're a match made in heaven. And that Asia! God, is he such a...UGH! If I wasn't so worried about him using the money card to sue for his so-called perfect face if damaged, I would totally demolish it!

Zico: Oh my GOD! Does this chick have to go off and ruin my plans every single time I decide to move in closer to Selena?! I'll call Rick; Talia ain't my girl, and neither Selena nor I are babysitters. Maybe I'll mess around a bit first; Selena sure does act pretty cute when she's all in panic mode. It might not be a bad idea to bust that stupid popstar's face either. He looks like he's been waiting his whole life for somebody to make some time of contact with that smug little face of his. I bet I could throw him under a goddamn bus and nobody would care or notice because he's...oh, I dunno. Useless to society? I might be doing the world a favor this time...



--- and finally ---


Talia: I hate everyone and everything! Why did Rick have to say that about me? Am I not feminine enough for him?? I'm not a GUY! I  AM NOT! And that stupid Asia....how could he do that to me? That is the worst type of betrayal that anyone could do to somebody....and to think that he moved on so fast! That...that jerk! I don't have the heart to cuss and yell at him...even now...but it doesn't stop the pang in my heart when I saw him with that girl! Are all boys like this? Will I ever be happy? Even Selena found somebody to be happy with and - oh wait, what is this? Is this jealousy? Talia, how could you even say that about Selena and Zico! Oh, what gives: YES, I am jealous! I wish I had someone too...but the guy that I truly like now doesn't see me as anything female and the guy that I sort of want back has moved on and I...I....I hate the world.

The Daffodils of Destiny [Part 4] [END]

Talia was quick to stand up as quick as possible, hiding her dirty hand behind her. Rick shook his head, came a few steps closer to her, reached behind her, and snatched her hand to be displayed in between the both of them. He withdrew a sturdy looking handkerchief from the inside of his jacket pocket and wiped her hand clean of the dirt and grime that had made contact with her hand while she had been fishing for her beloved half dollar coin. Talia made no attempts to explain herself until after Rick shoved the now dirty cloth back into his jacket.... which she then muttered, "Thanks."

"You are really something!" Rick said, raising his eyebrows at Talia who lowered her eyes. "I heard you went over to your ex's house or something and demanded to be taken back. Is that true?" When she didn't answer him, he let out an angry sigh. "Have you not learned enough from this douc - "

"It's none of your business anyway, Rick!" Talia said, raising her eyes to glare at her supposed prince charming who had been able locate her after all. "And don't...say that about him...he's....just....going through a phase..."

Rick laughed really hard at that last statement, and Talia's face turned a deep shade of maroon. "A phase? Really? Wake up already! He doesn't want you anymore!"

"Why would you say that? That's not even true!"

"It is true! Stop being so oblivious," Rick interjected.

"And besides," continued Talia. "Why do you care about what I...about what I decide to do....since when have you...since when have..."

"Since always!"

Talia, eyes wide, stared straight down at the ground at her converse sneakers and refused to look up. Her mind was completely blank at the moment, and she didn't know what to say or how to say anything. She chewed her lip as Rick cleared his throat, determined to keep the conversation going.

"Was this really all because of me? Because I said that being with you was as comfortable as being with a guy?" When Talia didn't say anything, Rick continued. "Well, I'm honored that I can make a girl take off her pride and run back to her ex just with my mouth. But I don't want that honor. And for the record, I know you're not a guy," he walked towards the fountain. "It sure is pretty here though, isn't it..."

Talia walked over next to him and let out a small sigh as the lump in her throat started to shrink a little bit. "I always come here when I feel bad," she paused. "How did you know I was here?"

Rick laughed. "Okay, don't give me any weird looks when I say this, but..." he paused. "I've seen you standing here several times with your eyes closed making a wish. I always saw you here when I was delivering papers throughout the city."

"Stalker!" Talia said, feeling a bit surprised but pleased. She chewed her lip again and stared straight at the sculpture of the woman being held by her lover. "I wish you would have said something about that because now I feel like a total idiot..."

"You are an idiot. Who's stupid enough to go and find their ex? No wonder he wouldn't take you back. No matter how you look or how you dress, no one is going to want to - "

"Well - Well, I pity the fool who falls in love with me," Talia muttered, turning away.

"I pity myself too," Rick almost immediately said. "And I know I'm not really one to act like this, but..."



He turned to Talia, reached over and planted his lips onto hers. Talia's eyes only widened and she froze, unable to think, say, or react to what was going on. Her eyes probably only continued to grow larger until Rick pulled away. She couldn't describe the kiss even to herself because her brain was dead by this point; she couldn't remember anything about it except for the fact that a part of her brain had wanted it to last longer and that he had kissed her. The end of the kiss was met by this... a small, serene smile by the guy that she had always secretly adored, the guy that always knew her favorite places and where to look for her, and the guy who acted as her secret keeper; the guy who had secretly watched her without fail stand in front of a "mythical" fountain rumored to make wishes come true to those with a sincere yearning for love.

Rick cleared his throat as his face was the same color as Talia's. He scratched his head and bit his lip several times while looking around the scenery as people of all ages walked past the fountain and its observers. Talia's heart was pounding like crazy in her chest and she felt like her face was on fire.

"Here," Rick suddenly grabbed Talia's hand and placed an identical looking half dollar in it before he helped to close her fingers around it. "Here's a refund for that...that kiss," he cleared his throat again as Talia's heart yet skipped another beat.

"No, it...it was good. I mean, it was fine - um, what I mean is, um, don't...don't worry about it," Talia said, sounding a bit too cheery than she wanted. She unexpectedly shared a look with Rick, and the two of them started to laugh.



"DELIVERY FOR MISTER BARSEN AND HIS BAE!"

Talia and Rick turned to see a very enthusiastic Zico pulling a very disgruntled and flustered Selena behind him. The couple ran straight up to Rick and Zico who tossed a bouquet at him which he caught quite naturally. "We looked everywhere for you two lovebirds," Zico said as Selena was trying to catch her breath.

"Lovebirds? Speak for yourself," Rick said as Talia snickered, seeing that Zico wouldn't let go of Selena's hand.

Selena glared at the two of them. "We're not lovebirds, we're - "

"- More than that," Zico interrupted, causing Selena to turn an even darker shade of red.

"You - !"

"Anyway, those're those flowers you wanted us to get for you, lover boy," Zico said, ignoring Selena and instead choosing to point at the flowers. "The Daffodils of Destiny....this one here came up with that cheesy name.."

"Hey, you said it was good this morning!"

"I say a lot of things."

"....."



As Rick turned to Talia and handed her the Daffodils of Destiny, Talia's face and heart started to set on fire. She felt like her stomach was melting with the smile on Rick's face. "See?" he said as she took the gift from him. "Today wasn't so bad after all. You got flowers and your money back."

"I guess you could say that," Talia laughed. "Thanks for these."

"Hey.....Sometimes, look closer..."

"Look closer...what?"

"Sometimes if you look closer, you can find that the people who you want to be closer to are already by your - "


"Oh, yawn," Zico said. "Let's go, Selena. Let's leave this old couple alone to kiss some more."

"You- you saw that?!" Rick and Talia said in sync, causing them to blush some more.

"How- how much of that did you see?" Talia said, her heart stopping.

"All of it," Selena said, suddenly gripping Zico's hand a little tighter. "You guys sure are slow at - "

Zico reached over and pecked Selena on the cheek. "Yeah, it was too slow for my taste too," while everyone was still frozen he waved and dragged Selena away from the scene despite her protests.



"Maybe I should take some advice from that guy," Rick suddenly said about a minute later after the two of them had settled into comfortable silence. "It might not be too late...to give it a try." He reached for Talia's hand unexpectedly and Talia felt herself go red for about the fifth hundred time today. "I gave you flowers and a refund, so you just come with me today."

"To - to - to where?" she stammered as a breeze swept past.

"Somewhere," Rick said with a soft smile, and with the soft pit-a-pat of combined hearts, the two of them raced through the city, their smiles and footsteps as light as a feather.


The card tucked away quite snugly in the sleep flowers kept forever towards that bouquet read this:



[  The Daffodils of Destiny

       Sweet and Amorous
Only Complimented by Pairs
       Always Yearning
   Fate and Destiny Decided

    The Daffodils of Destiny  ]





~~~~~ END ~~~~~

Alternate Universssusss

As promised, here is the elegant ending to the Daffodils of Destiny. <3

-------------------

Talia stood up, face red as she hid her dirty hand behind her pants. Rick came closer and shook his head as he noticed her embarassment and snatched her hidden hand away from her to examine it on front of his face. He wiped it clean with a rag he pulled out of his pants pocket and then sighed. "Talia....you‘re really..."

"Rick, what do you want?" Talia said, furiously, hiding her hand again from him.

"Look. I heard you went to your ex‘s house..and I wanted to say that I was sorry."

"How sorry?" Talia asked, with a glimmer of dismay buried in a bit of hope.

Rick reached over and brushed the hair from Talia‘s eyes and smiled. "I wanted to tell you sorry...,for awhile now. I never meant for you to get all angry about this, and I needed to get it off my chest before..."

Talia glanced up as Rick leaned in closer with a smile as genuine as she had hoped. "Talia, I really am sorry...if you forgive me..." This was the moment! As Rick came closer, her eyes widened for a quick second before she bit her lip and shook her mind free from thoughts. This is what she had wished for all this time...all this time! And it was finally here, this one perfect moment that she had secretly desired at this same very spot moments before dropping her precious coin and hope forever. Talia shut her eyes and held her breath as she felt Rick‘s face and scent get closer and





"Oh my gahhhhh!"

Talia‘s eyes flung open as a tall man in fancy spandex like material bounded from the sky and landed right smack in between the almost kissing pair. The stranger with glorious flowy blonde hair and goatee flipped his hair back and whipped Talia in the face, forcing her to step back with a mouth full of hair and landing on her bottom into the metal pipes of the sewer.

"Rick! What are you doing?!" The stranger asked, embracing Rick like a mother to her cub. "And who is this....this..." Blondie glared at Talia who stared back in agape. "This horrendous little pale child!" Blondie sniffled. "I can‘t believe you‘re cheating on me with this boy!"

Talia stood up, furiously, her pockets probably smelling like toilet water. "I am not a man!!!"

Blondie stuck his nose up in the air. "Then why were you in the sewer?"

"I - I - I wasn‘t - !" Talia turned red. "Rick! What is this?! Don‘t tell me this s what I think it is.."

Rick stepped forward. "I wanted to say sorry, remember? I said I wanted to apologize and get things off my chest."

"And?"

Rick smiled nervously. "Well...I wanted to let you know that..."

"Know what?"

"Tell ‘er, baby!" Proclaimed Blondie, who had now started a glaring contest with Talia.

"I‘m getting married to Bofart Huberderk tomorrow evening here in Little Italy. We‘re going to officially become the Huberderks tomorrow!"

Bofart beamed.

"You - you what?!" Talia said, her heart sinking. "But that‘s...that‘s..."

"Ah, Bofart, this is the girl who first took me to Iredoci‘s Icecream Parlor!" Rick said to his gay partner. "You should thank her!"

Talia felt like a dry dessert who had never seen water in about twenty years. That was her special place....with Rick....and he had taken this guy there when she had thought he was different...

Bofart beamed again. "Ah, darling! So it was her!" He smiled at Talia who felt like she was going to throw up. "Dahling, thank you so much! I love the strawberry supreme flavor! I always ask for extra whipping cream and share it with my bae!"

But....Talia had always did that with Rick.....but obviously the true colors shown.......

"Anyway, Talia we saw you drop that coin in the gutter. We figured we should help you get it back."

Talia shook her head. "Ah, no. That‘s - that‘s not necessary."

Bofart stepped forward. "No, I will return that favor, dahhhhhling!" And he used his long gleaming hair to whip around the coin at the bottom of the gutter and pull it out. He detached it, wiped it off of Talia, and then handed it back to her.

"T-t-thank you?!" Talia responded, frightfully.

Bofart turned to his bae. "Can I ask her, honey?"

"Sure, Bo!"

"Tah-lee-ay, will you be the best man at our wedding? I know you aint no man, but I aint got a best man. All of the bridesmaid spots are taken....so can yuh help us out and be the best man?"

Talia felt deflated, but felt cornered, so she reluctantly agreed. "Yeah. Of course!" She paused. "But Selena....and Zico, are they?"

"Oh, you didn‘t hear? They got in a car accident a few hours ago. They‘re not going to be at the wedding. Oh well. Nobody liked them anyway. They were no fun anyway. It‘s better that they both died off, wouldn‘t you say?" He and Bofart laughed.

They.........died?

"Thanks, hun!" Bofart said, winking at her as he and Rick walked off, waving to her. "See you tomorrow, dearie!"

"Thanks so much, Talia! You‘re the best friend a guy could ever ask for!"

After they left, the coin the Talia was holding exploded, and epic Skillet Christian rock music was played passionately and violently with a quartet of violins and violas.

The Daffodils of Destiny [Part 3]

"Zico, hurry up! We have to find her!"

"Alright, alright. No need to rush."

I stopped and turned back to Zico whom I slugged in the arm. "No need to rush? Did you see how mad she was? She's going to do something really stupid and then come crying to the both of us!" When he didn't respond, I said, "At least do me a favor and call her boyfriend on stand by, will you?"

The clock chimed seven times. It wouldn't really start to get dark until around eight o'clock as the Summer season had just started, but just because it was getting dark didn't mean that it was getting any cooler. I wiped the sweat from my brow as Zico took of his hat, shook his hair out, and then replaced it before taking out his cellphone to dial Rick.

Zico kept up with me at a rapid pace, following close behind as we walked around the city center; everyone was either going out for dinner or going home, so there were plenty of people out and about trying to go their own ways.

"Yeah, we'll check at his house," I heard Zico say as I peered around the corner at Talia's favorite ice cream shop, hoping that she was there but finding it filled with other people instead. "You go search where you know best." Zico hung up as I sighed. "Rick says that he'll check where he thinks she could be. Let's go to that toolbag's house and see if she was there."

I put a finger to my lips and said with a warning. "You better be glad she wasn't here when you said that. She would have killed you."

He raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I'd like to see that puny kid try. Gets hurt because Rick made a joke about not seeing her as a chick and she runs off to her ex's house. She's a piece of work alright."

I didn't know how to vouch for my friend's situation anymore, so I just grabbed Zico's arm and pulled him along. "Whatever, let's just go!"



The infamous Asia Buckyfield lived in an expansive apartment complex; to many people, it would be a house. But for his standards, it was most definitely an apartment. I dragged Zico to the front door of my friend's ex, and then I took a breath, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it without sounding weird. How exactly does one knock on the door of somebody else's ex and ask if they had been here prior myself?

Knock, Knock.

I turned to Zico, eyes wide in horror. "What are you doing?" I said between my clenched teeth. "I don't even know what to say yet!"

Zico shrugged. "What is there to say? Just say it."

"I can't! I don't know what to say, you idiot!"

"Well that sucks, doesn't it?"

"You stupid - "

The door flung open and a very tired looking Asia bundled out of it. He saw me and immediately said, "Ah, and the sheep arrive not long after. What do you want?"

"So she was here then? Talia was here?" I asked, without a moment to spare.

Asia sighed and looked at his nails."Yeah, what of it?"

"How long ago?"

"I don't know. I like to forget moments where uninvited people invite themselves over to my property." He used his forearm to push me back off his doorstep, to which Zico snapped and stepped forward.

"Hey, hands off you uneducated idiot!" Zico pushed me back so that he was standing face to face with Asia, who had just now noticed this newcomer on his doorstep. "Where're your manners?"

Asia widened his eyes. "Who are you?" And then he lowered his eyebrows and motioned to the both of us. "You her body guard?"

"I'm her boyfriend," Zico said with much confidence which made me turn as red as a beet.

"Yeah, well she did really good with you," Asia said, rolling his eyes. He looked over at me. "Where'd you get this kid? From the dump?"

Asia laughed at his own joke while looking at the Louis Vuitton wallet he had in his hand (to possibly show off his riches to us) until my supposed boyfriend said, "What, does your wallet tell jokes?"

Asia stopped laughing and stared at Zico blank faced. "I was laughing at you, you - "

"If laughter is the best medicine, then I guess your face is just curing the world."

Asia's face turned more red than mine, and I knew that it was on now. I had never expected today to be the day that Zico and Asia would be flinging sarcasm embodied crap at each other...especially not like this. But I wasn't going to lie; I really liked this show of sport. "Also," Zico added. "If you're going to be a smartass, you need to be smart first. Otherwise, you're just an ass."

"You wanna hear a real joke, you prick?" Asia said, moving towards us as Zico didn't move an inch.

"It's okay, you're already one yourself."

"You a comedian? 'Cuz you're not all that funny."

"I guess I'm a poet. Here's my latest work: Roses are red, violets are blue, I have five fingers, and the third one's for you." And with that, Zico in all of his confidence and glory flipped Asia off, and Asia immediately turned pale and seemed to have lost his breath.

"Uh...uh..." I grabbed Zico's arm and dragged him away from the house as the two gorillas continued to throw insults and curse at each other until we were out of sight.



----------------

"What were you doing, you idiot? We didn't even get to ask him which way Talia went!"

"What difference would it have made, really? Wisen up, Selena. He wouldn't have told us the truth even if I threatened to throw him under the bus."

"Like you'd have the guts to do that...."

"There has to be buses still running around, so I'll go back and get 'im."

I laughed as the two of us walked side by side on the sidewalk next to the grand bridge overpass with vehicles driving past underneath us. I realized then that my hand was still firmly grasped onto his forearm and let go almost immediately. Zico noticed and immediately grabbed my arm before I quickly shook it free.

Bumbling with embarassment, I said, "Let's hurry it up! Go find Talia before it gets late! You know the city's not too good at night."

Zico groaned. "Forget her. Rick will come to her rescue."

"You don't know that. You boys are all the same," I said as we walked past the third lamp post on the bridge. "No plan, just action. I swear..."

"Put a little faith in us," he said, unscathed. "You'll be amazed. It'll take days, no- months, maybe years off the wrinkly face of yours."

I glared at him. "Oh really?"

"Really. You need a vacation." He smirked.

"And what about you, Mr. Know-It-All?" I inquired as we stopped walking. "Maybe you should just take a vacation from worrying about what I look like for once and look in your own ugly refl-"

Zico reached for my shoulders, pinned my waist against the railing of the bridge, bent down forward and kissed me. It would have been a nice kiss, if I hadn't been so confused and running wild in my own mind at the time. But still, a kiss with a kiss, and his soft lips left on my own about ten seconds later, revealing my face probably to be just as embarrass as my mind made it out to be.

"That was nice," Zico said, a charming grin on plastered on his perfect face. "Let's do it again. It seems like my technique has already started to take some aging off your face."

"You -!" I hit his shoulder playfully, feeling a cross between embarrassment, anger, and happiness.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" And then he reached forward to tussle my hair and pull me into a warm hug. "St- Stop it already!" I said, turning red. "We don't have time to be playing around, we have to go find Talia first!" But I do admit that he smelled good and a part of me didn't want him to stop holding me. "Not in public....like this..." I grumbled.

"Fine," he mumbled into my ear. "Go find Talia."

"By myself?" I said, my voice in a squeak. "What about you?"

"I wanna go on a date..."

I slugged him in the arm really hard this time. "We can do all that later, you idiot! Now is not the time!"

He broke free from me to sent me a malicious grin. "So you said it then. You said you would go on a date with me."

"I - I - Oh, whatever! Let's just GO!"


And then Zico, leading the way this time with much more enthusiasm, dragged me off the bridge back into City Center.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


Talia stood in the plaza of Little Italy, her head down, picking her fingers as she stared at the plaza's infamous fountain. It was the fountain of lovers; sculpted by an Italian artist and sculptor in the 1800's, a marbled man and a woman stood together with their hands clasped leaning on each other for support. Amidst the water of the fountain stood hundreds of little pennies and nickels on the tile. Whenever Talia came here, she always felt a little better; Each time, she made sure to toss a coin into the water would it would usually sink to the bottom and she would make a wish. It was said that wishes here worked best with another person. And that would explain why each time she made a wish (by herself) it most definitely never worked.

The absentminded girl reached into her purse to pull her out her coin purse and dug in it....only to find it absent of pennies and nickels, and instead a half dollar coin. Maybe this time it was worth....giving it her all and trying?

Talia sighed and and closed her eyes, ready to make a wish. "Please...please..." Please help me to find somebody to be happy with...Please help me find the one...Please help me - 

Someone ran past and knocked Talia over and she fell on her hands and knees, her eyes widening in surprise. A little kid about nine years old looked baffled, bowed his head in apology and ran off after his older sister who taunted him to keep up. Talia smiled at the boy before he ran off before realizing that her half dollar coin was missing. In alarm, she got up and looked all around her surroundings until she realized....

Clink! Clink! CLINK!

Talia peered down into the sewer hole with had metal bars to prevented anyone from getting past it. "My half dollar!" Talia screeched as a couple of people turned heads to give her looks. But she didn't care, that was a whole fifty cents! Fifty cents that could have been used to buy an ice cream cone here in Little Italy. It seemed that today had not been her day after all. Talia wrinkled her nose and tried to stick her hand in between the bars of the metal covering, but was met with no avail. She could not even get her hand between the bars and groaned when she withdrew her hand, without her valued coin. "Today sucks," she grumbled. "First Rick, then stupid Asia and his daft bimbo girlfriend, and now this! Today sucks!" she proclaimed a little louder this time.


"How do you not expect me to think of you as a boy?" somebody's voice called from somewhere else. Talia looked up to find Rick a few feet away, his hands in his pockets, staring at her from afar. "Especially when you're searching through the sewers."

Daffodils of Destiny [Part 2]

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Talia waited outside of Asia's house with an eager heart but an even more anxious soul. After going to the flower shop, she had ran here unconditionally with the hopes that Asa would take her back. She had felt great about the idea at first, but as her steps took her nearer and nearer to her ex's house, she started to feel a lump form in her throat.

Talia took another deep breath and knocked again.

Knock, Knock, Knock. 

She looked down upon her converse sneakers and picked at her nails. A breeze swept past, and she shivered in her short sleeved blouse and capris. Somewhere from afar, the trees rustled and birds flew off into the sky. Talia, raising her fist again, prepared to meet the door once more just as the door swung open, her breath having disappeared once more.

But it wasn‘t Asia.

Some girl wearing a long men‘s shirt that went past her knees yawned and stretched before greeting Talia. "Whaddaya want?"

"I‘m - I‘m looking for Asia," Talia said, feeling a bit out of place now. "Is he here?" Talia picked at her nails once more, a pit starting to form at the bottom of her stomach.

The girl scrunched up her eyebrows at Talia before flipping her blonde hair back and saying, "Why? What for?"

"I need to speak with him," Talia said, just as a familiar looking someone came down the stairs and greeted the blonde.

"Meredith, who is it..." Asia stopped at the foot of the door, a soda in his hand and froze when he saw his ex at the door. "Oh, uh, hey Talia. What‘s up?"

Talia immediately put two and two together and turned beet red. She felt incredibly angry and betrayed as she stared back at Asia and his new girlfriend, who she now realized, through closer observation, that the men‘s shirt that she had on was the same exact shirt that she had bought for Asia for his birthday last year in April. She balled up her fist in anger. "How- how could you do this to me?" She trembled with anger, pinching her wrist to stop the tears from slipping. "How- how could you -"

Meredith clung onto Asia, sent Talia a disgusted look and said, "Who is she, babe? What does she want from you?"

Asia widened his eyes, turned to Meredith and said, "Go back inside, Meri. I‘ll be back in a sec, babe."

Asia‘s "babe" shrugged, pecked a kiss on his cheek, sent Talia a scathing "HA" look and then turned on her heel to go back into the house. Asia stepped out and shut the door behind him as Talia stepped forward, even more angry than usual."Who was that? Is she your new girlfriend?" Talia swallowed. "You moved on already?"

"And you didn‘t?" Asia shrugged. "I‘m a person too. I have feelings, I need love. We all do."

"But that was my shirt that I bought for you!"

"It‘s none of your business what I do with my things," he snapped back. "Besides, it‘s over." He took a deep breath. "What do you want, Talia?"

"And....and you called her babe," Talia‘s throat grew dry. "You don‘t say babe, that‘s not something you‘ve ever said! It‘s not you, it‘s.....who are you?"

"What do you want?" Asia said through his teeth as his eyes darted back and forth to random strangers that passed by in the background. "Tell me what you want, and then leave. You‘re making a scene."

Talia felt her face go red. "Oh, I‘m making a scene when I‘m not the one pretending to be what I‘m not, am I?" Talia bit her lip. "You might as well be in a movie right now, acting in a scene yourself!"

Asia held up his hand. "You know what? Hold on a second." Asia turned around and went back into the house, leaving Talia at his door step. Talia fumed angrily, in disbelief. How could Asia get over her so fast and end up with such a bimbo? It was preposterous....plus she was wearing the shirt that she had bought with her own birthday money from her parents last January!

At this point, Talia could not even recall what she was here for.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Asia returned with the shirt that Talia had seen the other girl wearing. He tossed it back at Talia, who caught it, a bit taken back. "Take it back, take it all back!" He said, aggrivated. "And don‘t you dare show up again at my doorstep. I won‘t answer it anymore. Forget it."

And then he slammed the door in Talia‘s face, leaving her to stare at the front of a door that she used to be welcome in. And the tears started as Talia turned and walked past the gate, the mixed scent of passion and betrayal intermixed on the shirt that both Asa and Meredith had worn.

The Daffodils of Destiny [PART 1]

"Gee, Talia," Rick said, scratching his head. "I didn't mean it like that. That wasn't what I had meant at all...."

"Well then what were you trying to say, huh?!" Talia said angrily, standing up at once to glare at him with drops of tears in her eyes.

Rick held up both of his hands, palms facing her, in defense. "All I was saying was that you're not exactly a girl, I mean, you are a girl, but I mean..."

"Oh yeah? How'd you notice? What tipped you off?" Talia wiped the tears from my eyes and sniffled a bit. When Rick tried to walk closer to her, she stepped back and said, "Get lost, you jerk!" before turning on her tail and running off past the cafe and towards the busy city center where people were starting to flood the streets as evening started to settle in.

----------------------------------------------------


"I feel like a storm is brewing out there," I muttered as walked back into the Fleur de Doux with a basket of flowers. "Zico, where do you want these flowers?"

"Put them in the window display," he answered from the back. "And make sure you replace the card too."

I had started working part-time at the Fleur de Doux; the owner had been posted a WANTED sign, and I was in need of a job, so I applied here (with the encouragement of Zico). The owner, Mr. Phillips, had wanted Zico to work with me for a few days so that I knew what to do.  But working at a flower shop wasn't very hard anyway. If it wasn't seasonal (Christmas, Valentines Day, Mother's Day...), the shop was never too busy to begin with and I liked that.

I reached into the display case and took out the small card that had the words "Carnations of Velvet" and tossed it into the bin beside me. Then I took out a new piece of card stock and pen to write out "Daffodils of Destiny" on it. I stared at the words and scrunched up my eyebrows, not quite sure how to make of it. Daffodils....of Destiny?

"Hey Zico, does this sound...weird?"

Zico emerged from the back, wiping his hands on his apron. "What'd you say?" He came forward to the front of the store and I showed him the card. "Man, your handwriting sucks..."

Instinctively, I slugged him in the arm and he laughed. "Take it easy....I was kidding," he paused. "Daffodils of Destiny is weird, but it...it fits somehow. Put it in the window."

His dirty face caught my eye; there was a streak of either dirt or grime smeared upon his cheek. "Your ..." I pointed to my own face where the dirt would be mirrored upon his own.

"Me?" he said, trying to mirror my movements and rubbing his finger against his own cheek, making it smear even more. "Is it gone?"

"No," I laughed. "Your hands are filthy, you're making it worse." I licked the tip of my finger and started to attempt to destroy that particular mark on his cheek. "Here..."

And then I froze. He cleared his throat. And then I pulled away from him and stepped back, my face probably looking as hot as it felt. He looked around a bit awkwardly, but with a smile tugging around on his lips as he grabbed the daffodils in the basket sitting on the counter. "Here, put these in the display with that card. I'll close up shop."

I took the basket gingerly, and headed back to the display case where I swapped out the carnations for the daffodils and then delicately placed the card.

"Selena?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Wanna go to Time Square tonight?"

"Time Square? But why?" I slid the glass door to the display case shut and walked back towards the middle area of the flowers where Zico was using a rag to wipe the grim off of his face. "Do you have something you need to do?"

"I was thinking we could go and get you some new sneakers," Zico said, unveiling his handsome face which was now spotless. "You ought to get rid of them now. It's been years."

I looked back down at my sneakers which were a bit more worn out than I remembered them to be. I had bought them with my own money years ago...and hadn't thought much about it since.

"Shoes are a girl's best friend..." Zico continued. "Right?"

"I think you mean diamonds are a girl's best friend." I smirked at him. "Nice try though."

"You're not a diamond person anyway," he remarked. "Doesn't fit you."

I rolled my eyes as I started to sweep out dust from the inside of the shop towards the outside. "Thanks a whole lot," I grumbled as Zico went over to the cash register and locked the box before going towards the door and flipping the wooden sign from OPEN to CLOSED.

"Let's go after this," Zico tried again, taking the broom from me. "Besides, I want some new sneakers too..." I looked at his brand new Nike sneakers and then cast him a look of dismay.

"I think shoes are your best friend, Zico."

I couldn't help but grimace as he pulled at my cheek. "Then it's a date then."

Before I could add my input to this conversation, a familiar looking face rushed into the store, with tears in her eyes.

"Sorry, but we're closed," Zico said to Talia, his eyebrows raised.

"Whatever, that's not important right now!" Talia shoved my co-worker aside and get to me and then gave me a hopeless look. "Boys are so stupid!"

Ahh....but instinct had been right. There had been a storm brewing out there. Zico gave me an appalled look as Talia gave us a play-by-play with her unrequited fight with Rick.

"He doesn't even see me as a girl anyway," Talia said at last, her arms crossed as she blinked tears away. "Stupid....Stupid..."

"It's not like that, I'm sure," I said, a bit unsure of what to expect from Talia now that she looked absolutely furious.

"But at least Zico knows you're a girl! You have no idea how lucky you are, do you?"

"Hey, take it easy and lay off," Zico snapped, pulling me away from my hysterical friend as she glared at the both of us. "For your information, guys don't exactly worry about as many details as you girls do. We don't think about those puny little details that don't determine anything."

"You can say that again," I muttered with a grin on my face. He met eyes with me and we both laughed.

"You know what, I'm going to go get Asa back!" Talia declared, getting up and turning to us with fire in her eyes. "It's a better chance than ever trying to make anything work with that...that jerk!"

"Talia, wait! I don't think that's a - "

And then Talia ran from the flower shop, determined not to listen to any of us. Zico and I both stayed silent for a few minutes before he sighed and said, "We have to go and find Rick, don't we?"

I laughed. "We have to, didn't you see her face?"

He sighed again as we turned off all the lights and then shut the front door behind us before pulling it once more to confirm that it was locked. "I guess Times Square can wait..." he grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him towards the city center of where we guessed Talia's prince charming would be.