The Sunflower: A Fairytale
The golden sliver of light that landed on his petals gently nudged the sleeping flower awake, the faint ray of sunshine sluggishly casting its warmth upon the flower's downturned head. The morning dew that formed beneath his petals slowly trickled down his stem, collecting tiny droplets along the way as it slithered past his shiny green leaves. The flower giggled softly and wiggled his long green stalk, tickled by the dew drops growing bigger and heavier as they slid faster down his long and slender body, landing with a soft 'pop' as the bubble of moisture burst upon the soft and fertile soil. Underneath the earth, the sleepy little flower could feel the flurry of activity as little worms and slugs wriggled about and loosened the soil, allowing him to absorb more of its nutrients, as he started to feed through his roots. As he fed, the flower waited patiently for daybreak when the dark indigo of the twilight sky would slowly give way to the bright and cheerful baby blue of the morning, with the fuzzy white clouds parting to let the golden-yellow warmth beam down from the sky.
The little flower loves mornings. He likes staring at the bright yellow sun. Everyday he turns his face towards the blinding ball of yellow light and spreads his bright yellow petals in greeting. He loves hearing the bees that buzz in his ears as they busily collect nectar for their honey; the cheerful chirping of the birds that sometimes feed on his seeds, and the soft whispers of the butterflies with their colorful wings as they spread the tiny pollen stuck to their legs before fluttering on to the next flower. He also loves his little flowerbed and all the taller sunflowers around him. He was going to be a giant sunflower one day and his owner told him that he was going to be ten feet tall, or maybe even taller than the others with whom he shared his little patch of earth. This made the flower very happy.
The flower had a very kind owner. He was a quiet man who lived by himself inside a rather small house which he shared with only a small dog named Kaze. Every morning he and Kaze would go around the big garden to see to the flowers. He would diligently water the plants, cultivate the soil and pull out the weeds and the dead leaves from the other plants. At times, the man would scold Kaze for digging up a patch of earth to bury a bone, or for chasing the neighborhood cat that occasionally climbed the trees in his yard. On some warm and lazy afternoons, the man would be sitting under one of the trees, writing things in his little notebook, or leaning lazily upon its trunk while he was absorbed in an interesting novel. Sometimes, his owner would go out with his guitar and sing songs with a voice that the flower quite loved to hear.
His owner's name was Nino. Nino wasn't as tall as the flower; he seemed a little frail in his slight frame, and he looked quite skinny in his baggy clothes and denim overalls, but he had really strong arms which he used whenever he shoveled some dirt onto his cart. Nino also had expressive brown eyes that glimmered in a warm amber hue under the afternoon sun, and a pair of shapely pink lips that always seemed to be set in a pout.
"Masaki... I think I'll call you Masaki." Nino said, talking to the flower that hovered a foot above him, "You seem to be a cheerful little sunflower... you wiggle too much for your own good," he laughed softly as a mild breeze blew through the garden, causing the flower to bend forward and touch Nino's cheek with its petals.
Masaki... the little flower practiced his name, Masaki...
Masaki often wondered if there were others like Nino out there. His owner never brought any other companion to the garden, nor had he heard any other voices coming from his house. It was always Nino and Kaze strolling out in the garden with his gardening tools, his hose and the occasional angry cat which Kaze happily chased away. Often, Nino would sit beside Masaki after working hard in his garden and he would talk to him. Nino told him little stories and his little secrets; most of which Masaki didn't understand, but was happy to listen to because it meant hearing more of Nino's melodic voice.
Once, after a long day of working hard in his garden, Nino plopped down beside Masaki, removed his gloves and unwrapped a little sandwich from his bag...
"Masaki... you know, sometimes I wonder if plants get lonely too. You must be happy out here with all the other sunflowers around you, and the birds and the bees..." Nino sighed, taking a bite out of his sandwich as he rambled on...
"You don't have to worry about being good enough... or having to finish your book because your editor's harassing you about your deadline... or losing your touch..." Nino trailed off.
"... Look at me," Nino laughed derisively at himself "I talk to flowers, and my only friend's a dog who seems to be interested in nothing but chasing cats and mating with the neighbor's dog. I'm such a sad, sad fool." Nino paused, raising his head and looking vacantly at the sky.
"I keep thinking...I'll probably grow old and alone... I also keep telling myself that maybe it wouldn't matter, you know? ...But I'm scared, Masaki." Nino's voice was reduced to a hushed whisper as he buried his head in his arms, wiping away the tears that escaped with the sleeve of his shirt.
Masaki watched helplessly as Nino spent the past few minutes sobbing quietly by himself with his head under his arms while Kaze tried his best to bring comfort by licking on Nino's exposed ear and his fingers which dug deeply into his skin. After a while, Nino raised his head, his eyes red and puffy from all the crying. He drew Kaze into his arms and ruffled the dog's fur as it licked his face in concern and affection. Nino turned his head towards the flower and told Masaki in a quiet voice: "You. This is our little secret, okay?"
"Thanks ... although I guess flowers can't really hear or talk, can they?" Nino sniffed, wearing a wry smile on his face as he got up and brushed his thumb against Masaki's petals before heading back to his little house.
Masaki felt terribly sad for his owner and perhaps little jealous of the dog who could at least touch Nino and shower him with puppy kisses whenever he felt lonely.
***
An older flower once told Masaki that a midnight fairy would grant wishes to those who catch her when she appears. It was also said that all of the wishes came with a hefty price, and that once you made a wish, it cannot be undone.
When sunset came, Masaki tried his very best to stay awake to catch the midnight sprite. Had anyone been in the garden, they would have seen a lone sunflower still standing upright while the others around it had their heads downturned, facing the ground and in a deep and restful sleep. It was quite a struggle to remain awake and Masaki had caught himself nodding off nearly thrice. Once the sky had turned dark, however, Masaki had no trouble getting scared, distracted, or awed enough to stay awake. Instead of the usual birds and butterflies, Masaki saw bats and beetles and owls. The sunflower trembled a little in his flowerbed as he felt a small mouse brush against his stem, as it scampered off to hide from the big white owl that eyed it for dinner. He had never encountered these creatures before, and everything was new and quite scary to the flower who was normally awake during the day.
After some time, the creatures of the night had gone back to their homes and the garden was silent once more. Masaki finally looked up and was awed by the pinpricks of white light that shone from the stars as they surrounded the big silver moon that lit up the night sky. Amidst his musings, Masaki vaguely wondered if the fairy were real, or if she would come at all, when suddenly...
"What's a little sunflower like you doing awake in the middle of the night?" A tiny blue pixie fluttered in front of Masaki's face and rested on one of his petals.
"I-is that you? Are you the fairy that they're talking about?" Masaki asked excitedly.
"No, I'm a big, bad goblin and I'm here to punish naughty little flowers." the fairy giggled.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a goblin. Please don't hurt me, I didn't do anything bad." Masaki pleaded.
"What?! Are you calling me a goblin? Clearly, I'm a hundred times prettier than a goblin!" the fairy snapped
"But you said..."
"I was joking, silly! Yes, I am the midnight fairy. I usually watch over you flowers to make sure you don't get eaten by rats or get hurt while you're asleep. Although on very rare occasions, like this one, I'd be willing to grant wishes... for a price of course."
"Um... what can I pay you with?" Masaki asked, a little panicked, "You can have all the nectar and all the pollen you want from me if you grant my wish."
"Well, little flower; it depends on your wish. Let me warn you though that once you tell me your wish I WILL grant it and you cannot take it back."
"But what about the payment?"
"I will take what is needed. What it will be depends on your wish as I said before. If you don't want me to grant your wish, you simply have to keep quiet and go back to sleep."
Masaki thought about this for a while before he decided.
"I want to be human. I want to be with Nino."
"Oh, that is a very unusual wish!" The fairy giggled, amused "but it is quite a task. It will be done, little flower, but you've been warned..."
The fairy fluttered away from Masaki and landed quietly on the ground. Her blue skin glowed brightly under the moonlight and she slowly grew in size until she was about as tall as Nino. The fairy closed her eyes in concentration, chanting softly while a silver ball of light collected in her palms. Once the fairy had finished chanting she opened her silver eyes and lightly touched the flower with her fingers.
All Masaki could remember before he lost consciousness was the blinding pain that wracked throughout his body and the fairy's voice whispering softly on his ear.
"I've granted both your wishes. I hope you do not regret it..."
***
The biting frost of the morning woke Masaki up from his slumber. He was curled up on the ground, naked and shivering as he opened one bleary eye to examine his surroundings. Masaki's heart broke when he saw the remains of his friends scattered every which way. Nearly all of the sunflowers have been uprooted from their flowerbeds and little was left of the garden that Nino so lovingly tended to. Masaki tried to stand up, falling all over his legs as he struggled to get used to his newly acquired limbs. Water started coming out of his eyes and Masaki wailed loudly by himself, as he grieved the loss of his friends.
This was the price... I asked for it, Masaki thought as he tripped over once more, trying to walk without really knowing where he was headed What have I done? Nino... Where is Nino?
***
Inside his bedroom, Nino woke up feeling strangely troubled. He had vague memories of loud noises that came with the strong winds that passed through his garden the previous night. He wasn't quite sure if it was just a figment of his imagination, but the worried feeling in his gut told him that he had to make sure. Tripping over his stacks of magazines and the various electronic gadgets scattered about his room, Nino made his way towards the front door and hurriedly wore his shoes before running straight to his garden.
Nino's rising panic told him that things were exactly as he feared. Sunflower petals littered the path towards the garden, as he moved further along, he could make out several green stalks and tree branches blown away by the small twister that ravaged his garden, yet strangely, left his house undamaged. As Nino unlocked the gates to his garden he was met by a man who lay naked on the ground, covered slightly in mud and struggling to get to his feet.
"Wh- who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Nino exclaimed; overwhelmed by the damage his garden has seen.
The man looked up from where he knelt, still struggling to get himself up on his two feet.
"Mmm... Ma..." Masaki struggled to form words, his brown eyes meeting Nino's.
"Oh, what the hell..." Nino scratched his head, figuring for some reason, that this strange naked man might have landed on his garden because of the freak twister that happened last night.
"Are you okay?" Nino slung an arm around Masaki and tried to help him get to his feet.
Masaki looked at Nino strangely, his brows furrowed. He had never needed to speak before as a flower and was only discovering the complex mechanics of his mouth and his vocal chords.
"Mmm...Maass..." Masaki struggled and opted for a different word instead "Nnn... Neeenn"
"I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun together..." Nino laughed and smiled in amusement despite himself as he helped the strange young man walk towards his house. Beside him, Kaze barked gleefully, wagging his tail and licking Masaki's ankles. Nino didn't quite know what it was about this man but seeing him made his heart feel lighter and he had an odd sense of happiness which he hadn't experienced in a long time.
The End =)
*** I don't really know how I came up with this, except that I think I wanted to write Aiba as a sunflower because of this funny pic of him wearing sunflower petals on his head and doing the hula... I'm not really sure how he ended up with Nino either, but there they are... Also, it's my first time to write this pair. Sorry if it sucked
The little flower loves mornings. He likes staring at the bright yellow sun. Everyday he turns his face towards the blinding ball of yellow light and spreads his bright yellow petals in greeting. He loves hearing the bees that buzz in his ears as they busily collect nectar for their honey; the cheerful chirping of the birds that sometimes feed on his seeds, and the soft whispers of the butterflies with their colorful wings as they spread the tiny pollen stuck to their legs before fluttering on to the next flower. He also loves his little flowerbed and all the taller sunflowers around him. He was going to be a giant sunflower one day and his owner told him that he was going to be ten feet tall, or maybe even taller than the others with whom he shared his little patch of earth. This made the flower very happy.
The flower had a very kind owner. He was a quiet man who lived by himself inside a rather small house which he shared with only a small dog named Kaze. Every morning he and Kaze would go around the big garden to see to the flowers. He would diligently water the plants, cultivate the soil and pull out the weeds and the dead leaves from the other plants. At times, the man would scold Kaze for digging up a patch of earth to bury a bone, or for chasing the neighborhood cat that occasionally climbed the trees in his yard. On some warm and lazy afternoons, the man would be sitting under one of the trees, writing things in his little notebook, or leaning lazily upon its trunk while he was absorbed in an interesting novel. Sometimes, his owner would go out with his guitar and sing songs with a voice that the flower quite loved to hear.
His owner's name was Nino. Nino wasn't as tall as the flower; he seemed a little frail in his slight frame, and he looked quite skinny in his baggy clothes and denim overalls, but he had really strong arms which he used whenever he shoveled some dirt onto his cart. Nino also had expressive brown eyes that glimmered in a warm amber hue under the afternoon sun, and a pair of shapely pink lips that always seemed to be set in a pout.
"Masaki... I think I'll call you Masaki." Nino said, talking to the flower that hovered a foot above him, "You seem to be a cheerful little sunflower... you wiggle too much for your own good," he laughed softly as a mild breeze blew through the garden, causing the flower to bend forward and touch Nino's cheek with its petals.
Masaki... the little flower practiced his name, Masaki...
Masaki often wondered if there were others like Nino out there. His owner never brought any other companion to the garden, nor had he heard any other voices coming from his house. It was always Nino and Kaze strolling out in the garden with his gardening tools, his hose and the occasional angry cat which Kaze happily chased away. Often, Nino would sit beside Masaki after working hard in his garden and he would talk to him. Nino told him little stories and his little secrets; most of which Masaki didn't understand, but was happy to listen to because it meant hearing more of Nino's melodic voice.
Once, after a long day of working hard in his garden, Nino plopped down beside Masaki, removed his gloves and unwrapped a little sandwich from his bag...
"Masaki... you know, sometimes I wonder if plants get lonely too. You must be happy out here with all the other sunflowers around you, and the birds and the bees..." Nino sighed, taking a bite out of his sandwich as he rambled on...
"You don't have to worry about being good enough... or having to finish your book because your editor's harassing you about your deadline... or losing your touch..." Nino trailed off.
"... Look at me," Nino laughed derisively at himself "I talk to flowers, and my only friend's a dog who seems to be interested in nothing but chasing cats and mating with the neighbor's dog. I'm such a sad, sad fool." Nino paused, raising his head and looking vacantly at the sky.
"I keep thinking...I'll probably grow old and alone... I also keep telling myself that maybe it wouldn't matter, you know? ...But I'm scared, Masaki." Nino's voice was reduced to a hushed whisper as he buried his head in his arms, wiping away the tears that escaped with the sleeve of his shirt.
Masaki watched helplessly as Nino spent the past few minutes sobbing quietly by himself with his head under his arms while Kaze tried his best to bring comfort by licking on Nino's exposed ear and his fingers which dug deeply into his skin. After a while, Nino raised his head, his eyes red and puffy from all the crying. He drew Kaze into his arms and ruffled the dog's fur as it licked his face in concern and affection. Nino turned his head towards the flower and told Masaki in a quiet voice: "You. This is our little secret, okay?"
"Thanks ... although I guess flowers can't really hear or talk, can they?" Nino sniffed, wearing a wry smile on his face as he got up and brushed his thumb against Masaki's petals before heading back to his little house.
Masaki felt terribly sad for his owner and perhaps little jealous of the dog who could at least touch Nino and shower him with puppy kisses whenever he felt lonely.
***
An older flower once told Masaki that a midnight fairy would grant wishes to those who catch her when she appears. It was also said that all of the wishes came with a hefty price, and that once you made a wish, it cannot be undone.
When sunset came, Masaki tried his very best to stay awake to catch the midnight sprite. Had anyone been in the garden, they would have seen a lone sunflower still standing upright while the others around it had their heads downturned, facing the ground and in a deep and restful sleep. It was quite a struggle to remain awake and Masaki had caught himself nodding off nearly thrice. Once the sky had turned dark, however, Masaki had no trouble getting scared, distracted, or awed enough to stay awake. Instead of the usual birds and butterflies, Masaki saw bats and beetles and owls. The sunflower trembled a little in his flowerbed as he felt a small mouse brush against his stem, as it scampered off to hide from the big white owl that eyed it for dinner. He had never encountered these creatures before, and everything was new and quite scary to the flower who was normally awake during the day.
After some time, the creatures of the night had gone back to their homes and the garden was silent once more. Masaki finally looked up and was awed by the pinpricks of white light that shone from the stars as they surrounded the big silver moon that lit up the night sky. Amidst his musings, Masaki vaguely wondered if the fairy were real, or if she would come at all, when suddenly...
"What's a little sunflower like you doing awake in the middle of the night?" A tiny blue pixie fluttered in front of Masaki's face and rested on one of his petals.
"I-is that you? Are you the fairy that they're talking about?" Masaki asked excitedly.
"No, I'm a big, bad goblin and I'm here to punish naughty little flowers." the fairy giggled.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a goblin. Please don't hurt me, I didn't do anything bad." Masaki pleaded.
"What?! Are you calling me a goblin? Clearly, I'm a hundred times prettier than a goblin!" the fairy snapped
"But you said..."
"I was joking, silly! Yes, I am the midnight fairy. I usually watch over you flowers to make sure you don't get eaten by rats or get hurt while you're asleep. Although on very rare occasions, like this one, I'd be willing to grant wishes... for a price of course."
"Um... what can I pay you with?" Masaki asked, a little panicked, "You can have all the nectar and all the pollen you want from me if you grant my wish."
"Well, little flower; it depends on your wish. Let me warn you though that once you tell me your wish I WILL grant it and you cannot take it back."
"But what about the payment?"
"I will take what is needed. What it will be depends on your wish as I said before. If you don't want me to grant your wish, you simply have to keep quiet and go back to sleep."
Masaki thought about this for a while before he decided.
"I want to be human. I want to be with Nino."
"Oh, that is a very unusual wish!" The fairy giggled, amused "but it is quite a task. It will be done, little flower, but you've been warned..."
The fairy fluttered away from Masaki and landed quietly on the ground. Her blue skin glowed brightly under the moonlight and she slowly grew in size until she was about as tall as Nino. The fairy closed her eyes in concentration, chanting softly while a silver ball of light collected in her palms. Once the fairy had finished chanting she opened her silver eyes and lightly touched the flower with her fingers.
All Masaki could remember before he lost consciousness was the blinding pain that wracked throughout his body and the fairy's voice whispering softly on his ear.
"I've granted both your wishes. I hope you do not regret it..."
***
The biting frost of the morning woke Masaki up from his slumber. He was curled up on the ground, naked and shivering as he opened one bleary eye to examine his surroundings. Masaki's heart broke when he saw the remains of his friends scattered every which way. Nearly all of the sunflowers have been uprooted from their flowerbeds and little was left of the garden that Nino so lovingly tended to. Masaki tried to stand up, falling all over his legs as he struggled to get used to his newly acquired limbs. Water started coming out of his eyes and Masaki wailed loudly by himself, as he grieved the loss of his friends.
This was the price... I asked for it, Masaki thought as he tripped over once more, trying to walk without really knowing where he was headed What have I done? Nino... Where is Nino?
***
Inside his bedroom, Nino woke up feeling strangely troubled. He had vague memories of loud noises that came with the strong winds that passed through his garden the previous night. He wasn't quite sure if it was just a figment of his imagination, but the worried feeling in his gut told him that he had to make sure. Tripping over his stacks of magazines and the various electronic gadgets scattered about his room, Nino made his way towards the front door and hurriedly wore his shoes before running straight to his garden.
Nino's rising panic told him that things were exactly as he feared. Sunflower petals littered the path towards the garden, as he moved further along, he could make out several green stalks and tree branches blown away by the small twister that ravaged his garden, yet strangely, left his house undamaged. As Nino unlocked the gates to his garden he was met by a man who lay naked on the ground, covered slightly in mud and struggling to get to his feet.
"Wh- who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Nino exclaimed; overwhelmed by the damage his garden has seen.
The man looked up from where he knelt, still struggling to get himself up on his two feet.
"Mmm... Ma..." Masaki struggled to form words, his brown eyes meeting Nino's.
"Oh, what the hell..." Nino scratched his head, figuring for some reason, that this strange naked man might have landed on his garden because of the freak twister that happened last night.
"Are you okay?" Nino slung an arm around Masaki and tried to help him get to his feet.
Masaki looked at Nino strangely, his brows furrowed. He had never needed to speak before as a flower and was only discovering the complex mechanics of his mouth and his vocal chords.
"Mmm...Maass..." Masaki struggled and opted for a different word instead "Nnn... Neeenn"
"I can tell we're going to have a lot of fun together..." Nino laughed and smiled in amusement despite himself as he helped the strange young man walk towards his house. Beside him, Kaze barked gleefully, wagging his tail and licking Masaki's ankles. Nino didn't quite know what it was about this man but seeing him made his heart feel lighter and he had an odd sense of happiness which he hadn't experienced in a long time.
The End =)
*** I don't really know how I came up with this, except that I think I wanted to write Aiba as a sunflower because of this funny pic of him wearing sunflower petals on his head and doing the hula... I'm not really sure how he ended up with Nino either, but there they are... Also, it's my first time to write this pair. Sorry if it sucked