I Won't Let You Wilt

Our Promise

With Basil's hand clasped in his, palm held against his own heart, Sunny spoke the words he'd been meaning to tell Basil from the start of his whole trip.

"My heart is yours."

The blush that fell over Basil's face colored his face so red that Sunny would swear he was about to gush blood out of his nose.

"You...really mean it, Sunny?"

"One hundred percent."

Basil fell silent. Only a minute ago, the light in his eyes had receded so far that it was almost completely drowned out by the shadows. When Basil's hand pressed against Sunny's chest, a tiny glint had pierced the darkness.

Within moments that fragment of light had vanquished the shadows, and the colors that emerged were prettier than all the flowers in the world.

"You feeling better?" Sunny broke the silence.

"Your heart feels...warm..."

A moment after those words left his lips, a huge red blush suffused Basil's whole face.

"Oh...! I'm sorry." Basil turned his eyes away. "I didn't mean to say that. If you're worried about me, I feel...okay, right now."

Sunny exhaled in relief. "I hope you believe me now when I tell you that I won't ever leave your side again."

The red embarrassment on Basil's face blued, overcome by a quiet sadness.

"Basil...?"

"Sunny...I don't know what to do," Basil said.

"What's wrong?" Sunny asked.

"The words you're saying make me feel so happy," Basil said, choking back tears. "But the happier you make me, the harder it'll be for me once you leave. And you'll leave, one day. Next time...I might not even know what to do with myself."

Sunny pressed Basil's hand firmly against himself. "You still don't believe me? "

"I can tell you mean every word you say, but I know it's not realistic."

Darn...Basil has really been thinking through things since the last time we've met.

"Why can't us staying together be realistic?" Sunny asked.

The smile that came over Basil's face was veiled by so much sadness.

"Because life happens," Basil said, his voice so different from the idealistic tone of his younger self. "We all have to part ways one day when we grow up, don't we?"

That's not true. We could stay together for our whole lives.

...But I guess you're right. We both know that I can only be here for the rest of the summer.

I was hoping that we could resolve all our inner conflicts by the time I leave, so that we'll be able to part ways on happy terms, without any regrets like last time.

But...I guess you've always been too forward-looking for your own good, huh?

Sunny turned his gaze away, staring glumly at the floor. The tiny petal that had fallen from Basil's hair was still there, stuck to a tangled fiber of the carpet.

He knew how cruel reality could be. He'd loved his sister so much, and yet the world had ripped him away from her without any warning or consolation. It could happen to him again. He could blink, and all of a sudden, someone that he loved could be torn away from the embrace of his arms.

It could happen by disease, or by another lethal accident. His mom told him people also slowly lose touch with each other once their daily lives revolved around their career or their family.