Another Chance To Bloom

Chapter 23

I really didn't want to part with the Yueliang, but...

"I... I'm not in need of that one million gold. This Yueliang means a lot to me, I don't really want to give it away, but... If you can exchange something of approximately the same value, then I can agree to let you have it. What do you think? Is that fine?"

He seemed to consider my words.

"That's a good idea... But I'm afraid I haven't brought anything of equal value with me. Do you really not want the gold?"

I bowed my head dejectedly at his words. From the get go I didn't buy the Yueliang for it's extraordinary (non-existant) usage, it was a simple tribute to the me who had worked day and night her whole life only to have the light in her soul extinguished by a cold blade on an even colder night.

The Yueliang reminded me of that fateful day. The fleeting blossom as a sign of my fleeting life. I thought it was perfect.

But now...

"It's not like that... I bought that Yueliang as a gift for a special person and now... Can you least tell me why you want it so bad? It doesn't even have any use and it's going wilt and die in a month. Do you really need it that much? Can't you just let me have it? There are so many more flowering plants for you to choose from, right?"

He sighed at my words.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. It can't be any other plant. It has to be a blossoming Yueliang. I can't tell you why I need it... But I can tell you that it's very important. Can't you buy something else for your lover? Please?"

I almost choked on air.

"Wait wait wait... What lover? Where in the world did the lover come from?! How come I wasn't aware of it?"

"Didn't you say...?"

"I said special person! How did you connect it with lover, huh?"

"Usually people mean lover when they say that..."

"It's for a friend, ok? Friend. A dead friend at that."

The slightly rowdy atmosphere quieted down at my words.

I covered my face with my palms as I leaned back on the single sofa.

"She died around a month ago... I... I just wanted to give her something special, you know?"

"I am truly sorry for your loss... But I can't let this Yueliang go. If I had any other option, I wouldn't force you like this, but I truly am at a dead end, cough cough cough."

His coughing brought me back to the present.

What am I even struggling for?

The dead are dead. What does it matter if I offer myself this useless plant or not?

Whatever I do, it can't change the fact that the last 23 years of my life back on Earth had been a waste. It can't change the fact that I was stabbed through the heart and died alone in an abandoned alley.

It can't change the fact that Ebony is gone and no one will ever miss her. They won't know of her struggles and her sacrifices, of her tears and her smiles.

They won't know of her dreams and ambitions or the excruciating loneliness that plagued her whole entire life.

Even if I have family and friends now, they all know me as Ciel. The one they love is Ciel. I'm just a lonely soul acting out another's life.

And nothing can change that.

A single tear dripped down the side of my face.

I let out a breath and placed the Yueliang on the table.