Sticky Shattered Glass Pieces

Chapter 52: The Gladiolus flower

That night, I thought about the red diamond and tried to contact Suga in my dream. I knew I was dreaming when the settings changed suddenly. I was on this bridge and in front of me was a beautiful lake. I was standing there alone one moment and I saw Suga beside me the next. He was looking as dashing as usual. He smelled good and he smiled at me charmingly as he took my hand and placed them on his chest. 

"I know what you want to ask me, baby," Suga uttered with a charming smile on his perfect face.

"The red diamond. I want to retrieve it," I told him.

"That would be difficult but possible," Suga admitted to me.

"Do you have any plans?" I asked Suga curiously.

Suga paused and turned his back on me. He started walking a few steps ahead before pausing again while he looked at me. He took a few steps back and grabbed my hand. He wanted me to walk with him across the bridge. He stopped after crossing the bridge with me and looked at a peculiar-looking but beautiful flower in front of him. He pointed at those flowers and looked at me.

"Do you know what flowers are these, baby?" Suga asked me as he smiled charmingly at me.

"No, I am not sure of the name but I have seen it before," I started thinking about where I saw this particular flower.

"This is the Gladiolus flower, baby. It symbolizes strength and courage. The color could be seen as sweet, naive, and soft but don't be deceived by these characteristics," Suga explained to me.

"What does this flower got to do with what I am planning to do?" I asked him curiously.

Suga looked at me and smiled softly at me. He cupped my chubby face with his huge palms and pulled my face closer to his. The moment his soft and warm lips touched mine, I woke up from my dream. I opened my eyes and touched my lips. It felt so real and I started wondering about the flower I saw in my dreams. I sat up on my bed and wiped off the sweat from my forehead. Then I remembered that those flowers that I saw in my dreams were from an island that I visited with my parents long before. 

"Yes, Canterney Island!" I mumbled under my breath excitedly.

The island has multiple souls trapped on that island but also brings people good luck if they ask the right way. Anything taken from that island would either bring good luck or bad luck depending on how people treat the item they took from that island. She wasn't worried about having good or bad luck because she might not have to bring back anything from that island. The flowers that she saw in her dreams were from this mysterious island in a specific hidden place from the beach there. 

I quickly got down from my bed and walked towards Rachel's room. I knocked on her room door and waited excitedly. She opened the door as she rubbed her eyes in sleepiness and yawned at me. 

"We are going to Canterney Island tomorrow!" I excitedly uttered to Rachel. 

"Where? Why?" Rachel asked me as she scratched her head in confusion. 

"Canterney Island, Rach!" I repeated excitedly again.

"Okay, you have to catch me up on this again tomorrow. I am too sleepy now to understand anything," Rachel told me as she headed back to her bed. 

I nodded my head and closed her room door softly. Now that I have a possible clue about the red diamond that I wanted to retrieve, I was very excited to solve the prolonged mystery that was haunting me all this time. 

The next morning, as Rachel made pancake breakfast in the kitchen, I woke up to the smell of buttermilk pancakes scent. Ever since high school, I love her chocolate chip pancakes more than her buttermilk pancakes. I took the courage to get down from the bed and head to the kitchen. Rachel greeted me with her huge smile and placed two pancakes on a plate.

"Maple syrup?" Rachel asked me as I sat down. 

I nodded my head and stuffed my face with a huge bite of the pancake that she made that morning. Rachel poured maple syrup on my pancake and continued making her pancakes. I was still sleepy due to the lack of sleep last night but Rachel's pancakes made me glued to my sit and swallow the pancakes she made me. 

"Why Canterney Island?" Rachel looked up at me and asked me at last.

"I think I know where to find the red diamond, Rach," I replied to her simply.

"Suga?" Rachel asked again curiously. 

"Yeah, he hinted at me with some flowers," I explained.

"What flowers are they? Have you seen them before?" Rachel asked as she placed the pan in the sink.

"Yes, the last time I went to Canterney Island with my parents, I saw those flowers at the beachside," I explained again.

"What flowers is that?" Rachel asked again.

"The Gladiolus flower. The flower of strength and courage," I uttered as I took a sip of my hot coffee. 

Rachel quickly Googled it on her phone and looked at the flower. She was impressed that the flower looked pretty and soft in their colors. We talked about my previous vacation on Canterney Island and soon after that, we decided to head to the island ourselves so that we could witness what was stored on that island for us. My parents just had me visit that island for good luck but it turned out to be a horror cation for all of us after that. 

"Just a quick reminder, don't take anything from that island. We may not know what will behold us after that," I quickly reminded her as I got ready. 

I am the type of person who prefers to carry her own belongings. I only have a backpack that I use for all of my excursions. Carrying the bag frees up my hands and allows me to take public transportation. I weighed my half-packed backpack to see if I had enough capacity to contain it or if it would surpass the allowed weight limit of 20 kg.

"11 kilos," it said.

I delicately felt my body, tallying the stuff that I needed to pack from head to toe. I also took notes on my notepad and carried them in my handbag. I grabbed 6 pairs of socks and handkerchiefs and tried but failed to fit them in a little compartment in front. I discovered my old scent, which I had been seeking for the past 10 days.

The most exciting aspect is packing the suitcases. From beginning to conclusion, one concept pervades the mind: begin the journey to the desired objective.