The Stampede ~Vash x OC AU~

Chapter 40: The Memories

Kanyon

~2 Days Later~

"Lei...lani?"

My voice was small and curious as my fingers glided along the page. It was wrinkled and weathered, but featherlike against my skin. And on it was a printed image of something wonderful and pretty. Something yellow with golden petals and a sturdy stem. Something I hadn't seen before.

"That's right," he said. He sat, holding me on his lap as he helped me to hold the book up. He pointed at the picture. "It's a flower. Pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah!"

He smiled, wrinkling the corners of his eyes. "See, back on Earth, there were all kinds of flowers. Roses, geraniums, daisies, violets, and so many others, and so many colors. Red, yellow, pink, blue, purple, even black. And different kinds grew in different places."

"What about mine?"

"The Leilani?"

I nodded, looking up at him. To my four-year-old eyes, Jonas always looked so much older. The skin on his hands were tanned and rough, reminding me of leather, and his mossy eyes were bright in the suns' light. They appeared so much more vivid than they usually did.

He searched me, then smiled, chuckling, "Well, there are many species that have 'Leilani' in their name. However, that said, your mommy named you – in particular – after this one." He pointed at the yellow blossom on the page. It had outstretched golden petals with a greenish-brown center that appeared like a cone. "This one is known as echinacea. It's a type of coneflower that blooms at the start of midsummer on Earth."

"What does that mean?" I asked, knitting my brows.

"It means it does well enough in the heat."

"It does? Well, how come there's none here?"

He sucked in his lips, thinking. "Well, that's because...they don't grow here. They grow on Earth. That's their home. That's where they belong."

"But they like hot. It's hot here."

"It's a bit more complicated than that," he chuckled. "Flowers need soil and water and all sorts of helpful friends to help them grow."

"Soil?"

That word felt foreign falling off my tongue. I had never heard it before and had no idea what it meant.

Jonas lifted me up, pressing into a stand as he held me close. "It's...kind of like a much, much denser and at times, wetter sand."

I furrowed my brows. "Eww. That sounds icky."

He laughed, "It does, but it is a good thing. All the flowers love and need it."

He began to walk, carefully carrying me to my bed. He gently set me in it, the mattress conforming to my tiny frame. He took the book from my hands and sat it on the nightstand.

Even then, I could tell that there was something on his mind. It twisted his expression, pulling his brows down as he frowned. He glanced at me. Finally, he spoke in a gruff tone.

"Lani, you know that once you're all better, you'll be coming with me, right? You remember me telling you that, right?"

I looked at him, fidgeting with my blanket, nodding, "Mommy and Daddy went away, and they took Trevi and Daph with them."