The Kalemomo Anthology - Kalemomo Week 2024

Chapter 7: Hard thorn (Hanahaki)

Time for the free day and finish this amazing Kalemomo week my friends! For the Free Day, we are going with Hanahaki, a magical disease where the patient coughs flowers because of an unrequited love, and it can only be cured by telling the other person the real feelings of love. But if the feelings are not accepted or too much time passes, the patient will die.

Enjoy it!

She always thought that love was probably the strangest but most beautiful feeling in her life. Since she was a child, she read love stories about Lilith and other demons related to the subject; some that were tragic or had one-sided feelings, and others where the most genuine happiness and affection that a couple could have were demonstrated. Momonoki wanted to live the love dream of the second group, just as she always read about it in her free time.

The reality was different, however. Even though she wanted to take the first step with him, she was never brave enough to try to tell him what she felt, she always got nervous and walked away from him thinking that the next day she would have another chance. She always lied to herself for many years, and she still didn't get out of square one, at least 90% of the time. She was so close to Kalego, but at the same time so far from him.

But the other party didn't help either. Kalego was dumb at identifying a sign of love from her, and in the 10% of the times where Momonoki tried to do something to try and reveal her love, Kalego mistook it for kindness or as a formality. He didn't recognize the signs. Therefore, after so many years of being a coward and knowing that Kalego was a hard rock to conquer, she decided to give up. With sadness and exhaustion, she accepted that she wasn't going to live the dream of her life.

However, it is one thing to say something and another thing to do it. Even though her mind was already telling her that she wasn't going to have a chance with him, the times Kalego talked to her were enough to give her false hope. Kalego didn't know it, but she was giving Momonoki insecurities. She didn't know what to feel, and soon her mind and her heart were confused with this whole situation.

And that was where the disease struck.

She woke up one morning almost choking, coughing, and feeling like something was inside her. She thought maybe it was some phlegm, but she was surprised when a fresh, brightly colored petal came out of her throat. She wondered how that got there, and her most logical conclusion was that it was a piece of the salad she ate for dinner.

She didn't give it any importance and continued doing her classes normally, thinking that it was something temporary. However, the next day, she again woke up coughing up a petal; then two days later there were more petals, and a few days later, they were roses. Each time, the flowers increased in beauty and size that made it difficult for her to breathe, reaching the point that Momonoki was wondering what was happening to her.

In the early days, she thought she had caught it from a strange plant in Suzy's garden. She knew that certain demons had problems because of certain plants in that place, but hers reached a serious level. She decided to give her a visit, asking her what she had. And it was there that Suzy's look stopped being tender and charming and became one of concern.

She told her to meet her after school, saying not to say any of that to the rest of the staff or her family. That only made her more anxious because what she had seemed serious. However, she did her best to remain calm, even though the cough was already beginning to be noticeable even in her classes. Once all the students left, she headed back to Suzy's garden, where she was waiting for her with Raim next to her. They were both worried, and when Momonoki asked them what was happening to her, they only answered with one word.