Forget-me-not

Cynthia

Flora had quit her job. That was the reason why she had been home all the time. Cynthia's wings had been clipped and she was trapped in a cage. There was nobody to call and there was nothing to do.

After Flora's suicide attempt, things had been different between the two. Flora became louder and more bubbly. The day after her attempt, she apologized and promised it wouldn't happen again. To cheer Cynthia up, she showed her the house the pair would be moving into.

It was a beautiful house, Cynthia couldn't lie. The place was equipped with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was wrapped in baby blue siding with black shingles along the roof. A small white wooden picket fence circled around the exterior.

Right across the street, there was a beach. Flora went on and on about Hawaii. The hint of salt in the air from the Pacific Ocean, the bright yellow sunshine, and the fresh island air. On and on she went, but Cynthia could barely pay attention to her words.

She wanted to leave. She wanted to walk right through the front door, head downstairs, and disappear into the busy streets of Seoul. The only thing holding her back was Flora. The more and more she thought about it, the more it made her miserable.

Flora's threat from her suicide attempt still lingered. It cemented her limbs to the apartment. If she left and Flora successfully killed herself, she didn't think she'd be able to recover. Despite the confusing relationship between the two, Cynthia still cared about Flora.

There were times when the two of them got along perfectly. Times when the two laughed until they were clutching their stomachs and had tears in their eyes. There were times when Flora went outside with Cynthia and it felt almost normal.

Cynthia sat in her room on her bed. She opened up her curtains earlier and had been sitting on her bed since. The Puppym plushie sat tucked into her arms. She seeked its comfort a lot more than usual lately.

Unfortunately, the scent faded away entirely. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was probably Seungmin's cologne she had been smelling the entire time. He probably sprayed it hoping she'd remember him.

He traveled around a lot. If Flora packed all of Cynthia's stuff from her apartment, it must have been something she grabbed without a second thought. She had so many questions about her boyfriend. They floated around her head aimlessly without answers.

A few of them, she probably could have Googled, but without her phone, that was impossible. If she asked Flora, it'd lead to another fight and maybe another suicide attempt. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle another one.

The last one left her a wreck. She kept having dreams of Flora dying in front of her. The previous night, she woke up to Flora shaking her awake. She had been screaming in her sleep without realizing it.

No matter how much sleep she got, it left her exhausted. The purple bags beneath her eyes grew. She leaned back against her wall staring outside her bedroom window. From the angle she was at, she couldn't see anything outside, but the sky.

A soft rain brushed against the window. For nearly an hour, she had been sitting in silence watching the drops slide down the window. She pulled herself inward and struggled with everything.

When she ate the food that Flora made, it was barely enough. She used to drink water quite a bit because her doctor said it was good for her. She'd guzzle down a few glasses throughout the day. Now she was lucky if she even managed to sip a glass.

The truth is that Cynthia was unraveling at the seams. The only people that knew what was going on, they were at their recording studio. With Flora home all the time now, Cynthia couldn't try to escape.

Flora was ruthless. Cynthia wasn't sure what would happen if she attempted to leave. A few nights prior, she threatened to lock her in her room if she left. She couldn't imagine how long Flora would keep her held hostage in her own room.

Out in the living room, Flora was making travel arrangements. They couldn't take all of their items to Hawaii via plane. She was looking into shipping companies and comparing costs to see how much it'd cost to get things shipped internationally.

From what Cynthia understood, this was the last thing Flora had to do. She had a car, but she was selling it to one of her friends. The other day, she came into Cynthia's room with a few boxes. All Cynthia could do was watch as Flora took her stuff from hangers and threw it into boxes.

She didn't have a ton of clothes. She barely even had possessions, so the packing was over relatively quickly. When Flora turned around and saw Cynthia moping behind her, Flora told her to cheer up. Apparently, Hawaii was going to be filled with new adventures.

Cynthia didn't have doubts about that. She knew it would be nice, but she didn't know if she'd be able to see Hyunjin again. She wasn't sure she'd get the chance to meet Seungmin in Hawaii. Maybe she'd never really get to know her boyfriend at all.

The thought caused her to blink back tears. She wanted to meet Seungmin, at least, once. She wanted to ask him questions. Why had he left her with Flora? Why hadn't he attempted to come and see her? If he really didn't like her anymore, she just wanted to know. She deserved to know that.

Cynthia was knocked out of her thoughts by two loud knocks on her door. She glanced over with a look of curiosity. Flora swung the door open beaming. "Guess what!" She moved closer to Cynthia with her phone stretched out in front of her.

Cynthia narrowed her eyes at the phone screen. There were a bunch of words and a few numbers. She didn't understand what she was looking at.

"I've finally got it all figured out!"

"What?"

"The move!"

"What about it?"

"We leave for Hawaii on Sunday!"