The Apple Tree

[mimisosa]

Keri made her way to the apple tree, when she was right in front of it she kneeled placed the wild flowers in the middle and a candle on each side. She looked at the tree as it covered in the moon light looking silver and alive. She struck a match and lit both the candles. As their light fell and worked its way up the trunk she could still see the arrow mark. Silent tears slid down her cheeks, as she thought of that day. “Fujin, I’m so sorry. I missed our talk today.” She said quietly, and stayed silent for a minute. “Fujin you must know that no one could forget you, everyone here still thinks of you. You know that.” She sat and played with a leaf for a few minutes. “I did get distracted . . . and for that I’m sorry, I made a promise and I broke it. I won’t forget to come see you again for as long as I’m still in the garden.” She looked back up at the sky. “Fujin, my nightmares have come back . . . Remember my theory that I told you about the garden? I think that’s why, I lost my sense of safety here since. . .” She couldn’t finish before she was crying again. “Since they took you.” She said through sobs, this time she waited until she had calmed down and the tears had stopped. “I’m sorry about that . . . what I meant was your incident brought me back to reality. This isn’t a blessed place it blinds us to what’s real. If we weren’t under its spell, we . . . we . . . we might have been able to save you. I always told you I would leave this place, and now my resolution to do so has been resolved.” She said staring up at the branches. “I’m going to stay until your murderer is found and captured. I know that isn’t what you want to hear, but that’s what I plan to do. If you were here you would probably call me reckless again.” She smiled a little. “So I’m going to apologize in advance for whatever my recklessness gets me or anyone else into.” She spoke to the tree watching the bark as though it was answering her. “Of course, sorry I haven’t given you the updates. Well the garden now has somewhere between twelve and fourteen beings though we have only seen a fraction of them so far. Ryoji seems to be doing better, though I’m sure he misses you most of all, but he’s still drawing so he isn’t broken.” She looked around making sure no one was near then lowered her voice to a whisper. “I saw him and Ai walking to the pond on my way here, there might be something going on there.” She smiled and winked. She stood and placed her hand on the tree. “You know you’d be really proud of me, I’m finally heeding your advice. I’ve made friends like you said I should. The cat girl Nekome and I are good friends now she is really kind and playful like a kitten. She was raised as a human and told her tail and ears were evil. I’m really glad she found her way here so she can learn who she really is. Then the other person well, I met him right here. The fox boy that’s kind of like me, but with moonlit fur. I don’t know what his real name is, he won’t tell me but I call him Ace. I spent the day with him, and lots of things happened, even some things that confuse me. I’m not sure exactly but I’m pretty sure he and I are friends now . . .He says he wanted to spend more time with me, it made me really happy.” She moved the flowers a little. “I miss our talks, you always gave me good advice, I think I really could use it now. There is one more thing, I know where ever you are you’re probably still worrying over the garden and the beings, but really everyone here it doing alright, and Ryoji is more than capable of leading everyone. So you don’t have to worry and watch all the time, you can go enjoy yourself.” She kneeled down and blew out both the candles, then stretched out on the grass in front of the tree. “I promise to come tell you more day after tomorrow alright? For right now though I’ll stay here tonight, so you know you aren’t forgotten alright? Good night.” She looked up one last time at the night sky then turned on her side, and fell asleep in the grass.