The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 20.5: Ben's Birthday

Part 2/2

Long after the occasion, everyone had decided to head home because it was getting so late. Carlos, who was the one who decided to host the event, was cleaning up the mess he had created in the kitchen.

“Well, I’m going to head out right now,” Ben announced to Carlos.

“Oh, okay,” Carlos replied with a smile. He looked back at Ben with a soft smile, “It was nice having you. And happy birthday again, I can’t believe you’re already turning 17. Man, we grow up so fast.”

“Thanks for having me Carlos,” Ben waved goodbye as he headed out the door.

Ben walked through the neighborhood, looking up at the night sky. The stars were distant and fading away because of humanity’s machinery and factories. But one star seemed brighter than all the others.

“Hey Ben, sightseeing?”

Ben turned to see his classmate approaching him; she had a warm smile on her face that was as bright as the lone star above. Caught off guard because of her unexpected arrival, Ben didn’t know what words to muster up.

“Oh, um, hey,” Ben replied.

“What are you doing out so late? Shouldn’t you be going to bed right about now? I thought your parents were strict about that sort of thing,” she asked curiously.

“They’ve gotten a bit more relaxed on that,” Ben answered while looking away. He couldn’t look her in the face. He was afraid that she would know what he was thinking, as she always did. Besides, her face looked a little blurrier now that Ben thought about it…

“Well, uh, I guess I’m going to go now.”

Ben began to walk away swiftly, but she called out to him, “Wait!”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ben turned around to see her holding a single flower in her hands. A light blue-white hibiscus with an aroma that Ben could only describe as ‘peaceful’.

“Happy birthday, Ben,” she said with a smile. She walked forward and placed it in Ben’s right hand, “I got this flower because apparently it never wilts, it never dies.”

“So it’s a fake flower?” Ben questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“No, it’s very much real,” she replied. She looked into Ben’s eyes, and she frowned.

“I got it because you always cheered me up, and you always kept your promises. Even though we… technically aren’t friends,” she said with puckered lips, “But… It’s going to be okay. I know you can take care of my flower.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Ben promised her, “I’ll never let go of it. That’s a promise…”

She shed a single tear as she turned away.

“Don’t worry about me, Ben,” she told him, “You’ll do just fine without me. You’ll cheer people up as you always have… As you always have at your new school.”

She began to sob, and she slowly walked away, leaving Ben alone under the night sky. Alone, with nothing but his thoughts, and a single flower which would never wilt or die.

And Ben hadn’t seen her since.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise, as I always have,” Ben thought as he looked at the hibiscus in his fingers. He blinked rapidly, and suddenly he was back at the Book Club camp. The flames of the torch crackled under his eyes, and he rubbed them a little to try and figure out what just happened.

“Just a memory,” Ben realized. He put the hibiscus away in his pocket, and then continued walking off to the farm.