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The sun shone brighter, when she was here.
The botanist gripped the verdant cape draped over his shoulders tightly, holding back his tears. Once an accessory he used to steal from his sometimes studious older sister, the cape was now forever in his possession, and he hated that.
This cape was hers, not his. It belonged to her, he had to return it to her.
Now, he couldn’t anymore.
The botanist dropped to his knees, his head drooping low, unable to look up at the flower adorned grave.
“Sister, please come back,” he sniffled, and buried his face in his hands to muffle his sobs, “I promise I won’t steal your cape anymore.
The sun shone brighter, when he was here.
To everyone’s surprise, even themself, the marching adventurer was handling this much more calmly than everyone else. Perhaps they were too shocked to fully register what was going on.
Their tears refused to fall, even though they wanted them to.
Afraid of water, and a bit of everything else, the scaredy cadet was their best friend. A perfect contrast to their brash and boldness, he was timid, shy and inward. And most of all, a great listening ear. They often vented their frustrations of being Valley nobility to him, and sometimes even went to him, of all people, for comfort.
At one point, the adventurer even considered them as soulmates. Platonic or not, they could never get to figure it out. Not anymore.
With a hitched exhale, they slowly knelt down at the cadet’s grave, wiping off the rainwater that drizzled on the cold stone. “You never liked water, huh?” The adventurer laughed dryly.
And then, their tears fell.
The sun shone brighter, when he was here.
The forester, usually lost in a daydream-like daze, was now wailing her heart out, pain in her voice as tears dripped down her cheeks. Reality had come crashing down on her hard, and not even her daydreams could comfort her, not when he was gone.
When her parents were gone, he was there to dry her tears.
When she was feeling sad, he was there to make her smile with his games, followed by his signature mischievous chuckle.
He was her childhood friend, best friend. He was the one she loved with all her heart.
And now, he is on the other side.
The forester collapsed to the ground with another pained wail.
The sun began to clear amid the cloudy sky. Like the mellow sun that came out, the leader of the scouts stepped out too, a small bunch of flowers in their hands.
Egret orchids, the botanist noticed as they placed the flowers at the foot of the three graves.
In the language of flowers, it means ‘my thoughts will follow you into your dreams.’ His sister’s words echoed in his mind. He had to hold back another sob.
“It’s a lovely day today, isn’t it? The sun looks quite sad, though.” They sighed, a solemn smile. And then, they turned to their grieving friends.
“The sun really did shine brighter, when they were here.”