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Her breathing was unsteady, each little huff of air a quiver from her lips, always seeming to be a bit heavier whenever she took an unsteady step through the grassy field before her, leaving behind a trail of red in her wake. She wanted to cry, to scream, but her voice was lost in her throat, and as she held her palm tight against her still warm cut, all she could do was sob feebly as blood continued to trickle from the gaps between her fingers.
Kobeni had found herself in a predicament she never thought she’d find herself in. Even after all of those years of teaching herself all sorts of forms of self defense, it was all for not.
Kobeni had been stabbed.
She couldn’t quite recall what happened, everything went down too fast. She recalled leaving one of her nightly classes to head home for the night, knowing that she would have to get up way too early for her job the next day. Then, everything else was a blur, and now she was here, alone, lost, and currently bleeding out in the middle of the night, not a soul in sight to help her. The searing pain in her side was becoming less and less noticeable, she had started to become used to the feeling, so she simply continued to walk, glossy eyes sluggishly taking in the area surrounding her: the campus garden. A weak smile planted itself upon her face. Kobeni loved this garden, she absolutely loved how vast and colorful the area was, how full of life it was, she adored it all.
The trees were large, larger than any tree she’s ever seen, with trunks as wide as an elephant's foot, and branches that stretched out in beautiful spirals of green across the sky. Some trees would have little specks of color between their bunches of leaves, and some would have wild life living amongst its branches, but even then, the trees always stood tall, towering over its inhabitants like a shady blanket. Kobeni could recall a time where her friend Denji had decided to climb to the very top of one of the garden's trees, only to be suddenly attacked by a very angry squirrel and fall right out and onto the cold hard ground. Denji had sprained his ankle, and couldn’t work for about a week. Kobeni couldn’t help but giggle at the memory, only to cough harshly right afterwards from the shot of pain she received from said action, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears threatened to spill from their confines.
Glancing back up again, her eyes landed upon a trail of concrete, the road of the garden. The road stretched far throughout the grassy field, leading students and occasionally Kobeni’s work friends through the maze of plants and bushes. Occasionally, when following the trail, there’d be little spots filled with different flowers, all bunched up together in a beautiful rainbow bush in corners of the garden. Once again, Kobeni’s mind began to drift. She remembered when Power, a nickname her friend used, had dragged her into the garden to pick flowers for Denji while he was stuck in the hospital. She remembered the pure confusion she felt as Power deliberately chose only red and blue flowers, then having to explain to Power how to properly make a bouquet.
Kobeni felt herself growing weaker, memories becoming a messy blur as her walk slowed to a crawl, legs tripping over one another as she desperately attempted to keep herself held up, but to no avail. She falls, body hitting the ground with a soft ‘thump’, arms falling limp on her sides as blood gushes from the cut now freed from her hands. She sobs, body growing colder and vision growing more hazy, and all she can do is beg silently to no one. She didn’t want to die, she wasn’t ready to die, she still had so much more to do, so much more life left to live, it can’t end like this. She didn’t want to die alone. She wished for her friends, to see them all again, just one last time.
As she lays there on the ground, subtly bleeding out into the concrete, she imagines having another moment to spend with her friends. She imagines Power, running amok in the fields of grass, rolling in its green pastures, dragging along its rainbow of flowers down with her as she eventually makes her way into a fluffy bush somewhere near the lake, finally stopping her constant movement. She imagines Aki and Hemino, holding hands as they sit together on a bench beneath a tall oak tree, Hemino laughing at Power’s antics while Aki sighs in disappointment, knowing full well how her dirt covered clothes will somehow, someway, fall back on him. Then, she imagines Denji, his sweet smile and boisterous laugh, how excited he gets whenever he gets a chance to run through the outdoors, finally letting his inner child free from its confines.
One last time, she begs silently for one last time to be with them. To sit together, to talk together, to live together. One last moment inside of the garden with them. For the trees to stand above her in a comforting embrace, to smell the flowers and their sweet fragrance, to watch the wildlife run amok through the bushes and branches of the garden, to walk along the concrete path with her dearest friends by her side. Yet, all good things must come to an end, and with one final breath, Kobeni’s eyes finally close, and as her life fades away from her, all she can do is weep for the future that will never come.