Rosa was a sweet girl growing up. She tried her best trying to help everyone even if it came at her own expense. That is what caught my eye on her and as she came up the hill to visit this place, I started to see her as a friend even if she could never see me. She would speak about her day, what she did, what she ate as if I was a real friend.  

When people began to stop coming up towards the temple, I expected her to leave, but she did not. She continued to come up here. Even as her hair turned prettier than any silver or when her back slouched, at the first shattering of the windows, or the dust that started to cover everything. She would help clean what she could, trim the plants even when she grew weaker. Then, one day she stopped coming up here. I could feel her presence in the distance, still, unmoving, and I knew she was going. This was after Dagan's last visit, but with her end that marked my end as well. You can’t come back once you are forgotten. 

Years ago, Dagan spoke with me about what they feared. It was the reason I didn’t tell them anything about this. It didn’t help anyway considering they didn’t beat around the bush. 

They didn’t want to be alone in the end. Unfortunately, their life began a little too late, brought to life around the time oldies decided that they wanted sticks up the butt for perfect posture and posh deeming the new generation as worthless. They couldn’t think that they would be erased. How humorous. That was what worried me about Rosa's death. I would leave them. I know that they could be okay considering we have people around that tolerate us. I also know that wouldn’t be enough.

Dagan grabbed Azar's shoulders, distress clear on their face. “Why, didn’t you tell me? I knew Rosa was gone considering I couldn't feel her when I was down there, but I can’t tell with you! I always thought you had more around you!”

Azar stayed quiet.

They let go, hands heading towards their head, as they turned around. “I thought Koti was saying that as a sick joke considering how he is, why would you hide that!”

“Calm down, Dagan”

“How can I be calm in this situation, you know what I fear. You know that those people dislike me, how they barely tolerate me because of you! You're my friend! My family! I can lose you!”

Frustration appeared on Azar's face. “Calm down, stop acting as if you have only existed a year ago, you've been here for a while even if they dislike you, they can’t do anything to you. You have people like Koti and Anari around here and others around you. I'm not the only one.”

“But-”

Azar took a deep breath and sighed, patting down the creases of his top. “Please..stop. 

Rosa was gone by the time you had already left. How could you think there were more people considering you’ve only seen Rosa and no one else, is your imagination.”

They looked down putting their hands to their knees, pants creasing downwards. They went to sit on the floor.

Azar slowly extends down, settling to the ground. “Is it sinking in now? There's nothing we can do to help extend my time. They tried with many, none succeeded, don’t let that thought bloom in your peanut size brain” –He knocked their fingers on their forehead–”…I’m scared too. You just have to accept the time we have left now.”

Dagan grabbed Azar’s gloved hand, still looking down. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“That’s why I kept it secret. You were always so fretful the second you found something distressful and saddening…I don’t want to go either, but you know how I never found anything that kept my eye.” –He removed his hand to ruffle their hair– “I feel that you keep me from disappearing too early… I waited around for you this time.” Azar got up from the crouch looking down at Dagan, a smile on his face with a hand outstretched. “Should we get going?”

Dagan buried their face into the crook of their elbow, hastily wiping tears from their face that had fallen while Azar was talking. “Okay. Scape my deal. You better be the one choosing our trip this time. You always come up with something quick.'' Dagan's voice was wavery as they 

spoke, turning clearer the more they talked. They took Azar’s hand, standing up, a smile on their tear-stained face.

Azar already had a place in mind to head to, but keep quiet until they hit the road. Both of them headed outside, Azar never brought anything on their trip, knowing full well that they would come back arm’s full, this time was a little different, like a farewell. 

Out the gates and into the open the first time that caught Azar's attention was Mari, Dagan spirit guide, a bird the size of a horse. She looked like cooling lava, the cracks over her body showed colors, red, blue, yellow, orange, green, pink, swirling underneath black skin. It makes her and Dagan look like twins, with the ruffles that cover the ends of their clothing along with the colors of the rainbow spew across, all over the place on their coat, shirt, and pants. Azar looked like he came from the opposite side of Mari, black and darker tones of gray covering his sleeveless shirt and baggy pants.

Attached to the roosting Mari was a wagon looking handmade instead of manufactured, wheels warped and not circle in shape. Made by both of them after the last one was destroyed, as Mari believed that it could survive flying. They both ended up throwing up after crash landing.

“Hello Mari, you are happy to see me again.” A whistle was heard as Azar patted and ruffled the top of her head.

She got up, the cart lifting as it got used to the different height of the creature. When it settled, Dagan got over and sat on the ledge of the cart. “Well, getting one?” They smiled at him, the eyes puffy clear as they closed their eyes.

Azar smiled as he went to the back of the wagon where the opening was and climbed in.

He sat on the side of the cart and extended his legs taking in the inside of the cart as he does each trip. Tokens of all the places they visited lined the inside of the cart walls, the walls itself covered in traditional art from Vien, the thin black lines that cover it makes it look fluid, simple handmade children's toys from Dagan place of stay Pana, they both liked the wooden spinning top, and the water whistles from Echo, that mimic the birds that thrive there.  

The wheels started to move at a steady pace out from the walls that encompass the building to the underside of the canopy of trees, small whistles sprouted from Mari as she walked through unruly vines and roots.

Dagan broke the silence. “Well, this is starting to become depressing, huh.”

Azar deadpanned at them. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you, I bet you still have festering thoughts, huh.” Azar bear crawled up to where Dagan was, lying on his stomach with his chin on the rim of the cart looking at Dagan's side profile. 

Dagan looked down at him. “What you said” –They prodded their fingers on his head– “was a nightmare incarnate.”

“That bad…Then I'm sorry”

“Suck it up, I know you don’t make apologies”

“Well, I mean it now. You know how we went to Arca 2 years ago.” Azar looked ahead to stare at Mari's feathers.

Dagan smiled as he thought back. “Topic change, nice…Yeah, remember how you said that you would burn down the jungle because you hated how you kept confusing the shifting of the trees to the waves.”

Azar looked back determination apparent. “That end is still up there.”

Dagan's face stared back. “Have you picked a place you want to go to?”

“...You remember where the place we first met”

“Aa, trying to make me cry now.”

“Nooo, the meadows should be blooming now…Oh, the pollen is going to make you cry now huh.”

“Not what-fine we’ll head up there, it's not too far anyway.”

***

When the cart stopped, Dagan pushed themself off it. “Guess you were right, the meadow is full.” They went to unhook Mari from the cart, long whistles appearing as she ran to the back of where they stood to snap at the apples from a nearby tree.

“Well, as you said it is nearby. It’s also a good cool-down place.” Azar hopped off the back of the wagon and walked around to where Dagan was standing. 

Azar would come around the area to see the flowers bloom. The meadow was one of the biggest in the area, colors upon colors coloring the green grass. It had to be Azar's favorite place to be in.

Azar starts to walk into the flower field grabbing Dagan's hand bringing them deep to the side of it.

“It’s always been my favorite place of mine.”

“I can see why.” Dagan removed their hand and sat down, picking some of the flowers around them. “It’s a very calming place.”

Azar picked one of the flowers, its bud only picking, separating from the stem. A light purple with a blush pink undertone. A chrysanthemum.

“I see you have grabbed a hold of the mums of the plant world”

“There are many plants here” Azar looked down to see Dagan gaze on the flower in his hand. “I see you have a bunch of Mari’s namesake down there. He sat down pointing to the yellow marigolds in their hands.

“I named Mari after the butterflies.” 

“Hmm. ” Azar looked out. “What other plants can you name, I know you're a green thumb.”

Dagan looked out. “Well, I can see purple coneflowers in front of us, the ones with the big pit,” –they pointed to the west– “in the back a little there’s foxglove and to the side, there are some daisies. Easy guess. On the east, there are some sunflowers, another easy guess. Uhhh, 

behind the coneflowers, there’s butterfly weed. Then the clusters of the tiny blue flowers are-...”. They paused.

“Are what?” Azar looked back at Dagan confused.

They cleared their throat, a pause.“Those are…scorpion grass. They bloomed around this time?” 

“Yeah, I’ve seen them bloom around here. It has a harsher name compared to the other, doesn’t it?”

Dagan seems to ponder on their thoughts. “Yeh, it does huh.”

Azar looked down to the chrysanthemum and the scorpion grass that laid beyond where they sat. Two flowers with sad associations.

***

“Azar, where should we head, towards next?”

By that time the wagon had headed down the roads again. The sun had started to head down to the underground. Everything in sight is covered in a warmer tone. The fields on both sides of the cart flutter as the wind passes by. The knee-high grass looked like an ocean wave. Trinkets jiggling in the back of the wagon. Whistles from Mari as the wind passes through her feathers.

“We can head towards Vien, maybe, or Praga. We haven’t gone there in a while.”

Silence answered instead.

“Have you fallen asleep back there? Haha, it is getting late huh, Mari.”

Azar woke from his daze, stayed quiet hearing the solemn tone in their voice. 

Mari chirped in response.

Dagan leaned forward. “Hey, Mari, you know that scorpion grass is called by another name…it’s called the…forget-me-not.”

Azar quietly sat up and leaned on the edge of the wagon, leaning on the side, taking in the scenery that was left behind each pull of the cart. You still keep those thoughts in your head, don’t you?.