Covered by Roses

“She dwells with beauty, beauty does not die.
Enjoy, whose hand is ever at his lips.
His soul will taste the sadness of her might,
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.” -Within Temptation

~*~

C. gattii.

C. neoformans.

VGllc.

Cryptococcus.

It went by many names, but they all brought upon the same fate to whoever was unlucky enough to catch it. The disease itself was very rare, only a few hundred people catching it every year. It was a deadly fungus that was transmitted through plants, and it attacked the host's lungs and brain. Symptoms were varied, but most patients reported to have: prolonged coughs, sharp pains in their chest, eye irritation, and shortness of breath.

It had been several weeks since she had received her persistent cough, and the sharp pains and shortness of breath had quickly followed suite. At first she thought it was just a cold, but when it continued for more than a few days, and her chest was occasionally shocked with stabs of pain, she knew that this was more serious.

She had gone to see a doctor on Linphea, since her planet had herbs that could cure just about anything, and it was that fateful visit that she had learned about the disease cryptococcus gatti. The doctor read her the symptoms, and after he had several tests performed on her, he was certain this is what she had contracted. Unfortunately, there was no known cure for this disease, and all previous accounts of it recorded, stated that the patient would die.

Terminal, is what the doctor had called it. The fungus that had taken over her body would kill her. He wasn’t sure how much longer she had to live, but from the tests, and how quickly it had seemed to spread within her, he didn’t give her that long. About three weeks, was his estimate.

She initially didn’t know how to react to this information. Should she be sad, and cry? Should she be angry? Should she be depressed? Should she embrace it?

She had told her family the news, and they reacted exactly the way you expected. They suggested that she should drop out of school, and remain home until the fateful day. But she didn’t want to rouse suspicion, or worry her friends, and teachers. The school year was almost over, so the biggest event until their final exams would be the Spring Dance.

Which is what she was getting ready for now. She looked at herself in the mirror, and noticed her red eyes, and gaunt skin. She sighed, and glanced at her arm, where the infected patch had begun to ooze a clear liquid.

The opening had started off as a simple pimple, but eventually it had spread, and turned into a red, and yellow ooze dripping gash. She had taken to wearing long-sleeved shirts to cover up the mark, even during warmer weather. She didn’t want her friends to worry.

She grabbed some dressing from her nightstand, and carefully wrapped it around her arm, as she made sure to pin it down tightly to avoid it being seen. She wanted to make sure no one noticed her irritated eyes, so dropped a few droplets of eye solution to help soothe them. She grabbed her white dress, and carefully put it on.

When that was done, she began to place white roses in her hair, from a bouquet that her designated date had given her. Designated? Well, for this dance, every couple had been randomly generated, so no one was going to go with their obvious dates. She read the note they came with once again, and smiled softly.

Dear Flora,

I don’t know whether you should feel relieved or not that you got someone you at least know for this dance. But, I’m certainly happy I knew who might date was!
So, Saladin said that us guys had to buy our dates something. Since you like flowers so much, I got you these. I hope you like them!

See you at the dance,
-Sky

With her dress and flowers in place, Flora moved to makeup. She added a small amount of blush to her cheeks, to give them some color, and then some light-pink lipstick. When she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror.

She certainly looked better than she did a few minutes ago. She smiled, but a sudden coughing fit ruined the peaceful moment, leaving the fairy of nature rather shaken up. There was a knock on her door, followed by her friend, Layla’s, voice.

“Flora? Is everything okay in there?” she asked, worried about her friend.

Flora took several deep breaths, and eventually, it ceased, but the coughs were quickly replaced with sharp pains in her chest. She winced, and tried to regain her composure. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a tickle in my throat.” she replied, and walked to the door to open it, and let Layla inside.

Layla was wearing a long, elegant green dress. Her designated date was Riven, so this night was going to be interesting.

“You look very beautiful.” Flora said, and her friend smiled.

“Thank you. You look gorgeous too. The dance is about to start, everyone is waiting. Come on.” she said, and moved over so Flora could walk out. The two made their way into the wreck-room where all the members of the Winx Club were, dressed in their gowns.

“Wow Flora, you look so awesome!” Stella gushed, as her brown eyes sparkled in admiration.

Flora smiled, and said her thanks. “Layla told me the dance was going to start soon. Let’s head on down to the ballroom.” she suggested, and the girls nodded in agreement. The Winx made their way down the stairs, and walked through the glamorously decorated halls of Alfea until they reached their destination.

The ballroom had been completely decked out for the occasion. There were streamers and balloons and flowers everywhere. The tables had light blue tarps, and were covered with various foods and beverages. A huge, booming sound system, and a giant disco ball had been set up earlier with the help of the Musa herself.

“Wow, this place is awesome!” Tecna said, and smiled. “Nice job with the speakers by the way, Musa.” she said, and gave her friend a high-five.

Flora noticed that most of the girls had arrived already, and that the Specialists had just begun to walk through the doors. “Alright everyone, find your partner!” Griselda snapped, and everyone began sifting through the large crowd in order to find their date.

Flora didn’t want to walk around too much, so she just stood by the table and decided it would be best to wait for Sky there. She could feel that she was getting weaker. She knew that she would be better off in bed, but, she didn’t want to worry anyone. If she could get through this dance, she would be happy.

She felt a sudden tap on her shoulder, and when she turned around, Sky was there, dressed in a fine black suit. “Hello Flora.” he said, and gave her a smile.

Flora returned the gesture. “Hi Sky. You look nice.”

Sky blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Haha, thanks. So, would you like to dance?” he asked, and offered his hand.

Flora took it gently, and Sky lead her to the dance floor. The two began to dance to the music, which, at the moment, was soft and gentle.

Sky helped Flora do several twirls, and even dipped her a couple times. Flora laughed at this, and thought it was rather charming--which caused Sky to blush a light pink. As the song was nearing an end, Sky brought her rather close, close enough that their noses were touching. Flora smiled up at him, and when the song finished, he dipped her one last time.

“That was fun, Sky.” she said, but she was cut off by another coughing fit. She wheezed as she tried to regain her breathing, as it was becoming harder, and harder to do. Flora thought that this one would pass, just like all the others, but for some reason, it was sticking around longer.

Sky’s eyebrows furrowed with worry as Flora continued. “Are, are you alright?” he asked. He was going to offer her something to drink, before he noticed a red stain on one of her gloves.

“Flora…?” his voice was filled with worry, and he really didn’t understand what was going on.

Flora’s coughing had finally ceased, but the whole ordeal left her feeling very weak, and very tired. A trail of blood trickled from her mouth, down her chin, until it connected with the top of her dress; where it left dark red spots. “Sky…” she choked out, before she collapsed on the ground.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Flora could see Sky over her, his baby-blue eyes filled with fear, as more and more people began to crowd around her. Griselda had finally made her way over, and was lightly tapping Flora on the face, to see if that would rouse her.

No…go away…I want to sleep…leave me alone…why should I wake up?

Instead of being at Alfea, at the dance, Flora was now at home, in her small cottage.

She could see her mother, and her little sister making cookies, while her father read on the couch. She looked down, and could see she was wrapped up in her favorite blanket, while she sat on the small couch in front of their bay window. It was peaceful...this just felt so right.

“Flora, Flora!” Miele said, and ran up to her older sister, a big grin on her face.

“What is it?” Flora asked. Her voice sounded strange. It wasn’t its usual sweet self. It sounded tired, and weak.

“You’re going to stay here, right? Forever?” the little girl asked, as her caramel colored eyes glittered with happiness.

Flora smiled. “Of course.”

Her little sister giggled with glee in response, but soon, she vanished, along with her mother, and father, and home. Flora was now all alone, in her pink blanket. The room had gone dark, and all that stood before her was a trail of golden light, covered in white roses.

Flora sighed contently.

As the bell-like laughter of her sister filled her head, Flora’s eyes lit up. She got up from her sitting position, and stuck one foot out unto the golden trail. It was warm, and comforting. As she placed her other foot on it, and then repeated the process, she slowly did this until she had developed a steady pace. A ghostly smile crossed her lips, as she continued to walk forward to the next chapter in her life…