draft1

You can't change the past. That time has passed. Everything that existed then is no more. All you can do is look back and remember, or change for the [[future]].

You look around your room. You have vases on the nightstands next to both sides of your bed. They're both filled with the same [[wilted flower]]. On your dresser lies an [[empty flowerpot]]. Usually it'd be filled with some flower or another, but right now it just sits there. It's not the most beautiful to look at in and of itself, sporting nothing more than a plain reddish-brown. In the corner of your room is your easel. Looking at the [[canvas]], you see some flower is drawn on it. You can't see it very well from your angle. Pretty much everything in your room is flower themed in some way, actually. Of course, you know the [[reason]]... Your glance shifts towards the bookshelf as you think this.

You decide to approach the wilted flowers. You had given them fresh water, but it wasn't enough to keep them alive. A flower uprooted from the ground is pretty much already dead; the best you can hope for is to prolong their life the tiniest bit, so you can see their beauty a little longer. ...you should probably [[get rid]] of the dead flowers, but you could also save that [[for later|future]].

You don't remember what the last flower was that you had put there. You suppose you must've been too busy to replace it, but it could've just been laziness, too. Thinking back over the past few days, it all just felt like a blur. You probably should [[find new seeds]] to fill in the empty pot, but you could also just continue to [[be lazy|future]] and leave it empty for now.

You approach the easel to get a better look at what you had left there. Since you paint everyday, both at home and at school, it can be hard to remember what you had been working on, especially after you've taken breaks. These happen pretty often, since creative work requires inspiration. You look, but it turns out to be a mostly blank canvas. There's a few flowers painted here and there, but it's clearly not finished. You could [[finish the painting]] now, but you're not sure you have inspiration. Maybe you should [[do that later|future]].

...you approach your bookshelf, lined up next to your dresser. While it's mostly filled with purposeless books collected throughout the years that have gone unread, there's one sticking out with wrinkly sheets. You know this book very well. After all, it's not something you had to read. It was rather a journal, one that you had [[helped fill in]]. You thought about perhaps [[opening it up]], or maybe [[wandering around the room|future]] some more.

As you grabbed the flowers out of their vases, you were able to see which they were. They were hardly recognizable anymore, shrivled up dry. Despite this, you could see that they had once been anemones. The meaning of the flower came to mind as you looked at them. *Anemone: a flower symbolizing feeling [[forsaken]].*

A flowerpot with no flowers is just too lonely. Indeed, you chose a plain design in order to highlight the beauty of the flowers it would contain, yet it sat empty. Opening the bottom drawer, you were met with a variety of seeds to choose from, alongside some other flower-care related equipment. You could easily see [[blue iris]] seeds available.

You opened the journal to a random page. That page, like all the others, contained a dried flower pressed into the book. Next to the flower, it had the flower's meaning in flower language written. On the particular page you had opened it up to, it contained the zinnia flower. *Zinnia: a flower symbolizing the [[remembrance of friends who are gone]].*

You didn't do this alone, though. (mouseover: "You didn't do this alone, though.")[(goto: "reason")]

You decided to work on the painting now. You review your previous work to remind yourself of what you were going for with this piece. It was easily recognizable to you as a painting of a purple hyacinth. *Purple hyacinth: a flower symbolizing [[sorrow and regret]].*

*"What's that you have under your arm?" "How observant! What I brought is none other than my sketchbook! I thought I could use the flowers in your garden as inspiration for art." "You sound so proud of yourself, it's hilarious." "H-hilarious? But I'm being serious..!" "I'm just teasing! Can I see some of your old art?" "...sure." "...why have you not bragged about your art skills until now? This is all [[amazing]]!"*

*"Do you know what's coming soon?" "What's coming soon? That's much too broad a question! There's no way to guess what you mean with only that." "Oh, come on. It's not that hard to give a random guess!" "I won't! Just tell me!" "Sighhhh... fine. [I will.]<progress|" (click: ?progress)["[Spring is coming.]<spring|"] (click: ?spring)["Spring? What's significant about that?" "Certain annual flowers blooming, of course! While it'll be a little while for these still, I'm especially excited to see the zinnias bloom." "Zinnias?" "Yes! They're rather easy to grow, but are oh-so beautiful. And they have a beautiful meaning, too... Remembering friends who are [[gone]]."]*

*"Say... Will you remember me, even after we're apart?" "Apart? No, we'll always be together! How could you ask that?!" "...can you please answer the [[question]]?"*

*"Of course I'd never forget my [[best friend]]."*

That's right. The reason you obsessed over flowers, covering your room with them, dedicating even your art to them... It was because of [[them]].

Your childhood best friend had the largest garden you had ever seen in person. It was their passion to grow flowers, and to learn their meanings as well. Each flower they grew they'd document in this journal. They left you alone. All you had to remember them was the book in your [[hands]].

*"Will you remember me, even after we're apart?"* This was such a foolish question of them to ask. Of course you'd remember them. They had been your best friend; this fact would never change. Thinking this, [[you hugged the book to your chest]].

<h2>Ending: Zinnia</h2> <img src = "https://www.gardendesign.com/pictures/images/900x705Max/dream-team-s-portland-garden_6/zinnia-flowers-mixed-flowers-shutterstock-com_12811.jpg" width = "800" height = "500"> [[Start again.|future]]

*"...[really?]<question|" (click: ?question)["[[Really.]]"]*

*"...thanks." "You know what? I think I'll allow you to draw my flowers!" "I hadn't asked for your [[permission]]!"*

That person had always loved your art, but there was no longer anyone beside you who teased you, who supported you... Your eyes teared up looking at the purple hyacinths painted in front of you. Memories tended to get you emotional, but at this point you weren't sure whether to [[go through with]] the painting or [[trash it]].

You wiped at your tears. You couldn't paint if you couldn't see. There had been times when the two of you would fight. There had been times when the two of you had been happy. Now, there was nothing. However, you'd never regret having known them. Your brush moved smoothly across the canvas, and you remembered [[another meaning]] for purple hyacinths.

You couldn't stand to face your painting anymore. Picking up the canvas, you smashed it across a table lying in your room, breaking the canvas in half. If they weren't going to be here anymore, you didn't want to remember them. You didn't want to think about them. With the pain it caused, you almost [[regret having ever met them]].

<h2>Ending: Purple Hyacinths of Forgiveness</h2> <img src = "https://www.flowermeaning.com/flower-pics/Hyacinth-Meaning.jpg"> [[Start again.|future]]

<h2>Ending: Purple Hyacinths of Regret</h2> <img src = "https://www.flowermeaning.com/flower-pics/Hyacinth-Meaning.jpg"> [[Start again.|future]]

You decided to plant the blue iris seeds. For a new sprouting plant, you felt the meaning of the flowers to be rather fitting. *Blue iris: a flower symbolizing [[hope]].*

*"Have you ever grown a plant from scratch before?" "From scratch? You mean from when they're seeds?" "Yes. From when they're nothing but tiny seeds... It's a lot of work. You have to take care of them just right, or they might turn out poorly, or not make it at all." "Huh, that's probably right. Never really thought about it, so I guess my answer to your first question would be 'no'." "Hmph. Well, you're missing out." "Missing out? But I thought you just said it was hard!" "No, it is hard, [[but...]]"*

*"I just think it's the most wonderful thing, to see something struggle but grow to be big and strong. A seed is just a 'beginning'. Beginnings can be scary, but it also means you have your whole future ahead of you. A time filled with fear and hope... Is the most [[beautiful thing]]."*

You patted down the dirt as you finished up potting the flower. The experience was nostalogic, and you felt a smile sneak up onto your face at the thought. You couldn't remember what flower had been there before. This had made you a little sad, but the changing of flowers marked a new beginning. [[You couldn't wait to see it]].

<h2>Ending: Blue Iris</h2> <img src = "https://www.gardenia.net/storage/app/public/plant_family/detail/7IXSLl4EU0xHbLk4jbqfj75Y4UfqmbLWDKyuVQq4.jpeg"> [[Start again.|future]]

*"What happened to all my flowers?!" "Um... well..." "I asked you to look over them while I was away for the week. Did you even water these once?" "..." "Answer me!" "[[...no.]]"*

*"...I can't believe you..." "I'm sorry, I-" "I can't BELIEVE you! Flowers are a living thing, you know?! You can't just abandon them! You let them die! They were beautiful, and you just [[let them die!]]"*

You were never the best at taking care of flowers, really. While these flowers were destined to die as soon as you cut them from their roots, you had accidentally killed flowers that could've lived much longer before, too. You abandoned those flowers. You hurt them, just like you [[hurt that person...]]

...you threw the shrivled anemones in the trash. You couldn't get them back, and you couldn't get back that person. [[It was all too late.]]

<h2>Ending: Anemone</h2> <img src = "https://www.homestratosphere.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/anemone-flowers-june272018.jpg" width = "700" height = "500"> [[Start again.|future]]