Flora

A sweet melody reached Dean’s ears as he entered a large garden. As he looked around, flowers of all kinds surrounded him, save for a single path that led up a hill. He walked up the path and the top of the hill came into view. At the top, he saw a woman sitting on a large stone. She sat there with a lyre, her hair, a mix of darkish green and lighter green, flowed along with the melody. As he continued walking up the path, he could hear her humming to the melody. He reached the top of the hill and saw that the flowers around her were more radiant than the ones further down the hill. He stood there for a minute and the music began to fade. The woman set her lyre down and looked up at him. Her long, wavy hair moved in front of her eye and she pushed it back behind her shoulder. She smiled and asked, "So you got my message?"
"I doubt I would be here if I didn't. This place is very well hidden. Without a guide, I doubt that anyone would find this place easily." Dean replied. The woman giggled, stood up, and jumped over to Dean.

"Why are you being so serious? It's not like this is a business meeting or anything." She spun in place, her dress swaying with the wind. "I'm Flora. Nice to finally meet you, Dean." She leaned towards him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Dean took a step back, noticeably blushing. Flora giggled and grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the rock she was sitting on before. The two sat and Flora looked up at the stars. “You’re one of the only people in this world that knows about the existence of this place. It’s a secret haven I found for myself when I was a young spirit.” She looked at Dean and smiled. “You’re a special friend to me. I hope we’ll be able to see each other more often." Dean looked down, his cheeks turning red.

"But we've only just met. We hardly know anything about each other." Dean tried to avoid eye contact, but Flora put her hand on the side of his face and made him look at her. She smiled.
"Then why don't we start now? It's a lovely night. Why don't you stay here for the night?" She stood up and took his hand. She brought him to the path on the other side of the hill and brought him to another flower patch. She turned to him and smiled. She then pointed to an area that had a roof made of leaves held up by trees with a hammock in the middle of two of them. “This is where I spend my time when I’m not in the garden or on the hill. I know it’s not really much to look at compared to places in the Materia world, but I love this place.” She skipped over to it and grabbed a second hammock from the corner. “Would you please help me set this up?” She asked. Dean walked over and took one end and started tying it to one of the other trees as Flora did the same with a nearby tree. After the hammock was secure, Flora stepped out from under the roof and reached for the sky. Her body was enveloped by a light and her light green dress was replaced by a dress  of a dark blue color with stars adorning it. The lyre formed in Flora’s hands and she turned back to Dean and smiled. “Let me play you a song.”

She sang a beautiful song about the life she led here in the garden and when it was done, Dean realized that he felt more at ease. He tried to force himself to become more alert, but could feel calmness flowing through him like the wind. At the end of a long minute, Dean’s face showed a rare sight, a smile. Flora walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek again. “That’s my story. Tell me yours.”

“I’d rather not. I wish to put my past behind me.” Dean replied.

Flora smiled and looked out to the night sky. “You know, the sky looks prettier now than it usually does. Perhaps the right company can make things nicer than they already are.” She leaned over to him and kissed him again, but this time, on the lips. Dean stepped back in surprise and Flora started giggling. “You’re surprised so easily. But seriously, thank you. I don’t think I’ll ever see a more beautiful night than this one by myself.” She started walking to her hammock when she turned and said, “Why don’t we go ahead and sleep.” She laid down in her hammock and yawned. Dean moved over to his, looked up to the sky, and laid down in his. Flora turned to face him and smiled. “Good night Dean.”

“Good night, Flora.” Dean replied, trying to say it casually, yet failing to do so. Within a few minutes, Dean felt his consciousness fade away as sleep took over.