[Darren Journal #2]
Folded petals.
Autumn's stain.
Not a good flower.
Flee from the flower.
Return home.
It's only a dream.
Was it not a dream?
It could be a dream, right?
It's been 3 days.
Oh.
Oh..
Oh...
I didn't.
Parents confused.
Must return.
Find the flower.
Flower gone.
Sister gone.
Where?
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*Cling* *Cling* *Cling*
I woke up immediately as I heard a chime outside. Through the window of my bedroom, the beach is occupied again with humans! The sun is shimmering bright, and the ocean is filled with serenity. So many loves I could share with these creatures.
Couples and bloomers were basking themselves in the sun. Love is in the air, they said! And these people seemed to have waited for me to show them love. Today, Doorwell is going to the beach to help these humans be happier and lovely with others!
"Hey, mom! Hey, Dad!"
"Hey, Doorwell! Looks like someone is excited to go to the beach." My mother mumbled.
I headed out of my bedroom, greeting my parents and my brother on the upper floor. Faces were all excited for the trip to the beach! Except Darren, who is still heartbroken from yesterday. But I wouldn't go to the beach without him, which is why I am convincing him to join.
"Come on, Darren! I don't want you to miss the fun!"
"Alright! Alright, let me just...call Amanda first." Darren agrees wholeheartedly with me and quickly goes for a call with her bloomed one on the telephone. Me? I only need a hat and a pair of sunglasses to stay anonymous. I would like to have my lure out while being blown by sand on my face.
"Wait, aren't we supposed to keep Dorriel until further notice from the Institute?"
"Oh, believe me, father. Amanda could get along with this. Besides, she's already on her way."
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Knock! Knock! Someone's on the door, but not on my door. Looks like Darren brought her bloomed one into the trip, and I couldn't be happier to see this 'Amanda' he's been mentioning since yesterday. My straw hat was set on my head when I heard her voice, but I couldn't decide whether to show up with orange or a mint-icing!
"She's here! Hehehe!" I waited by the front door, fingers on the knob and was ready to swing it open. But Darren came to stop me as he saw it as trouble.
"Woah, don't even think of it. It's about me and Amanda..."
"Darren's right. We shouldn't let Amanda knew about you yet, Dorriel."
"Aww..."
I cannot deny that Darren deserves to see his bloom one first. My family brought me here in the hope that I wouldn't carry more misery to them or unwanted trouble. I decided to wait as my brother wished in the dining room with my parents. I could hear the door open and a lady's voice, filled with so much happiness in her heart.
"Darren, my love! How's it going?"
"Fine, as usual. You could even say I had a new hunch on my back."
"Heh, you're funny. So you're saying we're going to the beach today?"
"Well, I would say WE as in we all family."
The bloomers are blossoming behind my back! The human me has done a lot of good by putting Darren into a happy life and love while I'm here with my parents, who show their love for their daughter. Everyone's happy, everyone's smiling, and everyone's cheering! But Amanda still has one more surprise from Darren than a cheesy flirt.
"Sure, I guess. You think the beach was too private for us to have them uninvited?"
"Definitely. But there's something I had to tell you first...you see, this might not be as what you think this trip would be."
I hear them coming, footsteps going close to the dining table with what seems to be flippers. Amanda was such a delightful girl from her voice. Darren wanted her to meet with me because he knew I would be fond of bloomers. I could only stand in the living room with my straw hat.
Before my face, I saw a hair of gold and a pale dough for a skin. Her eyes were blue as the ocean outside, and she had nails painted with the same colour as Pearl's eyeshadow. No wonder Darren liked her so much that he had me carry him into her heart. But Amanda wasn't the woman who seemed happy to see a Joyling.
"Alright, Darren. What is it that you're trying to show me?"
"Hm?"
Her eyes paused, glaring at me with a surprise in my straw hat. At first, Amanda thinks of me as another guest in this house. So she came after me and expected a handshake from this cupid, but I chose to remain silent and watch her wondering since it was fun.
"Oh, look at that. We have a new guest here. Didn't told me you had a cousin coming with you? Though, you look rather odd under the hat."
"Are you not going to say anything? I wanted you to meet my sister..."
Darren appeared behind the hall and waited for me to comment on his bloom one. Amanda was shocked to hear that it was Dorriel who was standing before her. However, she was laughing at that idea, as if there was something funny about that.
"Remember the girl who told you that I like you? I still have a grudge her for that." Darren commented. But Amanda's tone shifted seemingly differently than I thought. She was stressed and unamused when she heard it was the same Dorriel she met long before. Does she hate me, too?
"Don't be silly, Darren. I like your joke, but I think you need to get over it. It's been six years, Dorriel is gone and she's—"
"Hi, Amanda. Did you miss me?"
I was before her eyes, staring right into her beautiful blue skies with my straw hat up. When I thought I would've had Amanda crying with grief for me, I instead found her in a state of bafflement. She didn't recognize me even when I had my voice out like the Dorriel she was hoping. But somehow, it didn't impress her.
"What...?" She mumbled.
"I know! I know! It's been six years since we've met. I know what I did back then with Darren was a bit too clumsy, but I was hoping it didn't affect something between us?" I tried pleading for her. But she was silent.
"You don't have to tell her!" Darren mumbled behind her.
She was silent for too long, and I am still here wondering if she had a change of heart from that moment. But then I realized that maybe she shouldn't know about me yet, or that I should've taken more time before revealing the big deal.
"Darren? What is this? What are you showing to me?"
"Look, I know this sounds strange, but...we just had Dorriel taken from the Institute yesterday and she's just adjusting to her life again."
She wasn't happy at all. She was shocked! Of course, what did I think? These humans weren't informed of me, and now she was. Amanda wasn't aware of what was happening. I quickly backed off and carried my lyre while Amanda and Darren were fighting! Oh, I failed these bloomers so much.
"Darren, can we talk for a second...? Just the two of us..." Amanda mumbled.
"Sure."
These two bloomers are childish! Now Amanda wanted to have a private time with Darren here? I suppose I could not stop whatever they were thinking of. Maybe this could involve a kiss? All I could think of was helping my parents upstairs with their beach things.
"Have fun, brother! But don't be long!"
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It went well, didn't it? Amanda seems calmer than I thought when she sees Dorriel. But now she wanted to talk to me privately in the kitchen while holding an unpleasant smile and teeth gritting. After we no longer saw Dorriel, she started to throw a tantrum at me.
"What is that? Darren, I better have an explanation or I'll leave this place..."
"That's my sister, Dorriel! She's here to join with us as I expect we would..." I explain calmly. But Amanda was not.
"No, it's not! That thing doesn't even looked like her. Why are you bringing that thing here?"
She was in denial, and she persisted in her words more than she would heard me. I know people wouldn't trust the presence of a talking cookie with wings before, but Amanda used to be more reasonable than this. I know she would understand that I'm not threatening her here.
"What did you do? What devil did you bargain your soul for her with?" She thinks I did this myself.
"None. Because I didn't make her! She was from the Institute."
"Institute? What Institute?"
"Funtakers Institute. Remember that rumour from the news from two months ago about the Joylingers.co?"
I gently explained as much as I could. Dorriel's existence confuses me as it did Amanda. But the only thing I know is that it was her because the voice and personality matched her. But Amanda insists that it is unwise to rule that out.
"Wait, wait, wait..." She chuckles in denial. "You're telling me that rumor about their works wasn't..."
"I didn't say I was convinced, okay? But if I had a chance, wouldn't it be wise to take it while you can?"
"Would it be wise to take it from a man you didn't even know? Do we even knew if she has a weird effect on us? Or are you still believing she was your sister?"
"Or if she didn't end up in a blue flower?"
Blue flower, how I didn't like to be mentioned of that name again. Long have I seen that view one more time before I met Dorriel again. I still couldn't get rid of it in my head, and the memory stood strong even until today.
Each time I heard the word blue flower, I couldn't forget about that time I lost Dorriel. I was confused and scared, and I had to be silent because why wouldn't I? I was never part of her disappearance. But I was.
"Just...believe me, okay? Dorriel won't hurt anyone. We know that, because she's not made for that."
"Dorriel just wanted to thank you for what happened years ago."
"I wouldn't expect gratitude from her after what happened yesterday. It should've been you. Have you thanked her?"
I didn't thank her, sadly. Amanda read it on my lips and even felt more disappointed with me. But our debate was shortened after she finally calmed down and accepted the grounds of this situation. She wasn't too much accepting, knowing well I couldn't make her.
Sometimes, Amanda and I struggled to introduce something new in our lives. We've found it difficult to accept things that we didn't expect, and when there are two different thoughts and ideas, the good one usually comes from who has more words.
"I'm trying to tell you that I'm doing this because I had to. That cookie is still my sister until proven otherwise,"
"I just want to make up the things I've been going through with her. I wanted this to end, too. But it won't for as long as I know she hasn't feel grateful."
"I love you as much as I want this mind to be clearer. If I had to be with you in guilt, am I not happy with you?"
"Please, help me with this one, Amanda. Just this one..."
As I tried assuring her, I could only hope she understood my plea well. Amanda was understanding, and I knew she would realize how important it was for me to have her here. Yet I'm still surprised that she was considering a choice.
"I guess I could try...if I had to see it, then I bet you were asking me to stay quiet about it, right?"
"Definitely. Doctors said we need to gave her three months of silence. But I think I can trust just one person outside my family..." I gave her a sweet talk.
"Teasing. Alright, I'll go check the...wait, did you said she was a cookie?"
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I've been helping my parents upstairs with their stuff, and it's safe to say that we could lie on the beach with only one suitcase to go. But this dough is now tired of lifting anything else and could only rely on her wings to fly further. To my surprise, brother looks like he finally had Amanda on our side!
"So, anything I should know more about her?"
"When I introduced you to Dorriel, I told her that time she was helping me with my confession with you."
"The one where you beat the crap out of those men, too? Do I ever forget why we ever dated?" Amanda flirts with my brother. Oh, they're such a young bloomer.
"Well, the thing is, she was so fascinated with us together, so now she wanted to accompany us throughout the day like some kind of personal guard."
"Of course she is. I guess it would be a bad date..."
I approached them while they were having a light-hearted moment despite my cracking skin. I fly with my wings to be swift at their faces, and the faces were priceless. Amanda was shocked to see this Joyling fly before her eyes, especially with the face of a matchmaker Joyling.
"Hey! So, you two are coming? Please, please, please...!"
"Uhm, hey...can you not..?" Darren begged me.
"No, I'm too tired...! Making all my family proud in one morning is turning my dough brittle. Tell me, it's not broken yet, right? I couldn't help you two without a strong dough!"
"Oh, my. Cookie hands..."
The face that Amanda makes when she sees me holding my brittle fingers before her was amazing. But with a closer look, she even taps my face with curiosity that I might be a ghost. I only hoped we could be friends and that I could impress my brother to her, too.
"Dorriel, step back. Amanda didn't need to see you like this." Darren tried to help Amanda out, but she wasn't too much fond of leaving me.
"Actually, I think I would like to see her for a while. She looks desperate..." Amanda had something for me! She took out a liquorice candy from her pocket and offered me some.
"Oh, candy!" I was about to eat that candy. My hands were gripping tight with a little adrenaline of excitement. You can tell that from the shaking I had with my hands when I was reaching for it.
"NO!" Darren gave me a slap on that candy from me. Even Amanda was not happy with that. The poor, purplish delicate fell to the floor as I was about to unwrap it, and before I could even descend for a grab, Darren had me by the wings. He was fiercer than yesterday.
"Darren, what's up with you? That candy isn't cheap, you know?"
"I'm trying to help her. She can't eat sweets."
"Aw, please. If we're about to talked about her health, we could've started with yours first." Amanda grabbed the candy back into my arms.
"So, little one, would you like to tell me if there's anything new you just learn in the school?"
"Oh, I had a lot! Just trust me! This Doorwell didn't came home with nothing but a surprise!"
I went along with Amanda because she was nice! I didn't expect her to be enthralled with my Joyling presence. Like my father, she saw me as an angel with my wings and lyre, so I had to show her the angel I was. Perhaps then, she would love Darren so much.
"What...?" Darren questions.