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“Tsubomi, Shuuya, Kousuke- this is Ayano. She’s going to be your big sister from now on, so try to play nicely and get along, alright?”
The three clung tightly to each other, not willing to open up to anyone just yet. Even then, though- even the first time they saw her, they knew. Knew that Ayano was exactly the person that all three of them needed, an older sister to love and protect them when nobody else would ever bother to do so.
So why did she go? They promised she’d be there for them ‘from now on’. ‘From now on’ implies permanence, doesn’t it? So why did that indefinite future of happiness together have to come to such a sudden, unwanted end?
Tsubomi remembered the funeral, of course- sadness and tears and ‘we’re sorry for your loss’ directed to Ayano’s parents and nobody to notice the three small, devastated children standing at the edge of the room, sobbing almost-silently and clinging to each other yet again.
And there had been flowers- so, so many flowers. Sunflowers and pink roses and a whole rainbow of purples and yellows and even some blues. Ayano wouldn’t have liked it. She would’ve smiled and said they were lovely, because that was just how she was, but Tsubomi knew- Ayano loved roses and wildflowers, and especially loved the tiny, dark red roses that she walked past on the way to school.
“Ayano!” Tsubomi squealed, “Look what we made you today!” Small hands proudly presented a crown of carefully interwoven flower stems, delicate but surprisingly well-made and beautiful. Ayano placed the crown atop her head- Tsubomi realized she had made the crown too large, so that it hung unevenly over one eye.
“I love it, it’s so cute- and how did you know wildflowers were my favorites?” Tsubomi half-shrugged; they had simply been the only flowers available to her at the time, she was relieved that they were something her older sister really liked. “I think it’s so nice how even though they don’t grow in gardens, they made themselves beautiful and strong without any help from anyone!”
Tsubomi tried to become a wildflower, tried to become as independent and strong as she could. She looked up to, admired, adored her big sister- but something went wrong, something went very wrong, and the ‘from now on’ that Ayano was supposed to be her big sister until turned into ‘only until I’m gone’.