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Some say that flowers can tell stories with their colors. In all kinds of situations, for all kinds of different reasons, they reign supreme in their ability to convey the wishes of those who present them.
It wouldn’t seem obvious at first glance, but Jotaro Kujo held a fascination for flowers. It wasn’t very big of course, and he wouldn’t go far enough to revolve his life around them. But when it came down to it, flowers themselves held a captivating beauty that even someone as stoic as him couldn’t possibly ignore.
His life as of current was taken over by a harsh, oppressive winter. There was no autumn after summer this year for him, and he was not the only one. The way the cold pricked at his skin with every memory of those hot summer days, -Laughing and fighting, crying and bickering, telling tales over the campfire in the midst of a long desert night...- they all should be held close, held fondly. But there was no forgetting the tragedy that those events would bring forth in Jotaro’s life.
But not all hope was lost. For in the depths of this icy hellscape laid a lovely flower trapped within the snow.
Each and every day, Jotaro would visit this flower. No matter the weather. He slipped and he tumbled, all the while his body numb and frostbitten. Yet, nothing stopped him from visiting that flower. And nothing ever would.
Jotaro could remember, this flower had been a overwhelming presence in his life from the moment he’d seen it. It’s beautiful lavender color was more vibrant and captivating than the other disgusting weeds that surrounded it. Some remained budded up, some never grew at all, and others had colors too muddied up to attract the eye.
But this one specifically, Jotaro had watched it bloom in front of his very eyes, opening up to him more and more as the days passed by. He watched the flower spread it’s roots, he was there to witness those soft violet petals blossom to life. Jotaro remained at it’s side all summer long, and the flower would withstand the sun’s heat to stay at his side. It was only a matter of time before he realized how he had fallen in love with that which bloomed before him.
But all good things must come to an end. As much as he wished that this flower would be an exception to the rule, somewhere in the bottom of his heart Jotaro knew that the time would come. Those petals began to rapidly wilt before him.
Panic, sorrow, and pain, all mixing together into anger. An intense burning sensation that spreads all throughout his body, sent into a blind rage toward that which brought that dear flower such pain.
That flower had a life to live. So many experiences to witness and memories to make. And if someone wished to crush this precious flower beneath their fingertips—
—they would have to pry it from Jotaro’s cold dead grip.
Jotaro continued to force his way through the ice. His mind was fuzzy from exhaustion. Agony as sharp as knives, sharp as icicles, piercing and stabbing through his flesh. These terrains all look the same now,,,maybe they were the same. Everything was all a haze, but he would not turn back so soon.
Empty, frosty, industrial wastelands.
Inescapable blinding lights from above that flicker alongside that flower’s very life.
How long would it take until he’d arrive? The center of this nightmarish purgatory; the resting place of that he held closest.
Closer, yet further. Nearer, yet farther. Warmer, yet colder. The will to press on and the strength to do so. It won’t be long until Jotaro collapses,,,humans aren’t built for such conditions. ‘I must be near my limit,’ the words pass through his mind, his hand pushes at the door in front of him.
On the other side, there laid the flower.
Up into the white sky, blinding light shines from above. At Jotaro’s sides, there were no trees, only snowy concrete walls that trapped him inside. The snow beneath his feet hardened into ice, polished to reflect the face of a broken man.
He approached with his gift; a bouquet covered in frost from the hellish winter outside. If only the flower could see them now, it would no longer be so lonely.
It had been over three months since summer ended, since winter had began. Placing the bouquet beside the flower’s resting place, Jotaro took his usual seat. ‘I must be at my limit,’ the words pass yet again through his weakening mind, the weakening constitution of his flower.
In an instant, the ice is broken. Jotaro plunges deep into the freezing cold ocean depths below, collapsing at the flower’s resting place. Jotaro’s shattered icy eyes, the water spilling out of sanity’s fracture, and the flower whom wilted rapidly in front of him.
“Don’t leave me...” Jotaro’s voice trembled in fear, sorrow, a desperate call for salvation. He broke the limit. There was no way he could go on. This flower that wilted even with Jotaro’s touch, frozen in time, lost to The World’s ruthless golden truth.
The snowfall begins to cease, life itself halts in place, the field going silent with only the faintest trace of a heartbeat. Winter will finally end...there is nothing left for Jotaro here. It was time to finally let go, before the next blizzard comes. There is no salvation.
The faintest of sound rouses Jotaro from his thoughts. There had been no other signs of life since the start of winter. The chill fades away, and sweet warmth begins to seep in.
The sun’s rays reach Jotaro’s frozen heart. An angel’s gentle touch that thaws the ice, healing the frostbite, lightening the burden, easing the pain.
The snow melts off of their surroundings. A white ceiling, white walls, and a floor polished to the reflect the face of Jotaro Kujo.
The white purity of orchids, the tranquility of cornflowers, the Bells-Of-Ireland’s good health and renewal, and the loving touch of pink carnations. A display put together for Jotaro’s lovely flower.
The warmth of that flower, a sweet hum laced with blissful drowsiness fills the silence of the room. The flower stirs awake, eyes fluttering open for what must be the first time in a millennium. A soft sigh escapes it’s lips...his lips, while a smile blossoms forth upon that boy’s expression.
”N-Noriaki-!!”
”Jotaro-Kun...!”
The remaining traces of winter melt away before their eyes.
And spring comes once again.