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"The seeds are so hard to find, and now they’ve ended up dying. Why would you want to plant such a difficult flower?" Halilintar asked.
Taufan, who was digging a hole to remove the dead seeds, simply smiled. His sapphire eyes seemed to hold countless stories that Halilintar could not understand. He wanted to force those stories out of his younger brother’s mouth but never dared to ask.
"Do you know what kind of flower will grow from this seed?"
"No. I’ve never known much about flowers."
Taufan laughed. "Of course. I’m not surprised."
Halilintar rolled his eyes in annoyance. Naturally, Taufan would find something to tease him about.
"Then tell me, what flower is it?"
Taufan had removed the rotting flower seeds and was planting new ones. His hands were still busy covering the newly planted seeds when he said, "Himalayan poppy."
"Huh?"
"I’m sure you’ve never seen it. But it’s a very beautiful flower."
"Is there a special reason why you want to plant it?"
Only then did Taufan turn to look at him. He smiled mysteriously. "Yes, because this flower means peace."
Halilintar raised an eyebrow, and he knew without needing a mirror that his face showed a puzzled expression. Unfortunately, Taufan didn’t seem inclined to say anything more. His younger brother had already returned to the task of replanting seeds that hadn’t sprouted.
At the time, Halilintar didn’t think much about the meaning of the flower Taufan had mentioned. He even forgot the flower’s name once they finished helping Taufan. There were so many flowers Taufan planted, and although Taufan always told Halilintar the name of each flower he planted, Halilintar never remembered them—except for the white roses for which he helped build a trellis so the plants could climb.
Halilintar thought the names and meanings of the flowers his brother planted weren’t important. What mattered to him was that Taufan was happy doing what he loved. Because if planting flowers could make Taufan smile, Halilintar would gladly search for whatever seeds Taufan wanted, no matter how difficult it was.
Halilintar once asked Taufan why he suddenly wanted to create a garden. His younger brother answered with words Halilintar couldn’t understand.
"I’m telling a story."
Halilintar didn’t know what Taufan meant. Telling a story? To whom? How?
Of course, he asked again what Taufan meant. Unfortunately, Taufan didn’t want to explain. Instead, he changed the subject, and gradually Halilintar began to forget about it. He never again asked why Taufan created the garden. He never again questioned why Taufan had grown fond of planting flowers. He thought, perhaps Taufan was simply picking up a new hobby. Perhaps Taufan was getting into gardening like their brother, Duri. Perhaps Taufan just wanted to try something new.
Strangely, aside from planting and tending to his flowers, Taufan didn’t spend much time in the garden he had created. Occasionally, he would sit on the grass under the mango tree or on the garden bench near the climbing roses while reading books about planting and caring for certain plants. But for the most part, Taufan spent more time inside the house. Once again, Halilintar thought it was because Taufan didn’t have much free time to spend in the garden. After all, Taufan was no longer in high school and had many responsibilities now.
In their second year of university, Taufan began asking Halilintar more often to find flower seeds for him to plant. He said he wanted to replace some of the flowers in the garden with new ones. To change the atmosphere, he said. Halilintar didn’t spend much time in the garden like Duri and Gempa, so he thought it was natural for Taufan to grow bored of seeing the same flowers every day. Besides, Duri seemed very happy every time Taufan invited him to plant new seeds.
"I think I remember buying these seeds for you before," Halilintar said, looking at the label that read Himalayan Poppy on the seed packet he had just purchased.
At that moment, Taufan laughed and teased Halilintar about his memory. Halilintar didn’t take the teasing lightly. Why would he bother memorizing all the types of flowers he had bought for Taufan? Even Duri, who often spent time planting flowers with Taufan, still frequently asked what flowers Taufan was planting. Let alone Halilintar, who only occasionally joined in.
"Yes, you did buy those flowers for me. We even planted them together. But it’s been a long time since they were in the garden. I want to plant them again."
Though he found it strange, Halilintar didn’t comment on it.
"What’s the meaning of this flower again?"
"Himalayan poppy means peace." Taufan smiled as he said it. But for some reason, that smile unsettled Halilintar.
"Taufan, is something wrong? Have you been having problems lately?"
"No. Why do you ask?"
Halilintar didn’t know. He just felt something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He was confused about how to explain it to Taufan. Looking at the Himalayan Poppy seed packet in his hand, Halilintar felt a nagging unease. He couldn’t describe it, but he knew the seeds in his hand carried a lot of meaning. When he asked Taufan, his younger brother simply teased him back, with no intention of revealing anything to Halilintar.
...
A storm was raging outside. Halilintar was restless. He had been pacing in front of the door leading to the backyard for the past 30 minutes. He wanted to go out and protect more of the flowers in Taufan's garden. Both he and Gempa had been trying to safeguard the flowers in Taufan's garden as soon as they realized a storm was coming.
Blaze and Ice also helped them, but even so, they couldn’t protect all the flowers in the garden. Halilintar could only watch as the strong winds shook the unprotected flowers. One of them was that blue flower—the Himalayan poppy, the seeds of which Halilintar had bought for Taufan countless times. And Halilintar could only watch as the strong wind snapped the delicate stem of the flower.
Just as he could only watch as the storm shattered his life.