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Strelitzia has been wandering and glancing all over the streets of this tedious world where she landed after she was attacked by an unknown blonde kid in the abandoned warehouse. Chirithy was nowhere beside her when she woke up, including the rulebook that Master Ava gave her. She has been fully awake for the past few hours, and there was still no sign of Chirithy. She still remembered she was carrying Chirithy in her arms before they faded away. However, part of her believes she was the only person to land in this mundane city.
Her heartbeat would increase rapidly the more she stroll on the sidewalk, and would avoid eye contact with anyone she bumped into. Above her, there were massive skyscrapers that dominated the entire place. Everytime she looked upon those buildings, it would unsettle her. She knew she could not ascend there, unlike how she used to go to her secret place at the rooftops of Moogle Shop. Based on what she has gazed upon the society, it seems almost everyone here belonged in a specific profession, judging by their classy-looking attire. But one thing for sure they were not keyblade wielders like her. It’s unknown for her what kind of occupation they have. These people were always in a hurry to go to their respective workplace, like how she chased monsters and collected Lux in a hurry during her mission days back in Daybreak Town. There were also cars steering around, this was her first time seeing a car run fast like there was no tomorrow. While blending in the crowd, the incessant chat from the people around the area baffled her mind. This world was unusual compared to the worlds that she traveled before.
She saw the crowd going to the crosswalk and decided to follow them. She wrapped her arms around her body while she was following the crowd. At the opposite side of the crosswalk, a man gripping his suitcase tightly while talking to someone on his rectangular device with an agitated voice strided continually. Unknowingly he would come across Strelitzia, they accidentally bumped into each other. The man’s device fell on the ground.
Strelitzia gaped at the man she bumped into. “I’m so sorry kid! I didn’t see you there.” The man grabbed his device on the ground while the crowd continued walking. “Are you alright? I was in a hurry. I didn't mean it.” He apologized in a distraught manner.
She scratched her head and was too disoriented to respond quickly. She looked at the man’s device, which was the size of a palm. It seems everyone around her holds one as well and wondered why they are too fixated with this odd-looking device. “I-I’m fine.” She fumbled, then looked down to avoid eye contact with the man and moved stiffly at the crosswalk.
When she landed on the other side of the sidewalk, she took a deep breath and assured herself to not be clumsy again. It seems everyone’s mind here is disquiet just like hers. But her situation was more harrowing because she doesn’t know how the society works here.
She clutched her arm while continuously walking, afterwards she saw an impatient little girl whining at her mom. “Mom, I wanna go home please! I wanna play that video game you bought earlier!” she cried. “Where is the taxi?! We have been here for hours now! I wanna go home!” The child crossed her arms and frowned. The child’s outcry made Strelitzia cover her ears and squint her eyes. “What is a video game?” she muttered. She never heard that in her hometown nor existed there.
The mom came closer to her daughter and touched her shoulders to console her immediately. “Don’t worry sweetie, we’ll go home, we just have to wait.” The mom said calmly. The child started to calm, then she noticed a girl with long orange hair staring at her.
Strelitzia gasped when that little girl gazed at her, she looked away from them and continued to walk. However, after witnessing the little girl’s outburst for wanting to go home. She realized the same, she wanted to go home at Daybreak Town. She wanted to reunite with his comrades and find out if they still live, even though she was not close with them during missions. She regretted she was unable to meet that keyblade wielder in town that she used to stalk before she faded away. When Master Ava revealed to her the imminent end of Daybreak Town, she had the courage to look for them. Unfortunately, that plan failed when an assailant took her life. Maybe if she followed Lauriam’s encouragement to talk to them beforehand, maybe she was able to talk to them.
After walking for hours, she saw a bench beside the well-lit street light. Strelitzia sat down right away and breathed out, her legs felt wilted due to her endless walking. She needed time to ponder what happened to her at the abandoned warehouse where she was eliminated by the blonde kid. Everything happened so fast, aside from feeling homesick she still has not processed her emotions about what happened to her.
Strelitzia started to question herself. “Why was I eliminated? What did I do? I never held a grudge with someone nor fought with anyone. I never had hatred with anyone in Daybreak Town. What have I done wrong to meet this fate?!” She broke down and cried out of frustration. “Why did that blonde kid attack me?! I just wanted to find that wielder I used to observe from afar. I never thought someone in town would have a grudge at me, even as someone who is a shy girl.”
She continued to reflect while covering her face as her tears flooded her palm. She wanted answers about why that blonde kid attacked her, she never even met him before. What if someone controlled him? Since the boy didn't seem quite himself during the incident. Or maybe she was a thorn on his side during mission days? No answers echoed in her mind. But she wanted to know why on earth would anyone want Strelitzia to be vanished from her home? Strelitzia never thought someone in town would want to take her life.
She wiped her tears on her face with the back of her wrists, while her palms were damped. Then she looked above the dull sky. If only she could turn back time, she would have ignored her shyness and socialized with that wielder she used to pursue during missions, even though she would be nervous. If only she knew her time in the real world would be over, She would have spent her remaining time with Elrena and Lauriam, and told them how much she cares for them. Lauriam promised her that he will come to save her if she’s in trouble. Sadly, her whereabouts and demise are still unknown to him.
When one has been erased from the real world, that person is expected to go to a peaceful place like paradise. A place that has an association with her namesake, Strelitzia Reginae , also known as a bird of paradise . She remembered that Lauriam told her that her name has a symbolism that includes a concept of paradise when Strelitzia took care of a bird of paradise plant in her room for the first time.
Strelitzia pulled her brother’s hand to show him the bird of paradise plant that she took care of inside her room. “Lauriam! Look, my bird of paradise plant finally grew! Look at the color of the sepals, they have the same color as my hair!” She gushed while presenting her plant to Lauriam in her room.
“Fantastic! They look beautiful indeed!” Lauriam was impressed. He tilted his head to inspect the plant beside his sister. The entire plant is around five foot two tall, almost as tall as Strelitzia. There were seven birds of paradise scattered around the fan-like clump of thick, waxy, and evergreen foliage. The leaves had the shape of a paddle and attached to a long upright stalk. At the flower itself, a green canoe-shaped spathe formed on the stalk. And above the spathe, blue base petals were rising, topped with an upright fan of three bright orange sepals.
He gazed at his sister and compared the flower to her side by side. “Well, look at the huge resemblance. Three orange sepals are as bright as you.” He complimented.
Strelitzia was blushing by her brother’s compliment. “No wonder I was named after this beauty!” She could hardly contain her joy, but curiosity suddenly slipped into her mind. “But I always wondered if there’s a symbolism of this flower.”
Lauriam folded his arms and placed his index finger on his chin. “Well, aside from having another name, which is Strelitzia Reginae. This flower is well-known for its resemblance to a tropical bird in flight.” He raised his index finger enthusiastically. “But they say the flower’s symbol is based on paradise itself, a mythical place of beauty and delight. It represents reaching a heavenly state, and the desire to create inner peace and personal paradise within one’s life.” He eloquently enlightened his sister.
Strelitzia became fascinated by her namesake’s symbolism, and realized how celestial it was. “I never thought my name would sound… unique.”
“It’s because you’re unique as well!” Lauriam responded lightheartedly. He then pointed to the flower she took care of. “Just like those orange sepals, they’re the most noticeable parts and the ones that bring bright colors to the rest of the plant. Just like how you present yourself everyday!” Knowing how Strelitzia is doubtful to herself sometimes, Lauriam’s compliment gave her optimism.
Although this world where Strelitzia landed was not like what her name symbolizes. This place was opposite to paradise. This does not represent beauty and delight, nor able to reach a heavenly state. This kind of afterlife was questionable to her. “Lauriam told me my name symbolizes a place of paradise. If I was meant to be in a place of paradise, then why am I here?” She pondered. She was never perfect but she knew by heart she did not do bad deeds, someone just took her life.
Strelitzia wondered what is happening in Daybreak Town now and was supposed to be a Union leader which she doubted herself. She remembered she felt uneasy about leaving those who are not Dandelions to take part in the Keyblade War. “Did they make it? I hope they survived the Keyblade War.” Strelitzia wondered if that wielder she used to follow around town is still alive. For sure her brother would be worried by her absence right now. He can be super protective of her. If Lauriam knew of her demise, he would be devastated once he found out someone eliminated his sister with no apparent reason.
Is she doomed to never escape from this world? No exits, no paradise, no aid from keyblade wielders nor her Chirithy, no loved ones beside her. Just her and this world, and there was merely no way out for her. The only way for her to be alive is to survive the turbulence in this unbeknown place. All she had was her keyblade to protect herself. However, she cannot just summon it right away like she always does in Daybreak Town. The people around her might freak out and wonder why she is holding a giant key in this city. There were no monsters yet during her brief stay here, so it’s no use anyway.
Strelitzia recalled what her brother had told her from their last conversation at the flower field. “You make everyone's lives so much brighter. People need that, they need your power. Believe in yourself.” She pondered how she could make people’s lives brighter again when someone took her life? She is no longer the ray of sunshine that Lauriam saw her, nor brighter like those orange sepals from her flower that he mentioned. She is just a nobody beneath the skyscrapers, especially in a society where everyone is always in a laborious mood. Just like the agitated man she stumbled upon, and that parent waiting for a taxi to come with her impatient daughter wanting to go home that she encountered earlier.
She might be a nobody here in this taxing city, but she still has herself. Perhaps Strelitzia still needed to believe in herself as Lauriam said to her. In this monotonous world, she still has the strength to follow her heart. And who knows, maybe she could find a way out or learn how to survive this new life of hers. Maybe one day, she will meet someone who shares the same fate and find a way to escape from this world.
Strelitzia placed her hand to her chest, and serenely said. “May my heart be my guiding key.”
