Work Text:
In the dim lights of a lab, Herta hummed a sweet tune to herself as she watered Ruan Mei’s plants that were scattered around. A constant routine she was able to fit in once a week in the afternoon to attend, always at the same time.
Ruan Mei had a diverse greenery arranged: flowers, such as peace lilies and caladiums. A few common house plants filled in space, like sweet plum shrubs, pothoses, and sansevierias. A few small trees finally started their bloom of their flowers. Majority of them were even genetically altered, created by the hands of Ruan Mei herself. Herta didn’t know the exact alterations, but she could tell that these plants were much more lively than normal ones.
A section of the lab had a small garden, fresh with diverse fruits. There were common berries such as strawberries, tropical ones such as soursops, and some were replicas of extraordinary fruits, such as an alien heart-shaped fruit that was still growing for weeks end.
Herta took her time studying each one, journaling it in her mind for which plants she should water this week, who needed more and who needed more artificial light. She even gathered some of the fruit to eat(or feed Ruan Mei’s creations that were left on her ship) later.
Once she finished watering, Herta sent the watering can away with the flick of her hand. She got ready to turn off her astral projection before she noticed a thick layer of dust on one of the tables.
She ran a finger across the table and she pinched up the collected dust. She rubbed her fingers to form a small yet surprising pea-sized ball out of it. On how much she collected, it was easy to tell that it had been weeks, no, maybe a few months by now, since Ruan Mei had left her lab for her ascension.
But the genius didn’t spend much time around Ruan Mei’s spaceship, actually; her only focus was to water her plants in her lab. She believed there was no point in her to dig around and waste her time going through Ruan Mei’s stuff if it only caused her more pain.
Her fingers that held the dust trembled slightly at the thought of Ruan Mei. She sighed, flicked the dust off, and decided to walk around just a little to see everything else.
She found her way into the kitchen and flicked the low lights on. It was left empty— Herta thought she could smell a faint sense of a sweet aroma, but she accepted that it was an illusion of her forlorn mind.
She brought her finger onto the countertop. As she dragged it across, her shoulders slumped. A few mumbles slipped out of her mouth, “Perhaps I can get a few Herta bots around here to clean this stuff up, would save me the pain…”
Her finger collided with something, which brought Herta out of her head. “Now what do we have here?” Her eyes widened as she read the title. “A cookbook…hm…” The book had sticky notes that were a variety of colors, which peeked out from the top and sides.
She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to look back on those memories just yet, but something in her mind thought it would somewhat comfort her. So, Herta gently brushed the book with her hand over the cover to remove the collected dust, then picked it up. It felt quite chunky in her hands. She opened the book to see printed photos of different types of pastries taped on every recipe. Everything in the book was written with such delicate handwriting, each having a personal animation.
Herta itched with more curiosity as she slowly flipped carefully through each page. “…I didn’t know she wrote these down.” There were recipes for her famous cakes, recipes for teas, and even for the different flavors of those cat cakes.
As Herta went on, she noticed that the sticky notes were used for labeling. Yellow was used when something had a high dosage of caffeine, probably for Ruan Mei to have easy access to a quick energy boost. Green seemed to note if something was bitter or sour, and purple was used to note if something was sweet. Red was barely used, but Herta guessed that it was used for favorites only.
She stopped on one of the recipes— it was her “ Strawberry and Cream Cheese Tarts ”, which were marked red and purple, that she would always make if she was late to Simulated Universe meetings.
Herta couldn't help herself and decided to bring the cookbook back with her. Before leaving, she took a glimpse of herself through the windows of the space station, the book to her chest, and the twinkles of light shining off the pearly necklace she wore.
Herta: Screwllum. Stephen. I will have to postpone today’s Simulated Universe meeting. I have made a ground-breaking discovery that I must attend to immediately.
Right as she sent the text out to the group chat, she immediately raised Ruan Mei’s cookbook high up and grinned cheek to cheek.
“My glorious Herta bots will have no troubles baking this recipe!”
With the gathered fruit from Ruan Mei’s garden, Herta prepared her and her bots in the magical kitchen of hers to perfectly replicate those strawberry cream cheese pastries.
Her hands moved like a conductor on stage, her symphony of Herta bots baked in union as they followed Ruan Mei’s cookbook with precision. She instructed some to work on the pastry dough from scratch and made others start on the filling. A few bots quickly chopped up strawberries with precision, while others started preparing the final decor.
The genius lifted the tray up high, her eyes filled with shine, beaming right at it. They looked flawless, as if every single cut and slice was calculated with no bleeds— eight perfectly copied and pasted desserts that made her mouth water.
Herta took a savoring bite…but the desired outcome wasn’t found. She didn’t sweat it, of course.
“Hm. But whoever says that first attempts are perfect?”
So, Herta commanded her bots around the kitchen, keeping a closer eye on their baking.
Once again, the goods looked perfect, but the wanted taste? Nowhere to be seen.
“Something's…off.” Maybe Ruan Mei made a few personal adjustments she didn’t write down. Maybe she added more sugar. Must be more sugar.”
“You there. Herta #51855. Add about 12% more sugar.”
Nothing.
“Herta #33127. Whisk the cream cheese with the vanilla extract before adding the sugar.”
Nothing.
“Hm… Herta #51982. How about we let it cool for a few hours…then reheat it in the oven with a tray of water near it…”
Nothing.
Herta was surrounded by an immeasurable number of pastries surrounding her kitchen. A vacant expression developed on her face; her mind was filled with disappointment.
“I tried every combination of altering each ingredient before hitting the limit.” She felt her lips tremble as she exhaled sharply. “Why can't I just…”
Once Herta finished her weekly watering, she couldn't help but linger around Ruan Mei’s ship. Just for a little bit.
She walked around Ruan Mei’s spaceship. It was rather empty compared to the agriculture that populated her laboratory. A few Herta bots were dusting around, some were sweeping, and some were just staring at Ruan Mei’s handmade pottery in idle mode. As Herta walked past familiar rooms, it felt like it was getting colder and colder through her astral projection.
She then heard a tune play in her head. It felt like it was coming from one of the rooms that picked her ears up like a deer… She backtracked for a moment and opened a door that she thought was playing the nostalgic rhythm. It was quickly washed away when she saw no one; the playing had ended.
Of course, the room was empty— the pillows looked brand new, not a single sign of new wrinkles anywhere. The desks near the bed hadn’t been dusted yet by the bots. The smell still had a hint of plum blossoms, but it felt weaker; it hadn’t been reintroduced— the smell slowly fades away with each day passing.
Her eyes slightly lit back up once she saw Ruan Mei's ruan resting on a stand near the desk. Memories of Herta sitting down with her to listen to her soft fingers pluck the strings of her instrument slowly in a soft minor rushed back to her.
“Ruan Mei, you’ve been awfully quiet lately. I haven’t heard a single article about your failed experiments.”
She had been working for days on end—nothing new from that— but Herta could feel that something was off this time around. So, she (unauthorizedly) visited Ruan Mei in her spaceship, face to face.
She spoke to the scientist from behind, her hand leaning on the table with a confident smile painted on her face.
“I know it’s nothing new for you to be social, of course, but at least peek out of your shell sometimes and get some sun!”
“...” Ruan Mei continued to look at her work in front of her.
The witch raised her voice just a little louder, not enough to be a shout. “You missed the past three Simulated Universe meetings! Don’t you know-”
Ruan Mei turned her head slightly over her shoulder to look at Herta. A smile that was almost naked to the human eye was planted on her face.
She spoke, “Herta, come with me.”
“Huh?” It caught Herta off guard, but she decided not to question Ruan Mei’s request.
“Alright.”
Ruan Mei took Herta to her room. It didn’t have much around besides a few plants in the corner and her famous ruan, propped up vertically near her desk. She walked forward and gradually picked it up. She sat at the edge of her bed and signaled Herta to sit by her with the pat of her hand on the bed.
After Herta took her seat, she felt just a little uneasy about what she was doing.
Ruan Mei then began playing. The gentle, precise plucks on each string rang around the room. Herta looked down at her hands, the instantaneous gestures that delicately played eased Herta’s mind.
Herta carefully dusted the ruan while she hummed that same tune Ruan Mei played for her. She gently felt the plum branches that hugged the ruan.
This time, Herta decided to come in person.
She walked around with a basket in Ruan Mei's lab as she did her weekly task of watering the plants. She decided that this week was a perfect time for a harvest of a few flowers and fruits to take back to her station. She started with restocking on strawberries, just in case she wanted to try again, and collected a few passion fruits, and (carefully and with a glove for safety) took a few altered alien fruits to study on.
The plum blossom was placed near one of the big windows. Herta always attended to it, but she would just stare down at the base of it and water.
This time though, Herta looked up at its flowers. They reminded her too much of Ruan Mei to an uncomfortable amount. She couldn’t help but feel a wave a guilt take over her— a guilt from her failure of not being able to restore the beauty of baking in her scope.
The endless stars from space glowed on the tree. Herta slowly moved her eyes in the direction of the light; her eyes reflected the shining stars that gazed back at her, almost as if something was looking straight back at her, calling for her.
“Herta.”
Ruan Mei called Herta’s name in a soft voice, matching the tone of her music.
Herta looked up from Ruan Mei's hands to look into her eyes. Up close, she could see how heavier than usual, yet still filled with that passion of hers.
“Hm?”
The scientist let the vibration of each string ring out a little longer, as she slowed down the tempo of her playing. She then came to a full stop and looked up at Herta’s face, a sentimental smile brightening on her face.
“That purple lily you have on your hat. It’s beautiful.”
Herta chuckled, “It’s one of my favorites, the perfect symbol of my beauty.”
Ruan Mei exhaled a small laugh back at Herta before she got up and walked to her desk once again, her ruan in her hand. She sat back the ruan down before grabbing a small, white box and returned to Herta’s side.
She gently opened the box, revealing a hand-embroidered purple lily, perfectly matching Herta’s flower. It had a smaller plum blossom made out of gold, a similar one that Ruan Mei wore on her waist, connected to it on the side.
Herta was lost for words. Her hands slowly cupped the treasured creation in her hands, feeling the petals as her fingers carefully glazed over them. The texture of cotton and metal, two contrasting materials, worked perfectly together to create a breathtaking image
Ruan Mei leaned in closer to the witch, “A gift. Something you can treasure for a while.”
After Herta sat down, the flower embroidery back in the box, Ruan Mei closed it and held it back to herself.
“The time will come when I give this to you. I’ll have many more rewards in store then for you, hm?”
Ruan Mei put her hand on Herta’s shoulder and leaned in even more, her face close to Herta’s. They both can tell their faces were slightly painted with a warm blush.
“Acompany me with some baking, Herta.”
Herta was left a little flustered at the question. “You just want to taunt me, don’t you?”
“A little company wouldn’t hurt, hm?”
“Fine. Just come to the next Simulated Universe meeting next week, ok?”
“Sure.”
With their agreement, Herta left the room to head to make a call about a cancellation outside. Ruan Mei placed the box back on her desk. She stared at it for a bit and quietly whispered something under her breath as she felt her pearly necklace. She then turned around and started heading out to Herta.
Ruan Mei shut the door behind her.
Once Herta fell out of her trance from the starry sky, she didn’t notice she angle the watering can was leaning towards the flowers of the tree, rather than its roots.
An accidental whisper leaked out from her lips. “Forgive me.”
Drops of excess water cried off the petals.
It was late, and Herta had sat tiredly on the ground in the corner of her personal library. Books were scattered around with floating screens gliding near her head. She hasn't worked on the Simulated Universe since forever, constantly canceling their weekly meetings due to her sulking. Feeling stressed out, she decided to work tirelessly in the night to make up for the other two geniuses.
Coffee leaked out of her cup as she loosely gripped to the handle and the other one swiped by instinct. She moved like a zombie between documents and slopped her way through lines of endless code. The only thing that ran in her mind was the pastries. How could she not perfect it?
“The recipe lies in my hands…I still remember that perfect taste…”
“Maybe I should…bake them by hand."
By hand…those few times Ruan Mei dragged Herta to cook with her, even if she could barely mix the pastries by hand for a few seconds. But nevertheless, she had to try.
After a nap, she headed to her kitchen, alone. She took hours baking, allowing herself to understand Ruan Mei's craft. Mistakes were just another dead leaf she could regrow. After “burning” through several batches, she finally made it.
The sweets were nowhere near the level of what the Herta bots had automotive. There was a difference in size, and some edges were so golden-brown that 30 more seconds would have left them charred. The flow of the frosting showed that Herta couldn’t control the pressure out of the tube, and that final touch of powder sugar collected a little too much in a few spots.
Herta sat down with most of the lights off. Her only focus was on her creation in front of her. She swallowed as her hands gently cut a small chunk to take her first bite. Slow chews followed by as she left the fork in her mouth.
The pastry had a different taste. The desire Herta strived for was there, but…it ended with a slightly bitter taste. Yet something else intertwined followed quickly after— like a new instrument was introduced as the original one grew weaker to give the new tone a chance to be heard. Both of them together in harmony— a new sweet taste began to linger on her tongue longer.
She lifted the plate to her chest. A quiet smile grew on Herta's face.
“I was thinking about moving all my plants in the spaceship to here. It’s a good symbol of me.”
They sat down near the large windows at the laboratory with their strawberry and cream cheese pastries, waiting for them to cool down from the oven, tea in their hands.
She took a sip before continuing, “Seeing change with your own eyes, like a leaf rotting away to grow once again.”
“You’re not going to run any experiments on them?” Herta joked around, already knowing the answer.
I would probably try to find some rare plants around the plants I cultivated and maybe alter biology’s code to see if I can make most last beyond their lifespan.” Ruan Mei smiled. “Maybe let them live to your age.”
The scientist took a bite of her cooled pastries. “I would water them once a week in the afternoon during a break, supposedly. And then once they grow strong after a few months, maybe a few years, I would select some to cut from the bottom and allow them to regrow.”
Ruan Mei stared out the window and watched sparkles glimmer. “A harsh restart on their life, but they’re about to grow into something beautiful. Another chance to be better in a new cycle. They would grow the same way, of course, developing their stem, leaves, and then flowers, but it would never grow itself in the same direction. Maybe they would even grow outside their limitations. It would be…”
“...Bittersweet?”
She looked back at Herta’s eyes with a pleased look, “Yes. It's something we all go through too— a cycle of self-reflection. Unpredictable events can happen at any time, cutting our minds to the lowest trunk. But we can’t stay there forever, as we would slowly start to regrow once again and make something different than before, a new, vigorous perspective on life.
“A bitter end can be a sweet beginning.”
Herta left one of her pastries on one of the tables near the windows and went to water Ruan Mei’s plants once again, starting with the plum blossoms.