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It was a cold and windy night in Halloweentown. Most of the spooky residents would prefer this weather since it was more “in-season”. The mayor, however, did not share this sentiment.
For a while now, he had been feeling sort of ill. It started with a small cough, nothing major, but it had changed as of recently. He began feeling worse, and began coughing up small flower petals. They were smooth, round, and dark as night. He’d have loved seeing them had he not been hacking them up. No, this was definitely worrisome. It scared him a little, so he made a doctor's appointment.
This is where he was currently: sitting in the waiting room for the doctor. He was nervously picking at his sleeve when he started coughing again. This time it was harsher. He was hacking and coughing more than he would usually. He momentarily began to panic as he felt the sharp sting of a petal coming up his throat, only this time it felt bigger. It was indefinitely larger, poking at his esophagus as his coughing forced it up and out of his throat.
When he spat it out, he realized why it hurt so much. This wasn’t just a petal, it was a full blown flower, minus the stem. It was a black tulip, with maybe about five petals on it. He was even more worried and confused now, but also more scared. How did he cough up a whole flower? Did this mean it was getting worse? He unfortunately didn’t get much time to dwell on these rapid thoughts as the doctor called him in.
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Sitting in the bright sterile room made him even more nervous, if that was even possible. He shifted uncomfortably as the doctor came in and sat down across from him.
“Hello there Mr. Mayor, my name is Dr. Fear, I understand you’ve been having some troubling symptoms recently, yes?” She spoke with a professional and soothing tone.
The mayor nodded solemnly, “Yes, I’ve been having continuous coughing fits, and recently I’ve been coughing up flower petals!” he said in a loud, frantic tone.
“I see, that is-” She began before Mayor interrupted her.
“That's not all! Just before coming in here, I coughed up this!” He said as he showed her the flower.
When Dr. Fear took a look at the flower, she froze. She grabbed it and examined it closely. “I haven’t… I haven’t seen anything like this in years…” she mumbled. “Mayor… If this is what I think it is… then you’re in trouble.” She spoke louder this time.
Her words of course only served to make the mayor even more nervous and frightened, “W-why? What’s happening, Doctor?” he asked with a voice full of anxiety.
“Well,” she began as she gave him the flower back, “this seems to be a case of Hanahaki Disease.”
“What is that?”
“Its a rare disease caused by unrequited love for someone else.” she informed him.
“W-what's the cure then?” he asked desperately.
“There is one main way of getting rid of this disease. It's a bit tricky, but you could either try and lose these feelings you have for this person, or you can try and get them to return your feelings.” she said as she looked up at the mayor.
“And the other ways?”
She sighed as she looked down, “Well… there is one other way… but it’s a bit of a last resort. See, there is a surgery we can perform that will get rid of the disease for sure, but it comes at a price,” she looked back up at him, “the cost of losing all your memories for the person you are in love with. All of them, not just ones from when you developed feelings.”
The mayor looked conflicted, and he was. On one hand, he didn’t even know who this person he supposedly had feelings for was, so he shouldn’t mind losing them, but on the other hand… this person whom he was feeling things for must be close to him, otherwise why would he feel this way.. And he was definitely not ready to lose any memories of his precious friends.
The doctor, sensing his confliction, offered him a partial solution to his dilemma. “Look, Mayor,” she began as she reached out to hold his hand in hers, “You had a month before the surgery would be mandatory for survival, I can give you this time to try and do the other cure if you’d like to try?” she said with a soft and reassuring voice.
He sighed and nodded, “That sounds.. Alright… I’ll do it.”
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After leaving the doctor's office, he contemplated what to do. He wasn’t sure what he could do. He didn’t know who he had feelings for. How was he supposed to lose feelings he didn’t even know existed in the first place? More importantly, how was he supposed to get someone to fall in love with him?
Too distracted by his own melancholic thoughts, he didn’t realize that he was on his way to bump into someone until it was too late. He nearly tumbled down before a hand reached out and caught him before he hit the ground.
“Whoa there Mayor! What's got you so distracted today?” a voice asked from way above him.
He looked up to see the comforting smile of the one and only Jack Skellington, his heartbeat began to rise a bit as he got out of his hold. “J-jack! I am terribly sorry for running into you!” he said frantically.
“It’s no worries Mayor! What’s gotten you so distracted?” Jack asked curiously as he looked down at the mayor.
“Ah! W-well…” the mayor began as he suppressed the need to cough up another flower, “I’ve just received some… deeply troubling news, Jack.” he said with a frown.
“Troubling? Well what's the news Mayor?” Jack replied with his voice full of concern.
“To put it simply… I have a disease.” The mayor said, his voice showing his sorrow.
“What kind of disease? Is there anything I can do to help you?” Jack asked.
“Yes but… it isn’t as easy as taking medicine…” the mayor said, his expression now even more sullen.
Jack frowned, he didn’t like this look on his dear friend. “Still, I intend to help you get better no matter how hard it is.” Jack said earnestly.
The mayor smiled for the first time that day, he was grateful for Jack's support. With a quick goodbye the mayor went home. His walk was lonely and he found himself missing Jack and the comfort he brought with him. In fact, he often found himself missing Jack when he was upset. He realized that Jack made him feel safe and comforted.
The mayor was contemplating his feelings. “Why do I feel this way?” he asked himself, “Being around Jack makes me feel…” he said before he gasped, “loved…” He glanced around, nobody was around him but he still felt the need to rush home before he confronted these feelings.
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Once inside the comfort of his own home, Mayor sat on his couch. He took off his hat and set it beside himself before he frowned. “Oh no… Oh no! I can’t love Jack! Not romantically at least! It would never work.. Besides, he is in love with Miss Sally…” He muttered quietly. “I… I suppose I should focus on losing these newfound feelings then…”
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After a couple of weeks of trying and failing to lose his feelings, he was starting to lose hope. He was avoiding Jack like the plague in hopes that his feelings would fade, but that only seemed to strengthen them. Besides, Jack was persistent in his pursuit to help him. He realized his time was running out and he might be forced to go through with this surgery. It pained him to think of losing all the memories he had of his dearest friend and love of his life, but what could he do? Even if he told Jack about his predicament, there was no way to force either of them to change their feelings…
The mayor decided that the best thing to do would be to just enjoy his last week with Jack as much as he could before he’d have the surgery and forget all about him.
He made his way to Jack’s house with a small smile on his face even though deep down his heart was being crushed, knowing that this would be one of the last times he’d get to spend good time with the Pumpkin King.
Jack answered the door only a few short minutes after Mayor knocked. The skeleton smiled as he recognized who was standing in front of him. “Mayor! I see you’re finally out of your slump! I was beginning to think I’d have to chase you down again.” He joked.
The mayor chuckled softly, “Yes, sorry about that Jack I just… haven’t been feeling like myself lately…” he said with a quiet voice.
“I understand, and don’t you worry sir you can al-” he cut himself off with a cough. The mayor patted his back before he finished coughing, he saw Jack trying to secretly take something out of his mouth and grip it in his hand so he couldn’t see. “I am terribly sorry, Mayor! I meant to say: you can always count on me!” he said before he cleared his throat. “Would you like to come inside?” he asked with a smile.
“I’d love to.” The mayor replied with a smile matching Jacks.
The two of them sat at Jack's dining table, just chatting about whatever came to mind when a knock was heard at the front door. Jack excused himself to go answer it, leaving Mayor on his own. He looked around Jack's house. It seemed more… unkempt than usual. Jack wasn’t the most tidy guy, but he at least swept up now and then, for some reason though… There were a few flower petals scattered around.
He recognized them as black hollyhock petals. How odd, Jack's favorite flowers were black tulips, not black hollyhocks. The mayor thought about it before coming to a sudden realization. These flower petals plus Jack coughing earlier… Jack must’ve had Hanahaki Disease too! But who did he have feelings for? It wasn’t for him, otherwise his own disease would be gone and his favorite flowers weren’t hollyhocks, so who?
Fortunately, he'd get his answer quicker than expected as Jack had returned to the room with one extra person. He looked up to see Sally standing beside Jack, of course, Sally! But why would he have this disease? Jack and Sally loved each other… right? They were a couple, so why does Jack have this disease..?
Before he could ponder further Jack spoke up. “Mayor! Look here, my dear Sally has come by to make us lunch.”
Sally smiled, “It’s good to see you, Mayor.” she said with a soft voice. She quickly made her way to the kitchen and began to cook.
The mayor glanced at Jack, “I’ll be right back,” he said before following her there. “Sally…” he began in a hushed tone.
She jolted slightly, “Oh Mayor.. You startled me.” she said as she looked back at him. “What did you need?”
“Have you… lost your feelings for Jack?” he asked quietly.
She stopped chopping up the vegetables she was cutting and turned to him, “What are you talking about, sir?” she spoke somehow even quieter.
“Sally, he has-”
“Hanahaki disease? I noticed.. And so do you.” She finished his sentence for him.
“I-” he sighed, “Yes.. we both have it I suppose…” he said quietly.
Sally frowned, “I’m sorry mayor… I just don’t have any more romantic feelings for Jack..” she admitted.
“You don’t need to be sorry… you can’t help it… none of us can help our feelings, that's the tough part of this disease.” the mayor said, his voice showed his hopelessness for the situation.
“I know… and I truly hope you both can get better.” Sally said as she patted his shoulder. “Your feelings are for Jack?”
“How did you know?” He asked, genuinely surprised that she knew.
“I saw you cough up a flower the other day.” She said with a small smile.
The mayor chuckled sheepishly, “I see…”
“Don’t worry, Mayor.. I’m sure he’ll realize how great you are for him soon.”
The mayor smiled, “Thank you for your positivity, Sally” he said before he made his way back to the dining room, on his own he sighed “Not soon enough…” he muttered to himself.
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After eating lunch and going home, the mayor was left alone again. He laid in his bed, feeling too depressed about his situation to do anything. There wasn’t anything he could do. Jack was still in love with Sally, no matter what her feelings for him was, and he had only 6 days left anyway, he doubted he’d be able to make Jack fall in love with him quick enough.
He knew what he had to do. As much as it pained him to think about losing his memories of Jack, he didn’t want to die for them. Maybe when the surgery was over he’d find someone new, someone who loved him back…
Somewhere on the other side of town, however, sat Jack. Sally had left not too long after the mayor did. Right after breaking his heart. She had told him she wasn’t in love with him anymore, which explained his disease. He had known for only a week about this disease, and maybe he even knew about Sally's feelings (or lack thereof) since then as well, but he didn’t acknowledge that until now. Jack didn’t know what to do, he loved Sally, but… for some reason he found himself falling slowly out of love with her.
He wasn’t coughing up as many petals, and hadn’t coughed up a single whole flower. He thought he might be okay. But that didn’t make him feel as happy as it should… “How can I be glad about being cured of my sickness when the mayor is still ill…” Jack spoke aloud to himself. “This doesn’t feel right at all…”
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The next few days, the mayor spent with Jack, Jack didn’t mind, he enjoyed his company. They ate at restaurants, walked through graveyards, and just spent time together. It was quite enjoyable for them both, but on that Friday, the mayor had his surgery scheduled.
And on Friday morning, he woke up feeling uncharacteristically happy. Despite knowing what was to come that afternoon, he still felt optimistic about what was to come. Of course he was still nervous about having surgery, but he hadn’t been coughing up any petals recently. He figured the surgery would be quick and easy. He was struck with a hint of sadness at remembering that there was a high chance of completely forgetting all about Jack.
He decided he'd make a small farewell gift for him. The mayor might forget Jack, but Jack won’t forget him, and he wanted to leave a lasting memory for him.
He was finished with the gift about 30 minutes before the time of the surgery. He quickly made his way across town to Jack's house and knocked on the door before setting the box down and rushing off to the hospital. It was only a couple blocks down, so he’d get there just in time.
The doctors got him all ready for his surgery. He changed into a hospital gown and sat on a bed awaiting the nurse who would take him to the surgery room.
Meanwhile Jack had opened his door and saw the gift laid out for him. He gasped and smiled. “Oh my, a gift!” He took it inside and closed the door before taking it to the dining room table to open. The gift was wrapped in his favorite Christmas wrapping paper with a small bow on top.
He opened the gift box, and the contents made him smile even more. Inside was a black tulip, his favorite flower. Beside that was a picture of himself and the mayor in a cute gothic picture frame. He took them out and noticed one last thing in the box. It was a small scrap book, and upon looking through it he saw pictures of his various adventures with the mayor, each one was paired with a small caption that made him chuckle.
At the end was a letter:
To My Dear Friend Jack,
By the time you have read this letter, I will have already been called into surgery, and it hurts to say but I will most likely not remember you when my surgery is over. As you know, I have been terribly ill as of recently. I didn’t want to tell you earlier what it was because frankly… I was nervous to admit my feelings. You see, Jack, I have Hanahaki Disease, and today is the day of my surgery. I am telling you this and adding these gifts because… you are the person I have been in love with Jack. I didn’t know how to tell you, or even if I should, so I didn’t. Just know that despite everything, you were always a dear friend to me, and I cherished your friendship more than anything.
Love, Mayor
Jack teared up at the letter. He had no idea of the mayor's feelings, but now he wanted more than anything to rush to the hospital and stop the surgery from happening, so that's what he did.
Jack ran out of his house and out onto the streets of Halloweentown. He ran down four blocks till he got to the hospital. He asked the woman at the front desk where the mayor might be, but she told him she couldn't disclose that information.
“What!? Ma’am, this is a dire situation! He does not need this surgery!” He shouted.
“Look, it’s against the policy-”
“Please! Look, the mayor and my bestest friend in the whole wide world is going to forget all about me if you don’t let be get to his room and stop this surgery!” He begged.
“A-alright! Alright! He’s in room… 532!” she said quickly.
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” he said before rushing off to the room.
He got there just in time. The surgeons were just about to put the anesthesia on him when Jack slammed the door open and yelled “Stop!”
The mayor looked over at him, “Jack? What are you doing?” He asked.
“M-mayor!” Jack walked up to the hospital bed where the mayor laid, “You can’t go through with this surgery!” he said, his voice cracking, his emotions finally having caught up with him.
“What, Jack, why?” The mayor responded quietly.
“Because you don’t need it.” He replied.
“What? Of course I do… you don’t-” he began before was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. A doctor set an x-ray picture down on his lap before stepping away to give him and Jack some privacy. He looked down at the x-rays the doctor had given him with a shocked expression. There were only a couple small flower petals left, but they were a bit shriveled up, as if they had been there a while.
“You don’t have Hanahaki Disease anymore, sir… These were the only ones left after your body stopped producing the petals.” one of the surgeons said quietly.
The mayor looked up at the surgeon then down at his x-ray before finally looking up at Jack. He couldn’t believe he was cured, but what had caught his attention more was what it implied. “Jack, you…” he began quietly.
The aforementioned skeleton nodded with a teary smile, “I do, Mayor… I love you back.” He said quietly.
The mayor's eyes welled up with tears of his own and he reached out to hug Jack tightly. He was happier than ever at this moment, and so was Jack. Jack never previously thought that he’d ever love the mayor romantically, but he does, more than anything.
Jack happily took the mayor home where they could finally have a real first date. One where none of them had that disease, where it was just the two of them, and they could just enjoy each other's company and some homemade food. Neither of them could think of a better way to spend this evening than with each other. They were happy together, finally.