Aiden:"Nobody... ever again? That sounds a bit extreme." Peter:"You think so? What do you think is the first step in loving yourself?"
Aiden:"(What spriritual mumbo-jumbo are you selling?) Are you some kind of spiritual guru trying to recruit me?"
Peter:"Oh no, please! I'm very down to earth. Hanging around near the metro station, in considerable safety and all. But before I joined the PKs, I used to live down in Trinity. Had a shop there--'The Blooming Tulip'--near the Bazaar, when it was still the Church of the Holy Trinity. I was raised in an orphanage, among a multitude of apathetic people. Maybe that's why I turned to flowers. But after the outbreak, people stopped buying them."
Aiden:"(I don't know. Tell me.) You seem to know the answer. Why don't you tell me?"
Peter:"Flowers."
Aiden:"Flowers?"
Peter:"Precisely. Nowadays I'm hanging around near the metro station, in considerable safety and all. But before I joined the PKs, I used to live down in Trinity. Had a shop there--'The Blooming Tulip'--near the Bazaar, when it was still the Church of the Holy Trinity. I was raised in an orphanage, among a multitude of apathetic people. Maybe that's why I turned to flowers. But after the outbreak, people stopped buying them."
Aiden:"That's understandable."
Peter:"Certainly, but... there was this old lady. I basically kept the store opened just for her. She'd come everyday... as if nothing had changed. Her visits were the highlight of my day. Until one day she didn't show."
Aiden:"(What did you expect?) You didn't expect it to last forever, did you?"
Peter:"Maybe I did... I was growing these special pink roses for her. It was her last order. I simply couldn't throw them all away. So I kept one of the roses and dried it, just for her."
Aiden:"(What happened?) What happened to her?"
Peter:"Her flowers ate her alive. How should I know? I was growing these special pink roses for her. It was her last order. I simply couldn't throw them all away. So I kept one of the roses and dried it, just for her."
Aiden:"(Sad story. Bye) You're bumming me out. I'm gonna go."
Peter:"Hey, wait! Maybe you could look for her? She never said where she lived precisely. But I asked her once where she kept all her flowers. She said -- in a beautiful house made of glass, where the old mound used to be. Here, take the rose. Please find the house and give it to her if she's still there."
Aiden:"(She'd be happy to know.) She'd be delighted to know that you never forgot her."
Peter:"Yeah. If only I could get that rose to her. Could you take it? She never said where she lived precisely. But I asked her once where she kept all her flowers. She said -- in a beautiful house made of glass, where the old mound used to be. Here, take the rose. Please find the house and give it to her if she's still there."
(After checking out the rose garden) Aiden:"I found her. I'm afraid she... she had passed away. She was with her flowers." Peter:"So, she died in peace?" Aiden:"She did, yes... She wrote a letter and actually mentioned you." Peter:"She did?" Aiden:"Yes. Here. I think you should read it..." Peter:"This old lady was...my mother? So many times as a kid, I imagined how she'd look. I'd see other kids, at the park, with their mothers - and I'd have this knot in my stomach. Feeling I could never see mine, knowing I could never hold her hand... Thinking she never even cared. When in fact she did care. I did see her, every day, for years. I... never expected that she... Maybe this is why I couldn't throw away her flowers... Thank you Aiden. Love isn't dead after all. I'm going to need some time alone now... Thank you for giving her the rose. Well, see you around, Aiden."
