The Cursed Bloom

Sabrina had many choices this Halloween. She could go to the Town Hall with Benak, she could stay at home and give out candy, or she could go to a party.

The choice was clear. It was time to party. Sabrina was not even particularly sure that she would even know anyone there, but that just meant it was a great time to make new friends. She had decided to go as Zoey from K-Pop Demon Hunters this year, and she had felt extra cute as she added glitter eyeliner and other sparkles to her make up. Maybe a little too much, but that's what K-pop stars did, right?

"Ooh hi! Nice costume, what made you choose it?"

But then she had gotten wind of another party in town, a house party at the place of one Bailey Lightfoot --if her memory served her well, he was the man who had suggested she visit the local corn maze. While not exactly a party animal, spending Halloween alone in the Orchard House didn't sound particularly fun, so, dusting off an old black crow costume she had from when she was younger, she headed into the unknown...

“Sofia, hey” she said a little louder than normal speaking over the music. “I love your costume, so which kind of Corvid is it a crow or a raven?” She inquired with a wide smile.

"Rose Bryar, what a nice name," Sofia said with a little smile. "I'm... I'm also a bit of a daydreamer. Sometimes I just start staring at something in the distance, or something that just catches my eye, and I stay there lost in my own head for the longest time." Was that a weird thing to say? She hoped not, since apparently it also happened to Rose.

"A ranger! That's so interesting." Sofia didn't know any, but it had been a career she had considered following during the last couple years of high school. Rose then showed her the sketchpad, and Sofia smled brightly, hurrying to come closer. "Yes, please! I'd love to."

Truly, she was usually more than a little shy. She would get nervous about doing the wrong thing, saying the wrong thing, or being misinterpreted. But Rose was saying just the right things to get her to trust her fully, and at that moment Sofia didn't think twice about what she was doing or saying or what she might think of her.

Rose smiled, not one of those polite smiles, but a genuine, bright smile. “You get it. It’s easy to get lost in your thoughts, even more embarrassing when you come back to the real world and realize you’ve been staring at someone.”

It was refreshing to be around someone who understood her mind’s habit of wandering. “I really like the job. I get paid to spend time here, and I’m studying Environmental Sciences, so this is right up my alley.”

She shifted over, making room on the blanket in case Sofia wanted to sit. Flipping open her sketchbook, she turned to the page containing a hyper-realistic pencil and charcoal sketch of the log across the path.

“Yeah, I heard you coming down the path and didn’t want to startle you” she explained.

“Usually there aren’t many people here this early, it should be about an hour or two before everyone comes. Are you enjoying your walk?” She inquired.

"Ah, thank you for that," Sofia chuckled quietly. "I'm afraid I'm pretty easy to startle."

She quickly nodded. "Yes, very much so. It's supposedly my first time visiting the reserve... Though I have a feeling I've been here before, but can't quite remember when." Sofia worried that might have sounded a bit strange to this young woman. "I'm Sofia, by the way. Sofia Bạch, with a dot under the A of Bạch."

She took a moment to look around herself, at the way the light streamed through the branches, at the soft blowing of the wind. It was rather cold out, but spring was coming quickly, and it definitely wasn't as unbearable as the last few weeks. Sofia looked back at the young woman, and tilted her head to the side. "May I ask, why are you here so early?" Was that a rude thing to ask? She hoped not.

She looked around, taking in the way the morning light cut through the trees her eyes lit up at the sight.

"Nice to meet you Sophia, I'm Rose Bryar a Ranger here so I am here quite often." she said with a vibrant smile. "I have been waking up early trying to get used to waking up early before classes start, I decided it was the perfect morning to walk the trails, then the stump distracted me, so I've been sketching and drinking tea. Would you like to see?" She asked enthusiastically gesturing to the sketchpad in her lap.

The sound of leaves crunching on the trail behind her broke her focus. She thought quickly about how not to startle the person approaching—her instinct was to call out, but the words felt clumsy in her mind. Instead, she began to hum softly, matching the melody of the birdsong around her, gradually raising her voice so it would carry without startling the other woman.

When the figure finally came into view, Rose greeted her with a warm smile, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

Sofia was surprised when she heard a quiet hum, and wondered if she had started imagining things. She stopped walking and glanced around herself, but she seemed to be alone. Still she continued walking, as the humming became louder, until she passed by a large tree and, on the other side, saw a pretty young woman with a journal and a smile.

"Hello," she greeted back. The reserve was rather quiet and empty that day, save for the sounds of the woods. Sofia hadn't quite expected to see someone else there at that hour. "Was that you who was humming?"

“Yeah, I heard you coming down the path and didn’t want to startle you” she explained.

“Usually there aren’t many people here this early, it should be about an hour or two before everyone comes. Are you enjoying your walk?” She inquired.

Truly, Sofia had no idea why she hadn't visited Redwood Hollow's nature reserve yet, in all the years she had been living there. Too busy? Too distracted?

And yet when she stepped in beyond the entrance, there was a familiar feeling --maybe she had been there, back when she first arrived in town with her stepmother. Maybe she just didn't fully remember. It was hard to say.

The sound of leaves crunching on the trail behind her broke her focus. She thought quickly about how not to startle the person approaching—her instinct was to call out, but the words felt clumsy in her mind. Instead, she began to hum softly, matching the melody of the birdsong around her, gradually raising her voice so it would carry without startling the other woman.

When the figure finally came into view, Rose greeted her with a warm smile, tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear.

I stayed behind the woman’s shoulder, eyes down, backing away as instructed. There was something mesmerizing in the way the professor moved—calm, grounded, all quiet command and steady hands. Slowly, the aggressive geese relented, hissing all 3 rows of teeth on display, tail feathers rustling as they walked back to their nests. Only when the danger had passed did I could take stock of myself. My curls were an absolute mess, streaked with leaf litter and twigs like the forest had tried to claim me, or fight me. My khakis were torn, uniform shirt stained with what I hoped was pond muck, and my legs stung from thorns and branches i hadn’t even seen while running crimson droplets barely the size of a pencil tip border the scratches. brushing myself off with as much dignity as I could gather, cheeks burning. “Sorry about that. I’m Rose—one of the rangers here,” I said, giving the woman a sheepish smile as I flicked a bit of bark from my sleeve.It was only then that I really looked at her. Dr. Pleakley, the new professor in Environmental Sciences. Her reputation had preceded her—but seeing her in action was something else entirely.

“Are you… enjoying the reserve?” I queried, breath still catching a little, trying to sound casual while looking like I’d just lost a fight with a small forest, which totally makes sense because I did.

Granted, she was going back behind a desk once more, but it was for the passing of knowledge! A much more worthy pursuit.

In the end, though, Gwen was not actually an animal whisperer. The goose did not calm down, holding its ground with its wings up and its sharpened beak at the ready. But at the very least, the pursue did not continue. As she and the young woman got further down the path, the goose finally gave them a final hiss before turning to head back to its nest.

Gwen gave a deep sigh and turned to the girl--who was quite the mess! "Oh, no, no, don't apologize. Are you alright? You're bleeding. We should probably get you back to the nearest station," she fussed, going to pick some leaves and twigs off of her.

"I'm Dr. Gwendolyn Pleakley, but please, call me Gwen," she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you Rose. I am quite enjoying the reserve! It's one of the best places in Redwood Hollow to be. Very excited to be back."

** once I'm all patched up I need to make some signs to mark the nesting area. Kronk will definitely have to put those up**

" The Hollow sure is different than a lot of the places I've been, the Reserve is magical… when there isn't any avian agitation that is.” she remarked with a vibrant smile.

The air in the tiny shop was thick with the scent of sandalwood and forgotten dreams. Dust motes danced in the single shaft of sunlight piercing the gloom, illuminating the fortune teller's gnarled hands as they meticulously laid out the Tarot. Phillipa watched, mesmerized and terrified, as the cards formed a cryptic tapestry of her yearning. Her heart, a heavy stone in her ribcage, began to swell with a fragile, almost unbearable hope when the woman, her voice a low, gravelly murmur, finally spoke."If she has let you into her world… if she’s smiled just for you, paused to listen when you spoke, stayed near when she could’ve walked away… then yes. She can love a girl like you. I could always ask the cards…." Phillipa leaned forward, her breath catching. Hope, incandescent and terrifying, flared within her. Yes, Rose could love her. Perhaps the cards were confirming her deepest desire. Perhaps this was the universe's way of finally granting her peace. It was precisely this burgeoning, desperate hope that made her so utterly taken aback, so completely disarmed, when it was Rose's voice, not the fortune teller's, that finally broke through the mystical haze.

“I’ve been trying to find the right words for this,” Rose's voice, soft and hesitant, was like a gentle hand on her shoulder, pulling her back from the precipice of her own anxieties. Phillipa turned slowly, her vision still slightly blurred by unshed tears and the lingering scent of incense. Rose stood there, her eyes wide and earnest, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

Phillipa listened to every word that tumbled from Rose's lips, each one a precious, fragile gift. Her mind, usually a chaotic storm of doubts and insecurities, became a quiet, attentive space, absorbing every syllable. But when the words,“I’m in love with you,” finally fell, a soft, almost imperceptible whisper, Phillipa couldn't hold it back any longer. A deep, guttural sob escaped her, raw and involuntary. Her hands, trembling, flew to her face, trying to catch the hot, anxious tears that now streamed freely. It was the release of weeks, perhaps months, of pent-up anxiety, the crushing fear of rejection that had haunted her even in this moment, a moment where it seemed utterly impossible.

She continued to listen to Rose, her voice a steady anchor in the swirling chaos of Phillipa's emotions. Rose spoke of shared laughter, of quiet moments, of a connection that transcended friendship. And as Rose spoke, Phillipa felt seen. Truly seen. For the first time in her life, she felt as though someone had looked past the carefully constructed walls, beyond the witty retorts and the guarded expressions, and truly understood the vulnerable, yearning soul beneath. And of course, it was Rose who saw her that way. It was Rose who had moved her, who had taught her to appreciate the delicate beauty in the mundane, who had inspired her creativity and filled her with new ideas, new ways of seeing the world.

"I love you so much," phillipa whispered again, her voice thick with emotion, stepping closer. Phillipa, feeling impossibly small and vulnerable despite her usual composure, clung onto the younger girl, burying her face in Rose's shoulder. "I want to hold you, to carry your weight and your worries, to be the one you love and love alone." It was a selfish plea, she knew, a possessive declaration born of profound longing. But she needed Rose to know this, needed her to understand the depth of the offering: her heart, completely and utterly, and her heart alone.

And then, in the hushed sanctity of that small, strange shop, they kissed. It was not a sudden, passionate embrace, but a slow, tender meeting of lips, a gentle exploration that felt both impossibly beautiful and utterly magical. It was the culmination of unspoken desires, of lingering glances and silent understandings, a promise whispered on the breath. Phillipa pulled Rose closer, her arms wrapping tightly around her, as if to anchor them both in this perfect, suspended moment.

Her breath shuddered out of her, and she cupped Phillipa’s face with both hands, gently pulling back just enough to see her. Her thumbs brushed away the hot tears still clinging to Phillipa’s cheeks, and her own eyes shimmered, full to the brim.

“Pip…” Rose’s voice was small, fragile, but steady in its sincerity. Then the words came out, akin to the bubbles cascading out of a freshly popped champagne bottle. “You already make me happy. You make me feel safe, like I can be myself without hiding, without pretending. I don’t want anyone else. I don’t think I could love anyone else the way I love you. I don’t know how to explain it but it’s you it’s always been you. I am yours.” She confessed tears finally cascading down her cheeks.

She heard the sounds of twigs cracking but before she could react, someone rounded the corner of the trail, bumping into her. She gasped and nearly stumbled back. "What on Earth--"

She was interrupted by ominous honking from the geese that were on the chase. Her eyes widened and she grabbed the young girl by the arms, pushing her away. "Stay behind me! I know what to do!" She declared before stepping forward, digging her boots in the mud and putting her hands out. The geese slowed to a halt, hissing with their cursed barbed tongues hanging out. Despite this, Gwen stood her ground, staring them head on.

"Now, back away slowly..."

I stayed behind the woman’s shoulder, eyes down, backing away as instructed. There was something mesmerizing in the way the professor moved—calm, grounded, all quiet command and steady hands. Slowly, the aggressive geese relented, hissing all 3 rows of teeth on display, tail feathers rustling as they walked back to their nests. Only when the danger had passed did I could take stock of myself. My curls were an absolute mess, streaked with leaf litter and twigs like the forest had tried to claim me, or fight me. My khakis were torn, uniform shirt stained with what I hoped was pond muck, and my legs stung from thorns and branches i hadn’t even seen while running crimson droplets barely the size of a pencil tip border the scratches. brushing myself off with as much dignity as I could gather, cheeks burning. “Sorry about that. I’m Rose—one of the rangers here,” I said, giving the woman a sheepish smile as I flicked a bit of bark from my sleeve.It was only then that I really looked at her. Dr. Pleakley, the new professor in Environmental Sciences. Her reputation had preceded her—but seeing her in action was something else entirely.

“Are you… enjoying the reserve?” I queried, breath still catching a little, trying to sound casual while looking like I’d just lost a fight with a small forest, which totally makes sense because I did.