Outside is where I feel most connected to my mother. It's where her spirit runs free and I can safely say she is always with me. Since it's the anniversary of her death, I decided I'd memorialize her in some way. What better way to do so then by planting flowers?
I gathered up a multitude of different colored roses. There were duplicates of the yellow, white, and pink ones, but there was only one red rose.
I walked over to a small patch of ground cleared for me after I received Ozpin’s blessing to plant the memorial garden. Zwei was by my side, and he was about to be put to work.
I set down my trowel and plants on the walkway. The spot cleared for me was very close to the entrance of the courtyard. ‘I hope no one trips while I’m planting,’ Ruby thought to herself. The last time I had been involved in a person collapsing onto the ground due to her error, it wasn’t a great experience at first. Yeah, Weiss did eventually warm up to me, but it took a little while for us to get to where we are now.
“Where are we now though?” I accidentally said out loud. I quickly clapped a hand over my mouth. I mumbled under my breath, “Stupid, stupid, stupid! That was supposed to stay in my head. Keep it there next time, Ruby!” I must have said it loud enough to be heard, because two boys playing frisbee were staring right at me as if I were a fish out of water. They were looking at me like I had two heads! “What?” I shouted to them. “You’ve never talked to yourself before?” The two boys shrugged and turned their attention back to their game. “Yeah, that’s what I thought!”
I whistled for Zwei’s attention, for he focused in on the frisbee game going on. “Zwei,” I called. He turned to me, panting and wagging his tail. “Zwei, dig!” I came with Ozpin the day I received his blessing to pick out the spot. I knew exactly where I wanted it, but I didn’t realize just how close it was to the courtyard when I picked it out. I also had the plan for what I was going to do, so I had already marked the areas of where each flower is to go when Ozpin gave me the go ahead.
I was so caught up in my own thoughts that Zwei had to bark to get my attention. He had finished digging each of the little spots I had marked. I leaned down and gave him a small pat on the head. “Good boy, Zwei!” I scratched his ears and he started wagging his tail again. Realizing his job was finished, Zwei scampered off to find a small twig. Once he did, he found a small tree and laid down in the shaded area of it. He started chomping down on it. Since he was happy I decided to leave him be. There's no point in bothering him if he's content.
I knelt down and got to work right away. I first took the red rose out of its pot and placed it into the center hole. I covered up the hole with dirt and patted it down. I brought the other roses closer to me and rearranged them in a pattern. I began placing them into the holes in the outside circle that surrounded the red rose in the center.
After the first rose was set in its new permanent home, my mind began to wander again. ‘What is the deal between me and Weiss? Yeah, she used to hate me and we soon became friends, but I don't know. I've been having this really weird feeling lately…’
“Ruby!” Someone shouted my name. I jumped up, almost hitting myself in the face with the trowel. I saw her walking toward me and my heart dropped into my stomach.
I gulped, swallowing my fear as she grew closer. I finally gained the courage to speak. “Hello, Weiss.”
“Hi, Ruby!” Her ponytail was swinging as she got closer. Weiss had a small spring to her step and it just caused me to feel more nervous.
“Ho...How are y...you?” I managed to get out. Whenever she was around I just felt butterflies in my stomach. She finally stopped moving, so at least I didn’t have to see the adorable way her ponytail swung anymore.
“I’m good! I came out here to practice my Glyphs.” She noticed all of my flowers that were still in their pots. “You’re planting?” I could just nod my head in response. “Well I’m just going to go over there to practice.” She pointed to a spot that wasn’t too far off from where I was. “Do you mind?” I shook my head no in response. “All right! Have fun planting.”
She walked off and I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was still holding in. I shut my eyes tight. ‘Get a hold of yourself, Ruby!’ I grabbed a hold of another rose in its pot and began moving it into the ground. ‘She’s just your friend.’ I finished planting the rose and reached for another one. I couldn’t find one right away, so I turned around to look. It turns out that I only had one rose left. I grabbed it and moved it into the ground when a recurring thought resurfaced. ‘What if she was more than just a friend?’
I shook my head in an attempt to clear it away. It wasn’t so farfetched, but it wasn’t exactly in reach either. There was one important piece of information I’m severely lacking; Weiss’s sexuality. I mean, yeah, guys are pretty cute, but have you seen girls? They are the greatest, most beautiful creations in humanity.
I sighed again and stood up to inspect my work. My garden was finally finished! I stared at the different colored roses and smiled. ‘I bet mom is seeing this and loves it.’
All of a sudden, the red rose in the center became encased in ice. I whipped around to where Weiss said she was going to be practicing her magic. We locked eyes right away. She had her hands over her mouth and she looked like she was about to cry. My knees buckled and I collapsed on the ground. I saw her running towards me through my blurry vision. I was so furious that the only response I had to my rage was crying.
“Ruby, I am so sorry!” she got down on her knees next to me and hugged me. I quickly pulled away. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“That garden was to memorialize my mother! You destroyed the most important one there!”
Weiss looked shocked by my sudden outburst. I had even surprised myself. “I can’t say how sorry I am. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I shook my head no and sniffled. The tears streaming down my face were beginning to subside. Weiss gingerly wrapped her arms around me. This time, I leaned into her warm embrace. “I’m sorry I yelled at you like that,” I said into her shoulder. Thankfully, she heard my apology despite the fact that it was muffled.
“It’s okay. I understand you’re angry. You have every right to be.”
I sniffled again before speaking. “I just wanted a way to memorialize my mother and figured this was the best way to do so. Do you know what I mean?” I pulled away to see Weiss’s response. She looked very sad as she nodded her head. I locked eyes with her again. This time, there was a strange pull I felt. Before I knew it, I leaned in and kissed her. I was so startled by my lack of control that I quickly pulled away. Weiss smiled and leaned in for another kiss. I met her halfway and this one lasted longer than the first. We pulled away after a few seconds.
“I was so afraid you didn’t feel the same way about you as I do,” Weiss said.
“I’ve felt this way for a long time.”
“So have I.” We kissed again and then Weiss stood up.
“Where are you going?” I asked. She held out a hand for me to take. I did and she pulled me back up to my feet.
“We are going to the dorms and we’re going to forget everything that happened before the kiss.” Weiss glanced over at the rose encased in ice. “Don’t worry, I will buy you another rose for your garden and plenty more where that came from.”
A smile became plastered on my face. “That I can live with.” I looked over to the small tree where Zwei was still chomping down on the stick. “Come on, Zwei!” He came racing over to where Weiss and I were standing and the two of us broke out into laughter. The three of us walked back to the dorm room together. Zwei kept pace with Weiss and I as we walked hand in hand.