The Book Of Flowers

It used to be in the Elf Forest (1)

-- Year 114 calendar of freedom, Elf forest ----

"What's? My son will be Oberon?"

"Yes. The great tree willed"

Memory of the past...

I was a kid at the time. Sitting in a makeshift room, I listened to the talk of my father and one of the Elf higher-ups from my clan

Oberonian...

Since more than 100 years before my birth, the position has always been empty and no one occupied it

The majestic tree also began to weaken at that moment, but he did not choose a single Elf to become an Oberon. And in the end, he appointed me directly to occupy that position

I don't really want to be an Oberon. I know how heavy the responsibility of that position is, even since childhood. Every sane person knows that the position of a leader has a great burden to bear

But, when I played alone near the Great Tree back then, I could feel her calling me right away

The Great Tree asked me to speak directly. I touched his trunk and sat down on a root of his

He asked me my name and I answered honestly

He asked me what clan I came from and I answered again honestly

He asked me a lot of questions and all of them I answered honestly

I just sat in front of him while continuing to answer. Hearing that soothing voice, I immediately fell over and followed the rhythm

All the Elves and the higher-ups who witnessed it were immediately amazed to see me sitting at the root of the Great Tree while talking to him for several hours

And because of that, an ordinary child of the newly born flower Elf clan was raised to Oberon

"Blessed are you, son" said the official who approached me at the time

I sat in my room, still listening to my father's and the higher-ups' talk that was still going on, even after how long. I don't care how long it takes, because it feels like this conversation will never end

My mother knocked on my door and entered. She hugged me as tightly as possible with a happy face

"You are a blessed child" He said

I still disagree with this. I still want to play at that time. Jump around, bother someone and talk to the flowers

But all those things will be lost because of this. I will begin to take a heavy position for this kingdom. The position I really don't want at all

The higher-ups and my parents took me to face the Great Tree directly

I just held my father's hand tightly as we walked there. Once again I had to deal with a tree that was thousands of times the size of me. The tree that chose me to be the leader of the Elves. The Great Tree that was the form of the first Elf after his 'death'

"My child. You're coming back"

The soft sound of the tree greeted me. I touched the trunk once more, just like before. But...

A bright blue light blinded my eyes. I tried to close it, but the light was so bright that it pierced through the shadow of the hand in my eyes

Not long after, the light dimmed. I opened my eyes slowly and when I realized it, I was in a forest I did not recognize at all

The elves standing behind me from nowhere disappeared, leaving me alone in this strange place

I panicked, but looked around. A forest that has no sunlight. The only light that was in this place was a shining blue colored stone, stuck to the wall by my side and the ceiling

This place looks more like a tall cave and is occupied by the roots of a tree that I just realized its type. But there are some plants that grow, as far as the eye can see

Only one tree had a wooden shape like this, and that tree was the Great Tree itself

I was inside the Great Tree, I don't know at the time either. And as I grew more frightened and wondered, I felt the presence of someone

A clattering sound rang out clearly, coupled with the shadow of a figure stuck in the hallway filled with blue light

He came and got closer. And getting closer. And finally, I could see his figure

The wide flap of its wings sounded like the clinking of a small bell, its tall yet not too big body, and a pair of clothes and pants made of flowers with an ordinary face like a human with long ears typical of an Elf

He placed his feet slowly on the ground and we exchanged glances

A gentle look with a soothing smile. For a moment, I forgot that I was alone with an elf I didn't recognize here

"Welcome, my son"

When he started talking, I recognized his voice almost instantly. A very soft voice, like a loving father to his young son. A new voice I heard not long ago

"... Great Tree?" I started talking

That's figure. The figure of the first Elf—Elf who is the father of this race

He laughed softly at my innocent response. Even the sound of her laughter stunned me because of her tenderness

"My child. You can call me anyone. But, I have one name that I have always held tight...

That name is Alf"

Alf... That's his name. No one does not know the name well, especially if the person was born from the Elves themselves

I got up and stood facing him who was still smiling. He gently stroked my head and gave me another welcome, while I was still amazed by the majestic figure that was before me at that time

"Welcome to my house, Vainzel"

......................

After talking for a while with her, I decided I would call her 'Ayahanda'. The call felt to match an Elf with the title of 'Father of Elves'

Right now, he's got me following him to a destination he doesn't explain what and where

"Ayahanda invited me here to talk?" Much

"Yes. More precisely to see directly the figure of Oberon in this period" he replied

Oberonian...

It flashed back in my head regarding the purpose of this fateful meeting

"... Why did you choose me to be Oberon?" I asked again too

"Why? You don't want to?"

I kept quiet as I walked along to follow him somewhere. I certainly can't answer honestly, because I don't want to disappoint this majestic figure before me

Seeing me silenced, he resumed his words

"I didn't pick an Oberon at random my son. There was... 'Something', that got you elected an Oberon"

"... Then, what's 'Something', Ayahanda?"

"You can call it 'Connect' with me or something"

"For example, like when I talk to my father through the Great Tree?"

"You could say so. But, I can feel the bond when I realize your presence"

He flew a little high and picked up a wine growing over this place. The wine came off very easily from the twigs, as Ayahanda brought the fruit back down

He slowly returned to the ground and gave the wine to me, just as he put it on my small hand

"Thank you" I responded as I began to eat the wine one by one

He just nodded slowly and flew back to where we were headed, somewhere

I continued to follow him, and continued to eat the wine, fruit after fruit. It was so sweet, that I couldn't stop picking the purple circle and stuffing it into my mouth

"I'll give you something at our destination later"

"Something?"

"Yes. You'll know later"

We kept going long enough. Go on and on. The place was starting to feel endless to me

And one more strange thing for me is the wine that doesn't even seem to diminish in the slightest

I looked carefully at the wine. But no matter how much fruit I have eaten or picked from the stem, the wine still looks a lot and does not diminish

My stomach doesn't even feel full at all. I'm sure I swallowed a lot of those grapes before

"Yahanda. My feelings alone, or is this wine not diminished in the least?" I also expressed my confusion

He looked at me a little and smiled

"If you don't want to eat it anymore, you can hand it to me" He said slowly

I was just amazed by his words. After seeing and thinking back that this journey still felt like it would be very long, I just kept quiet and continued eating

But just in case, I started to look around

...

It felt like we were walking for hours. The fruit really does not diminish, as much as anything I have eaten

I stopped following Alf because I was tired of this. He realized that and turned to face me

"Why?" He asked slowly

"... We're going around in circles, aren't we?"

"I looked around, and the stones around us had the same shape and place"

"... But you realize something different, don't you?"

I looked around again. And it's true. The shape of the roots had begun to look thickened from before and the glowing blue stone was getting dimmer than before

"Now? Are you going to hand me the wine?" Ask again

His hand he thrust at me. And because of that, I'm sure of one thing

I handed the wine over to her hand and she held it while closing her eyes

"You count how much you eat?"

He opened his eyes slowly while continuing to smile

"No" I replied, shaking my head

"... This is a test for you"

...

I expected it. I'm too slow to think about this because I've been following him ever since

"Then do you know what my son is doing?"

I shook my head once more, until his smile widened. However, at the same time, a sad expression was engraved on his face

"This serves to calculate your age to be an Oberon"

I flinched

My age? That only means one thing

"You have eaten about 500 of these grapes. The number of grapes in one stalk is 20, making your age as Oberon more than 10,000 years"

My body was filled with panic. Hearing about the approximate age I was certainly making me try to deny the truth of the remark

"But, that's not very true isn't it, father?"

He looked at me gently with a sad face. He seemed to be able to feel the uneasiness that was on me hearing that statement

"This is how I predicted my son Oberon. None of my predictions missed"

"...!"

Panic, anxiety, and fear ambushed my body directly and simultaneously

10,000 years is a long time. No Oberon in the history of Miralius has ruled for more than 2,000 years. I can't imagine myself being able to endure this position for 2000 years, let alone 10000 years

"Is this real...?" Much

I spontaneously began to grimace at the thought of it. He looked at me and his face looked sad

And from his face I know that he also has no power to change this

"I'm sorry my son. A fate prediction I can't change at all" he confirmed

I'm getting grimacing. The flowers in my head started to wither slowly, following my grief. Showing him that I was just a little boy who was thrust a heavy burden by fate. Someone who does not want to, but can not avoid

He certainly feels pity. But then again, he had no power to do anything about it

"... Relax son. Look, we've arrived at the destination" Alf tried to convince myself—the only thing he could do for that moment

He slowly carried me who was still slightly grimacing and led me to the end of this place with just a wave of his hand

A door made of wood was seen behind the darkness. He opened it slowly and saw a very large room

The room looked almost empty, filled with some decorations that looked precious and sparkling. But, the thing that caught my eyes was a huge round table-shaped mirror in the middle of the room

A dazzling white light emanated from the mirror, though no light touched it from the top of this room apart from every blue glowing stone

"Here we go!" Alf cried while presenting the large mirror to me

I looked slightly at the mirror so my body leaned forward

Skies. There was a sky inside the mirror, complete with clouds and birds flying in groups. But, the atmosphere looked like I was in a dense forest. As if I were the land being stepped on and looking up

Alf then spoke again

"This mirror will predict all the great things that will happen in your life"

I turned to Alf, then looked back at the mirror. I focused on the mirror and watched it. A mirror showing a blown leaf carried by a strong wind

The mirror continued to focus on him, as if the leaf was the main character of the story inside the mirror

The sky behind him suddenly slowly turned into night and was seen moving following the movement of the leaf. I flinched, mainly because the light in the mirror also seemed to disappear as if it was night

As if following the rhythm of the leaves, the stars in the sky glowed with different colors. However, they gradually disappeared as the leaf passed through their place. No matter the small big and dim bright star, they all disappeared as the leaf passed through them

But all the stars were quickly passed by the leaf and replaced with other stars. It continued so that the last star it passed through dimmed and disappeared from the mirror. And the number of stars he passed by was 9

The leaf finally fell to the ground, after a long time of aimless flying in the dark of the dark night. And when he started to turn yellow, the mirror showed all the stars in the sky, shining brightly again

Then, among all the stars that had shone upon it a star that was not seen before, appeared strikingly, more than any other star

A gold star that catches the eye

A star that can be seen clearly with the naked eye

...

"Have you seen it?"

I nodded slowly while still curious about the meaning of the story

"That is you, my son"

I nodded slowly once again

When I saw that, my heart felt.

I don't know why, but it's painful. My heart ached seeing that for some reason

It was as if I understood the meaning of the prophecy, but could not describe what it looked like. A feeling of frustration is running high

Alf just smiled as he looked at me calmly. Seeing what we saw just now, somehow made her smile. But he said nothing more about it...

"I'll let you think about the meaning for yourself"

he left that duty to me

He put me on the ground and stroked my head. I looked at his face as he took a few steps back from me

"Wait, Father"

"It's okay, little Vainzel. It's time for you to come back. And remember one thing, I will always guide you, as long as the Tree is alive"

A smile was again implied on his face. He's walking backwards further and further away from me. I wanted to hit it, but a blue light once again dazzled my eyes

I saw his figure for the last time. Her lips that were still smiling said something. Something I had heard before going back to the forest of the elves

"Don't forget to say see you next time"

......................

I woke up in a standing position in front of the Great Tree with my hand still outstretched touching it. Spontaneously I folded back my arm, surprised while wondering about the reality of what I had just experienced

I looked around and realized I was back with an atmosphere that seemed to have started the night. Everyone there greeted me who had started moving again with pleasure

They said that I've been standing here for hours, just quiet. Apparently, the rate of time inside Alf's house was the same as the rate of time in this place

A higher-up asked what happened during my 'go'

I answered the question with a smile and said I was tired. Everyone just stood still, and my parents then took me back to my house, after all the higher-ups had made a wish

To be honest, even if they didn't beg, my parents would still take me back home. They know when I feel tired and not. They are the ones who understand the most

...

I lay in my bed thinking about my arrival at Alf's house

10000 years...

I smiled slightly as I thought about that number once more

'At least, if I did live that long, I would probably fill it with precious things', I thought

And Alf's last words were still ringing in my head

"Don't forget to say goodbye next time..."

...

Goodbye goodbye...

Next time...

But, who...? Am I going to see Alf in his house again?

In the middle of my mind, I began to feel sleepiness. Slowly but surely, I fell asleep and ended the day