"Hey."

​

In the darkness surrounding her, she heard a whisper. A soft whisper of a voice she's all too familiar with. Cardia slowly opened her eyes, gradually letting light into her senses. As she awoke, a set of green orbs, shining behind a pair of spectacles, gazed upon her.

​

The sky was dyed in warm, golden hues. The clouds were sparse, and the gusts of wind blew gently across the vast field around them. The flowers were in full bloom, their colors glowing along the rays of the sunset.

​

"Ah, you're finally awake," he said with a slight chuckle. Cardia, resting her head on his lap, found herself smiling with him. She watched his brown ruffled waves swayed with the breeze. It was surreal, she thought. It was like an angel, with wings as bright as the sun, embracing her and her worries away.

​

As if reading her mind, he laughed at her earnest stare.

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"Cardia," he spoke again while running his fingers through her hair, "I'll drive away all your doubts and fears."

​

She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth. Suddenly, she felt him reach behind her and slowly raised her. Then, her sight was filled in, as his face leaned into hers.

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Closer... and closer.

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"Wait! Hold on--!" she wanted to say but--

​

Cardia gasped for air, and jolted up from her bed.

​

"This again..." she exhaled, raising her hand to her chest unknowingly. Her body tingled from the shock, as she tried to regain her composure. It was another dream about him. It’s the same voice every night. The same voice she couldn't hear in reality. It felt like they were never going to end. They have been happening too often, ever since he didn't return to the mansion.

​

Right, Dr. Victor Frankenstein hadn't returned home yet.

​

It's already been a few days, and no one had heard from, nor seen, Victor. Restlessness grew in the mansion. Some of them would take time and search for him in town, but no luck nor clue had come up. From the innermost of London to the outskirts of the city, there was no sign of the man.

The days continued like the one before. The others were busy tending to their own agendas. Cardia, on the other hand, sat alone in the courtyard, looking up to the sky. "Where are you, Victor?"

​

The weather was perfect for a walk around town. In the days before, she'd find herself walking alongside the scientist, either assisting him in his errands, or simply being curious what he'd do by himself. Victor, thoughtful as he was, would claim he'd be boring her with those kind of things. With her in tow, he'd intentionally visit parks, gardens, and other places, taking the longer way back home. None of them minded though, and she'd shyly smile at his kindness. There was no dull moment

​

There were days they return when the sun was setting, and right before entering the mansion gates, Victor would stop in their tracks. Cardia, stopping as well, would turn to him. The look in his eyes were always gentle, she remembered, and he'd look away when she'd ask him what's wrong. His cheeks were flushed and he would always be at a loss for words. He would stutter a few incoherently, but his voice always gets caught in his throat. Unknowingly, she found it adorable, but unsure why he acted that way. Maybe he was tired, she assumed. She once tried helping with the bags, but when her gloved fingers grazed on the back of his hand, he stiffened and yipped in surprise. Realizing what happened, with ears then glowing red, he hid his face behind the bags, stuttered a few more words, and hurried into the front yard, leaving the lady. Somehow, the memory of Victor's bashful expressions never left Cardia's mind.

​

Before she knew it, nighttime fell once more, and the loneliness came to sink in again.

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"Is he really not coming back...?"

​

The question haunted her. Late at night, after everything and everyone settled down for the day, she laid on her bed, staring up at the canopy above her head. Every waking second, only the thought of him returning danced through her mind. She knew that Victor wasn't the type to disappear all of the sudden, not with all the things they have been through.  The man who had the right words to calm her storms; The man who was stronger and braver than how he appeared to be; The man who wanted to help so many people by doing what he loves the most: where could Victor be?

​

"... please let him come back. There are too many things… I haven’t said.”

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But only the silence replied to her prayer. She sighed, lips quivering.

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"I'm happy when I dream. At least in my mind, I'll find him safe beside me."

​

But that night was different. That night, there was no dream. And everything was still.

​

The next moment, it was morning again. The same bleak and empty morning.

​

Cardia awoke to something else that day.

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It was the smell of flowers.

​

She sat up to the edge, her white nightgown draping down the sides of her bed. As she stretched, and yawned, she noticed something different in her room. A vase of round, white flowers appeared by her bedside, with a letter indiscreetly slid underneath. She blinked a few times, admiring the purity of the flora, equally confused and touched. She placed the vase next to her on the bed, careful not to let it tumble. She reached out to find the paper to be a handwritten letter. Her eyes grew bigger as she opened the seal.

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"It is Victor's handwriting."

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It felt like ages since she saw it.

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"Dearest Cardia," it began. His manner was charming and soothing, just like how his presence was.

​

"You must have seen the Hydrangea flowers by now. I got them for you. These are common in America and Asia. Some countries would use the leaves for tea, while others use the flower head as ornaments. They are also known to change color depending on the acid level of its soil. Isn't that interesting?"

​

The letter continued on with an interesting piece of soil quality, gardening, and plants.

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"Oh, here I am boring you again!"

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Cardia giggled. Thinking how his eyes gleamed while writing this was very endearing.

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"I wrote this letter to apologize for putting you through it all. I must have worried you for disappearing. Thank you for thinking about me, but I assure you, I am okay!”

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His natural sweet smile appeared in her mind.

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“But there is something I wanted to tell you for a long time now. I've been trying to get my message across, but my mind and my mouth won't sync, so I end up running away from you. So I hope here, I can finally express what I want to say."

​

"Hydrangea holds the meaning of heartlessness, and heartfelt emotion. But also of gratitude, and thanksgiving. These flowers reminded me of you. When you say you're a monster, and you don't deserve happiness, I never agree. Because to me, you are the most beautiful person I have ever met, who deserves nothing more but the best in this world. The me before you was a scared, weak man who let the weight of the world crush him by the shoulders. He did nothing but run away from fate. That changed, since I met you. You took away all my doubts and fears. You made me feel like I can do anything. You changed the way I look at my life."

​

"Thank you for the color you brought to my world."

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"I'll see to it that one day, I will say nothing but better words and do nothing but better actions, so my feelings will come to you properly. I want to color your world too, just like how you colored mine. So I hope you forgive me for now."

​

With that, he signed his name with a cute cartoon of his spectacles.

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"P.S.: I forgot to mention. The others knew where I was. So please forgive them too!"

​

At the last punctuation, Cardia, who was reading intently, noticed a faint sound of tapping. She looked around to realize it was coming from her window. Pebbles were being thrown at her windowpane. She got up from the bed, and walked towards it.

​

There a man, in his green sweater and brown pants, stood, his lab coat hung on his tall frame. In his arm were the same Hydrangea flowers in shades of blue, purple, red and pink. As their eyes met, he fixed his glasses with a sheepish smile, trying to cover up the red tint on his cheeks. Victor raised his free hand and waved at her.

​

Now it was her who was at a loss for words. Her body felt warm and tears crept down her rosy cheeks. At last, Victor was home. Without a moment to waste, Cardia wiped away the tears and ran out with her coat and shoes on, leaving behind the white petals at her wake.