A grandmother’s dying wish

Ivy rushed after Taira into the mansion. Daiyin had fallen ill… What could have happened? She knew the woman was quite old, already, but she had seemed in such good health the day before. How could she possibly be this ill now that her son thought she would not live?

Ivy was aware of Sindo flying next to her. She could see the panic in his eyes. He had known Daiyin for so long now, probably his entire life… And now she might be taken away from him. She could imagine what Sindo was thinking right now… Was the entire island dying off slowly? It couldn’t be… It had lived for so long, why should it die off now? Surely, it had seen harder times than this.

Once inside the mansion, they rushed into a wing Ivy had never visited before. It looked just like the rest of the mansion, with walls painted in a soft yellow color, windows without glass in them, the fragrance of flowers surrounding everything… Death and sickness seemed so alien here. Ivy realized this were the living quarters of the family.

Fjaril and Taira rushed into a room, and Ivy followed them more slowly. She did not want to rush in; she was not family, or even a friend, after all. But maybe she could help, so she followed anyway. Inside, the walls were the same color, and a huge paining of a single yellow flower that was shining brightly with prana covered the wall on the opposite side of the bed.

The bed Daiyin was in was made of a very dark wood, but somehow it also seemed to glow softly with prana. Ivy did not doubt what trees it was made of. Daiyin was covered by a thin green blanket. When she saw the old woman’s face, she did no longer doubt why Fjaril was so worried. The light purple pony seemed almost white now, her eyes looked watery and grey, and she was sweating a lot. She definitely had a very high fever.

“Mother… it will be all right. Is there anything I can get you now?” Fjaril asked.
Ivy heard the old woman whisper “water…” softly.
Fjaril nodded and looked at Taira. “Love, can you get water from the well? You know where to find it.”
 Taira did not say anything, but swiftly ran out of the room. Fjaril touched his mother’s forehead to feel her temperature, and he looked shocked. It had probably risen even more.

“Sindo…” Fjaril said softly to the butterfly after a short moment.
“Does mageleaf still grow?”
“Maybe… the last of the mageleaf should still be out there. It will be hard to find, but it might very well be out there still.”
“Then could you maybe… you and your family, go look for it? It is such a rare herb, and I know it dies if you remove even one leaf from it, but mageleaf stew might be the only thing that can save my mother now.”

Sindo nodded and was about to leave the room through the open window, but Daiyin made a sound, which made him stop.
“What is it, mother? Is there anything else you need right now?” Fjaril asked, concerned.
“Please….” The old voice whispered, “Do not destroy the mageleaf for… my sake. I will not live… even with the mageleaf. This disease… It is what once took my mother, too. I know… my end is coming. Please, my son… Do not be sad. It is what happens to all of us once. My time has come. I am willing to accept it.”

After Daiyin had finished her last sentence, Taira came back in with a bucket full with clear water. She poured something in a glass that was standing on a small round table that was next to Daiyin’s bed, and she began to slowly give her the water. After Daiyin had taken a little of the water again, she lay down again. Ivy felt so helpless. She wanted to help the poor old lady, who had been so friendly to her only the day before, but there was nothing she could do, in fact, there was nothing the woman wanted her to do.

“I have… only one last wish, before my spirit will return to this earth.” Daiyin said.
She could hear the woman had regained a little bit of strength thanks to the pure water, but it was already failing her.
“Please, mother… anything.” Fjaril said.
Ivy could hear the sadness, she could see the tears. Poor Fjaril… Soon he would say goodbye to his mother forever.

“Ruki…” Daiyin whispered. “Fjaril, Taira. One day… you will meet her again. I know you will. I do not know how, or why, or when. But I am sure, one day, you will meet her. She will no longer be a little girl… Fjaril, she stopped being that even before you realized it. Ruki is special. She was born for a reason. Everything in her life happened for a reason. So please, I ask you this, and this only… when you meet Ruki once more, do not forget who she is, who she will become, and what her destiny is. Her life is painful and will be even more so, and she needs your support. Support her like parents, like subjects, like elders. She will need you… for everything. She was born for a reason, but like anyone else, she cannot face life alone.”

Daiyin closed her eyes, breathing heavily now. Ivy was silent, unable to do or say anything. She felt like a spectator, looking at something that did not involve her. She heard the sobs of Taira and Fjaril like they were in a play.
“Mother, please….” Fjaril whispered, but Ivy did not know if Daiyin heard him. Her wish… to speak it out loud, it had drained the last of the old woman’s strength, something she needed so badly to live on even a little more.

“I love you, Fjaril…” She whispered so softly Ivy was not sure if she heard it correctly, “and please, tell Gaolin I love him too, should you ever meet him again…”
Daiyin closed her eyes, and breathed one more time, before her spirit flew out of her body with the final breath.
“Mother…” Fjaril whispered, holding his mother’s hoof tightly. Daiyin… Ivy had known her only so shortly, and now she was gone. Her life had faded away so quickly…

Taira moved closer to Fjaril, holding him, supporting him while he broke down and cried. Ivy noticed Sindo softly flew out of the room, no doubt to inform the other butterflies of Daiyin’s passing. He would be back shortly, Ivy knew. But for now, there was nothing she could do, except mourn the lovely lady who had faded from the earth so quickly.

Ruki awoke, startled. She was bathing in sweat, and her eyes were producing tears of which she did not know the origin. She was struck by sadness, and she did not know why. What had she dreamed? Was it a nightmare? It had to be, but she was unable to remember. She knew only that she could not stop crying, as if something very precious was taken away from her.

She barely noticed that her door opened, and that Takato came in. “Ruki… I heard you scream. Is something wrong?” He asked.
Ruki managed to shake her head, but she was unable to speak.
“Oh, you poor girl… Did you have a nightmare?” He sat down on the bed and held her, while she was still unable to do anything else but cry.
It was so dark… so dark and empty, like a light that had shone over her and had guided her was suddenly torn away from her. She was alone… utterly alone now in a world where the light was nowhere to be found.

“It is okay, Ruki… really, it will all be okay. Cry all you want… I will hold you as long as you want me to.” Takato said, gently patting her back.
He held her, and it felt good… but he would leave, and she would be alone again. That thought alone made Ruki feel more alone than she ever had.

Ivy sat outside, on one of the benches she was afraid to touch the day before because they looked like nothing but magic had ever touched them. Strangely enough, it seemed as if the magic had flown out of the entire island. Surely, nothing had changed. The prana shone bright, the holy stone was still doing its work and everything looked as clean and lovely as ever. But with Daiyin’s death… somehow the magic broke. Even here, pain and suffering and death appeared when they wished. Even here, there was no escape.

“Hello, Ivy.” Sindo’s voice said.
Ivy looked up, and she saw the butterfly fly in front of her. She had not spoken to him all day. He and the other butterflies had gone to prepare the funeral, after they had said their final goodbyes to the woman they had called queen for so long. Daiyin would return to the earth tomorrow, at sunset, as were the traditions of this island. She would be buried among her family, next to the man she had loved.

“Hello, Sindo.” She said. “How are you doing?” He asked.
Ivy smiled, not knowing how to answer. She had been alone, most of the day, or she had helped Taira and Fjaril. She had gotten the feeling they wanted to be together, though, so she had kept to herself for most of the time.
“I’m doing fine, I think… It was a shock, though. She died so suddenly… and I only met her yesterday. She was so sweet, and she took such good care of me.”

“Yes… It was a shock to all of us. Poor Daiyin… she will be missed so much. Her mother once died in the same way… She had fallen ill during the night, and the next morning, she died. She only was a lot younger than Daiyin is now, so it was even more of a shock. However, none of us thought Daiyin would die in the same way.”
“Had she lived on this island her entire life, then?” Ivy asked, confused. She had been under the impression that only Fjaril’s family had lived here.

“Oh, no, not at all. Daiyin and Fjaril’s father had fallen in love when they were very young. Daiyin was a poor girl, as her father had died when she was not even three years old. She had no brothers or sisters, and lived with her mother on a remote farm, trying to get by. And believe me, Ivy, out there in the western world, for a lonely mother with a young girl, that is really hard. So when Fjaril’s father proposed, Daiyin agreed, but she wanted to take her mother with her to this island, because she knew she would not be able to live alone out there. Fjaril’s father agreed, and so they came to live here. But it was only three years later that Daiyin’s mother died. I was very young back then… but I still remember the grief. It was not different from what we feel today.”

Ivy realized Daiyin’s life must not have been easy. First she grew up in a poor family with only her mother to support her, and then she lived with the person she loved only to lose her mother. And living on this island, no matter how pretty it was… it had to be lonely, to be confined here for so long. A golden cage…
“Poor Fjaril. He will be all alone now, won’t he?” Ivy whispered, remembering she and Taira had decided to go back to the Friendship Lands.

“Yes… well, he will have us, of course. But I guess we all need our own kind, too. I would be lonely without my butterfly family, even if I had all the ponies in the world surrounding me. He will be lonely… Let’s just hope Taira will visit him frequently from now on.”
“I don’t doubt she will.” Ivy whispered.
She didn’t doubt it at all. Taira would… for Ivy was sure that next to her daughter, Fjaril was the one Taira loved most in the world.