Forget-me-not

Cynthia

"Forget-me-nots for remembrance, snowdrops for hope, and sweet peas for gratitude." Cynthia whispered it over and over again and again beneath her breath. She was hoping the words would stick in her brain. 

Her boss, who she had no past memory of, referred to himself as Ki-woo. His flower shop was named after the second half of his first name. Woo's Wisterias was a wonderful place and she had a feeling that Ki-woo used to be a great boss. 

He picked out and arranged the flower bouquet based on the meaning of the flowers. Snipping off the bottom bright green stems, he placed them into a glass vase of water while explaining the meanings of each flower. 

Forget-me-nots were a powdery blue with a pin-needling of canary yellow in the center. Strokes of white slipped down the center of each petal. They were named due to an foreign urban legend. A knight bent down along the edge of a river to retrieve a handful of the powdered blues for his lover. 

 Due to the heavy armory, he toppled head over heels towards the river. He threw the flowers back to his lover and cried out "forget me not" before he drowned. Ever since then, they've represented remembrance and love. 

 Snowdrops were for hope and beauty. Dark green stems shot straight up before they tapered off and drooped at the end. Feathery white petals hung limp and looked defeated. Despite their droopy appearance, they're symbolic of hope after winter. In nature, they start popping up between January and March. 

Sweet peas were the last ones placed into the vase. The bright pinks and purples pointed upwards. The petals looked like butterflies mid-flap perched on green stems. They often represent gratitude, good wishes, and kindness. 

The bright colors added lovely pops of color. The bouquet brought a lot of happiness to Cynthia. She thanked him over and over again staring down at the vase smiling. Their honeyed light floral scent followed her when she left. 

Ki-woo made sure he wrote down instructions for her to take care of them. She tucked the note safely into her back pocket and carried the flowers down to the Han River. This was the most upbeat she had felt in a while. She should have gone home, but she had hours before Flora would get home. 

Following the traffic lights, she crossed the street over towards the river bank. With the vase of flowers in her hands, she slowly placed it on a wooden picnic table facing the river. She carefully pulled her hands away making sure the vase stood up. 

When it didn't topple over, she plopped herself down and sat next to it. The area by the river bank was deserted early in the morning. It was only pushing nine on a Friday morning. The sun was still in the process of rising above the river. 

Glazed oranges meshed with dandelion yellow. For once, the sky was bright blue instead of mottled gray. Maybe it was just the warmth of sunlight or the flowers or the combination of both, but something was ablaze in her. 

The fluttery feeling of being unstoppable and on top of the world. She couldn't remember so many things, but she was here and she had this. She was sure she'd be able to remember this. Maybe not the exact face of Ki-woo, but she'd remember the kindness he showed her. 

She shut her eyes and promised herself, she vowed that she'd remember this. Among the grays and missing pieces, she'd remember the sunshine. She'd remember the bright color of flowers. She'd remember the kindness of random strangers and she'd remember how important the little things were. 

"Have you gotten lost again?" 

She opened her eyes at the familiar sound of a voice. Dark eyes peeked out from the top half of a face mask. It took her a moment before she could speak. "It's you."