Chapter 38A - Sprout
A clock faintly ticks in the background as I sit in the facility’s library, attempting to fight boredom by reading any books that catch my eye. Waves of nausea and dizziness wash over me occasionally, worsening whenever I stand up, so I figure maybe it’s best to just stay in one place. I don’t particularly mind spending most of my time in this room nowadays. The dusty old book smell is nostalgic to me in a way.
I find myself lost in thought, feeling braindead and bored as ever as I stare at the words in the book I hold in front of me, jumbled words neatly strewn into sentences with meaning.
“Lena!! Lena!!! You’ve got to see this, come quick!!”
Startled, I jump and nearly fall off the chair as Ell1s bursts into the room enthusiastically.
“AH– Shit– Please don’t startle me like that again…”
“Oh- S- sorry! But, um, you should follow me to the greenhouse, like, now! Well… slowly, of course. I know moving around has been increasingly difficult for you as of lately, so it’s good that we have a number of various mobility aids stored here in the facility!”
“I guess so… although I kinda feel like an elderly person walking around with this cane… Anyways, what happened? Did something actually grow?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see! Come on!”
Ell1s cheerfully leads me down the hallway, beaming with excitement. I open the door to the facility’s greenhouse room and see the small sprout of one of the pansies I grew. I immediately rush over and get a closer look at it, the flower bud slowly preparing to bloom.
“It- It actually grew?”
I hold the pot in my hands, staring at the faint sign of life that I missed for so long.
“It did! It did! I knew you could do it, Lena!”
I set the pot back down as Ell1s gets a closer look at the plant, amazed. He cheerfully takes a moment to admire it.
“I’ve never seen a plant up close before! I wonder what it’ll look like when it blooms? Ah… I’ve always had an interest in greenery, but I’ve only been able to look at pictures of such beautiful plant life stored within my data. But isn’t it wonderful though? I’m sure all of these other seeds you planted will grow in no time! Who knows, maybe their roots have already settled in, and they’re preparing for the perfect time to sprout up from the soil!”
“...Yeah. Once I have some vegetables growing I can eat some actual food again as well.”
“Haha… y-yeah, that too…”
I admire my plant for a bit longer, before Ell1s nervously speaks up again.
“L- Lena, your nose is-”
“Ugh, not again…”
I pull out one of the tissues I had stuffed in my pocket and hold it up to my nose to stop the sudden bleeding.
Ell1s looks away as he glitches out for a moment, becoming increasingly worried.
“Hey. I’m fine. Er- well, not really. …Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. I’m… I’m just scared of losing you, Lena. I really am. I can’t bear to be alone in this place again.”
His voice gets shakier.
“What am I going to do when you… when you…”
“Look. I… I don’t want to die. And I’m scared too. And there’s definitely so much more I would’ve rather done in my life than slowly let radiation kill me. But in the end… I think I’m happy I got to make the most of it while I still could. So let’s continue to make life brighter while we still can, okay? And even once I am gone… try to remember all of the time we spent together. That’s something that’ll never truly fade away.”
I can hear Ell1s sniffle quietly, trying not to cry while fidgeting with his tie.
“And… look. I know things didn’t start out the best. We both hurt each other. But… I think I’m glad I found this place now. I probably would’ve died a lot faster out in the wasteland anyways. So… thanks for being here and caring about me. It means a lot. Really.”
Ell1s gives me a pained but genuine smile.
“...Haha… You’re right. It… It just all feels too soon.”
“But… I’m happy I got to meet a human like you. You’re an amazing person, Lena. Really. I’m not sure what would've happened to me if you never came here.”
“Now… I’ll handle watering the plants for now, alright? Go get some rest. You look a lot paler than before, and don’t want you tiring your body out too much. Try to take things easier, alright?”
I nod and carefully walk back out into the hallway. I stand there against the wall, feeling bittersweet. I can hear Ell1s faintly humming to himself from the greenhouse, a sad yet hopeful tune. As I walk away, the sound fades, and the familiar sound of my footsteps and distant machinery fills the air again.