The garden.

Despite not having a great sense of direction and leaking tears, Aster managed to find his way there. He always found solace in greenery and flowers, and being surrounded by multicoloured flora would help him to have some time to think. The mid-afternoon sun gave all the colours a vibrant depth, exponentially increasing the already awe-inspiring beauty of the garden. 

Aster sat down on a bench and started contemplating everything. His ugly sobbing was the only noise in the serene garden. 

Mum's absence doesn’t affect me much anymore, but when the memories come back, they hit me like a truck.

He sat there, tears running down from his eyes, embracing the warm spring wind, watching the bees and butterflies in the garden going about their day. Aster was not sure how much time he had spent sitting there, as he was too busy replaying waning memories of his time with his mom. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the silhouettes of Hazel and Calix approaching him. Hazel was carrying a tissue box.

"I thought we'd find you here. May we join you?"

Aster felt ready. He turned to her, trying to smile while holding back more tears. He tapped his hand on the bench, signalling that they should sit together with him on it. Hazel's amiable energy brought Aster some much-needed comfort.

"What’s on your mind? We’re all ears if you wanna share."

Aster graciously accepted Hazel's invitation. Her words were the key to a part of Aster's brain that was hidden away, and her presence was the motivation for Aster to finally unlock it.

"That song reminds me of my mom. She used to play it for me as a lullaby when I was young."

Aster recalled being a young child, lying on his bed, with his mother sitting next to him. She played the guitar and sang. Her sweet tone was similar to Hazel's- at least that's how Aster remembered it to be. Maybe that was why Hazel's voice was so particularly pleasant.

"It reminds me of a more peaceful time, before everything started going wrong."

The quiet before the storm. And it was one heck of a storm.

Aster took a long exhale. He had never revealed this to anyone; neither his friends in middle nor high school. However, something compelled him to speak freely around Hazel. It was probably a combination of her warmhearted spirit and her demeanour, especially in the way she conveyed happiness through her facial expressions. That was another similarity between Hazel and his mother. 

"My parents divorced when I was six. I chose to live with mom, but she wasn’t the same."

The tired face of his mother became something that young Aster saw daily. Her visage became increasingly enervated, and the smile that he knew became a far less common occurrence.

"Being a single parent was definitely exhausting. She never had a day of rest until I entered middle school. Mum only started having time to take care of herself when I started being more independent."

His mother got her new guitar when he was thirteen. It was the very same one that he had now brought to Central Crew. She played it every day, and after school, Aster would sit with her and she would teach him the basics.

"But one day, I came home and…"

A new round of tears welled up in Aster's eyes. He thought he was done crying today, but clearly, his emotions had other plans. Hazel, noticing this, immediately passed Aster the tissue box.

That day lived rent-free in Aster's memories. He remembered how he was just coming back from another day in school and looking forward to his next guitar lesson with his mom, how he swung the door open enthusiastically and shouted that he was home, like he had done every day. How he felt when he saw his mother's body, crumpled and gaunt, on the floor. The panic he felt as he dialled the number for the ambulance. 

"The doctor said that she was discovered too late, and she was pronounced dead at the scene."

Aster forced a smile.

"That song, I wanted her to teach me how to play it. The lullaby she would sing to help me sleep when I was a kid. It's the last thing she taught me before she…"

"Thank you for sharing, Aster. Can I give you a hug?"

Aster nodded, and Hazel wrapped him in a consoling embrace. Calix patted Aster's back in an attempt to soothe him.

I'm so happy I met Hazel.

"Okay. I think I'm ready to head back now."

Aster stood up, and so did Hazel & Calix. The walk back was mostly silent, with Hazel taking the lead and Calix at the rear. Aster's heart still felt uneasy, though it finally felt like it was slowly healing. He had plenty of friends over the years, but none whom he could confide in.

He rested in the comfort that he had finally found the friends to whom he could impart his fears and history.

They turned the final corner back to the clubroom, and Aster noticed a figure standing outside it.

"Hey guys, what'chyall’ doin’ outside the clubroom?"

The figure was Lila, now dressed in a white crop top with a huge butterfly logo in its centre. She took off the white headphones she was wearing, revealing that she had swapped out her star earrings for butterfly ones.  She had an additional necklace on- this one had a heart pendant hanging from it. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Aster noticed Calix smile and wave to Lila. Once again, jealousy surfaced within Aster, although he managed to suppress it. He smiled and waved to Lila too.

Ugh. I wish Calix would smile like that at me. I’ve never seen him do that to anyone else.

Wait, does he like Lila?