Oubaitori- Oh-buy-toe-ree (Japanese )The idea that people, like flowers, bloom in their own time and in their own individual ways##############Monday mornings were always the best for me. It meant I started a new week of work, a new week to learn, feel, to think. It was like the beginning of a chapter in a massive book of over 3 thousand million chapters. You don't understand? It's fine, not everyone gets it. Monday was also the first day I met Zylith. She and I hadn't clicked at first, I had to work months before she could warm up to me. Sometimes she wore a face like she wanted to be anywhere other than next to me. She thinks I don't notice her inner thoughts, but I do.I switch to my next pose; a downward-facing dog and stretch out my muscles on a purple yoga mat I found in the laundry. I hear light thumping against glass and I smile knowing it's Brucie.Brucie is a Kajolet, a bird of mixed origins. The Kajolet is a lab hybrid species with a mix of a pelican, parrot, and something in between. They are attracted to glowing bright objects and it had almost plucked out my lantern a week after I had moved into the house. I don't know what Brucie likes so I've been experimenting and I can proudly say he must like nuts crushed in milky oatmeal...I think. He had a tag stating he belonged to the National Zoo of Ontario which was a very long distance from here so he was probably fed fancy.I crack the window open, and he flies and lands on my arm, the first few days he had come to steal from my window, he looked frightened and mostly confused but it kept coming back because I put shiny things at the ledge. I think he knows he was tricked but still comes back anyway."Who's a good boy? Who is? You are Brucie" I scratch his vibrant yellow feathers and he stretches his neck for more and I can't even complain. He's the boss here.Brucie could be a female but it's tough to tell and they change sometimes. The experiments the government has performed on poor Brucie's kind is very horrific but I'm happy to know he's still here. I smile at his green ocean eyes that stare back at mine with cooing interest, he takes a step off the ledge and I'm in full contact with his flowing colours, red, orange, black, and yellow.Taking a can from the drawer, I crack it open and Brucie's attention is turned to the can and he's soon having his meal. He rushes to take the tiny fishes into his mouth and takes a few moments to gulp them down. I move to pet him once more, he is out the window in a freight. Poor birdie, just how tough is the world out there?I sigh and close my window ledge but don't return to my yoga session, instead, I walk down in my polka dots yoga pants and spaghetti crop top. I am stepping down the stairs to see a shrivelling form sniffling quietly on the couch and my eyebrows drop in worry."Zylith?" I round the couch quietly to come in full view of her still in her contact gear, her knees brought up to her chest, her face very stiff and taunt in tension, her lips drawn into a tight line and she looks like you just told her to drink piss but others my call this her normal face but I know, how scared she is feeling, her neck is slowly becoming red from holding in her breath."Zylith?" I call out softly in shock at seeing someone who is always so strong but seems so weak right now. I don't know if to comfort her because if she does wake up, she'll remember how I saw her at her most vulnerable state and she's the type of person to hide her feelings. I know Zylith is very broken inside, I don't know who hurt her, who happened? But, she won't let me near her to even discuss the weather so I don't know if I can push the feels out of her.Nonsense, she's my friend and is hurting, whatever it is must be bad."Zylith?" I call her while gently nudging her shoulder and blue eyes open, the black part of the eyes is so big, it's like her whole pupil is black until it slowly shrinks in. The usual icy blue eyes that would freeze an ocean over are so blue like the bluest sky, full of emotion."Are you okay?" I barely finish the question when I'm pulled in for a hug, she pulls my head into her chest and I sit shocked at what is happening, Zylith never hugs me, not first, it took half a year before she even returned my hugs. Oh, baby, I'm so sorry.I feel my nose sting and I squeeze my eyes to let the water flow. What comes out of my mouth is something I didn't want to consider but seeing her like this was so...sad. Maybe Zylith might be somewhat protective, usually so pessimistic that it makes me want to pull my hair out, she acts like she knows it all, she's quiet, she's disturbing, and she rarely smiles but feeling how fast her heart is thudding through her fabric material made me realize...She was human and she wanted to be hugged, loved even for a second."I know you don't want me to be in danger and I respect that but I want to be out there with you Zylith" I pull out of the hug and look into her shrinking eyes.Her face is blank until she registers what I'm saying and her frowning is down to her nose. "No""No, you don't understand, Zylith. These measures, these drones you have everywhere to protect us won't stop them, no matter what you do, you'll always lose to them because there are two of us but a thousand of the Zombies""I can at least try""Try for what? Try for who? You don't want to be saved, you don't want to save, so what are you protecting?" This sentence wasn't about the zombies and it might apply to you, reader."I want to protect you, from them, I had a nightmare and you were gone and I didn't know what...what to do." Her hands slightly tremble and my attention is drawn to Zylith at her most vulnerable moment. "I didn't know what to live for, you were gone and I was here, I was going to kill myse-"I hug her tight against my chest to prevent her from uttering the last word, I will not let her speak evil. "It's okay, honey" I pat her back or whatever I can pat as her gear prevents me."What do you call it when you feel happy from seeing someone happy, sad from seeing them down? What is it called, this emotion when you can't help but keep falling into them like they set a damn trap and you walk like an idiot into it every time?" Her voice squeaks like a tired lullaby"What's it called knowing you'll be happy if they ever betrayed you and you'd be happy to know you died and not them" She grabs my shoulders and I wonder who exactly she's talking about. A lover? A family stuck in another province, is that why she tries her hardest to keep us alive, waking by 4 and coming back by 9?"I think you mean love, honey" I let my voice lower as I speak into her ears, she squeezes my shoulders and I hear the faintest sound of a sob."It's love, Zylith. How does it feel?" I ask her but I still have one goal clear in mind. She doesn't reply to me but lays limp on me. I feel the grainy texture of her hair against my cheek, her tattered black suit and a bloodied back that stains the couch."I just want to protect you, from them. I want you to live to see another generation, I want you to be...happy, Bliss" She calls out my name and I feel my heart jump in my chest, my breath catch in my throat and the dull aching of my morning yoga session catches up to me."I don't want to be protected, Zylith" I move to draw out of the hug but she keeps me in place. Okay, boss."I want to experience, I just understood something Zylith. In this life, there is no sure security in living, we could die at any moment" I let out a depressing chuckle but I proceed, "But one thing I have full security over is my happiness and how I would feel like in my last moments, if I keep living like this, Zylith, I would die very very sad and regretful" "This isn't living, it's surviving, I want to go out, I know I sound crazy but you can't force me to be happy by holing me up here, you know? Only I can find my true happiness" I pull out and this time she lets me go. I come face to face with red eyes and slightly tear-stained eyes, she really doesn't cry huh?"I can't let out go out there, we don't have a mode of transport, I barely make it back alone but with you? And with us having to collect supplies..."She trails off and shake her head but I smile happy knowing she's at least contemplating me being with her."Wait, you said transport? The whole town is run on electricity but without that, the levitation trails won't work...right?" "Yeah, I need an older car or one that has a battery, I could whip something up" She rubs her chin in thought"Zylith remember what my dad's hobby is? It's collecting old cars and transforming them into new model cars. I might have just the address to that place." How could I have been so stupid to forget such a crucial detail? My father was a big endorser of cars and would often talk about going to his mechanics friend who owned a fleet of oil-powered cars."Wanna go shopping for some cars?"##########The sun was high up in the sky just looking at us with a proud smirk on its face i'm sure! For some reason, it felt like the weather was getting colder. I know it's crazy, Canada getting cold, crazy but ever since the entire world was sure we would be toasted because of a sudden spike in climate change, the government had used all its power to keep Canada cold but most of our snow had melted away and it was around the time of the 'Great flood' and 'Great depression'. It's was...depressing."Life is already depressing so let's find the joy in it, okay?" I cock my head back at Zylith who is inspecting the whole area like one of mom's personal bodyguards, she looks back at me in surprise before clearing her throat and we keep walking around the huge building searching for our dream RV car."The car we'll use would be the one to make profound memories and to fuilfil our sense of purpose and adventure" I take in an inspiring breath as the smell of good RV calls out to me in the well-lit room filled with cars. "WOAH! This one has treads! Why is it so Circular and Triangular at the same time?" I smooth my hand over the rubber tire before I can focus on the car my eyes are drawn to another one with a crane and a water spouter."Look, look, this one has a crane attached to it! Do you think we could pull something out with it, like a hidden treasure, Ooh, it's like we're pirates in a zombie apocalypse" I rush off to another one and admire the steel of car, I'm not a car girl but goshie. The adventures got me tingling. I need one with a good interior and just in that moment, I view something that changes my whole perception of life."THIS ONE HAS A JACUZZI, A JACUZZI" I repeat and I immediately move to turn on the hot water I dip the tips of my fingers to feel the water go from cold, to warm and hot. I could totally go for a dip in this every single day. Sweet Mama Mitski."Zylith, can we please take this one? Or this one, or maybe this one, I like the interior, so flowery, Or maybe me this one, it has a cat theme. You won't ignore the cat theme one right?" I point to as many as I can but I don't give myself to catch my breath before my breath is taken away by another."I can ignore the cat theme, like I am doing now" I hear Zylith scoff"THIS ONE, THIS ONE, THIS ONE, ALL OF THEM!!" I roar and raise my hand to the air, I can finally go on an adventure, exploring the world has always been my dream and I certainly wasn't letting an apocalypse stop me from going to the snowy Alps, or the Mediterranean Sea. I'm gonna have chocolate-covered waffles and honey-coated cheerios all day "What do ya, think, Zee?" I turn around to see her standing there with a calculating bored look."When it comes to mobility and speed in an emergency, a four-wheel drive is crucial due to its superior maximum output. For both on and off-road travel, a medium-sized SUV is the ideal choice. Furthermore, considering the potential difficulty of refuelling, we should opt for a hybrid crossover...." I stop listening to her yamble jamble and focus back on my babies, she walks away and goes to inspect other cars and then she stops mumbling to herself while deviously rubbing her chin. She suddenly turns around and waves her hand in the air like a street magician.Voila~ An ugly green SUV."Oh my gosh, that is the most basic SUV I've seen, what did I say about adventures and joy, It's like a regular 20s car" I scrunch my nose at the green car."Pick another one" I urge her "Or we could go for this one with a tent up on it" I point at the one behind me. I liked this one a lot, so I pull out a notebook and write in it with a pen, 'Borrow an SUV' in my bucket list of things."It's like you're basically advertising to them that we're fresh out of the fridge zombie food" She stands strongly with her decision that could cost us our lives! "What are you writing in?"Suddenly, the door to the building is barged open and a zombie comes stumbling in, it's black eyes scan around the area and they land on us, it doesn't even take a step when 3 more are rushing in and they all stumble and fall to the ground un top each other."Shit" Zylith cusses and need I remind her on the rule of using swear words."Zee, no swear words!" My attention is drawn once more as 5 more zombies in workers' outfits stumble into the building and soon the place is slowly filling in with Zombies, I freeze over as I stare into their bottomless eyes, they all look human but don't walk human, it's they're dancing on air.I feel Zylith pull me and we both stumble into a closed SUV, we struggle to close the door and I'm already at the steering wheel. "Fudge, where are the keys?" I panic as I grip the steering wheel but I can't drive, I repeatedly press the button where the power button is supposed to be. Does this car need an ID to drive? We're sweat if it does.I catch a glint of silver over the head hanging and I take it when I feel the car getting rocked from side to side by the dozens of zombies I yank the keys out, fumbling it a little but ultimately jam it into the hole and twist and the moment the SUV roars to life, I'm driving out of there to the nearest door. To get to the door, I hit some vehicles which caused them to panic and honk noise, this caused a chain effect and more zombies burst out the door.I get the car into the hallway, the sides of the car scratch into the walls, creating golden sparks and the tent on top repeatedly hits the lights hanging down. I see a door to our exit.It's a big silver metal door and I hope it's flimsy, please, please, I look at the rearview mirror to see so many of them running at us and why the frick are they running 30km/h?! Was this some olympics race and gosh i don't want to think we were the prize.Just a few seconds before the car is about to crash into the zinc door I just know we'll be dead in a matter of seconds. We won't make it, the door is so rock hard that I fear I and the front half of the car would get squashed into it."Blast it" I hear Zylith curse from behind me, she's thinking exactly what I'm thinkingNo.I refuse to die here when I am so close to being out of this. I would rather die than become zombie food, and if I can't complete my bucket list with stealing an SUV as the number 1, then I'd rather be Zombie food! When the zinc door comes in contact with my speeding vehicle it creaks for a second or two trying to cope with the pressure so I press on my accelerator and the white sun smirks down at us and we are on the streets. In an SUV with a tent on top!"Cross that off my bucket list for me, will ya Zylith?" I throw back the notebook I was writing in earlier and all I receive is a light-hearted chuckle from my best friend as she reads my bucket list of things to do before I turn into a zombie.