" READY OR NOT!! HERE I COME!! "
You hear Rosie shout as you hide inside the kitchen pantry. You recognize this memory as you begin to relive it. This was Rosie's 10th birthday, and you're back in Ariel's cottage.
Through the louvers in the pantry door, you can see her running all around the cottage looking for you. Then suddenly she stops, rubs her eyes, then looks all around her like she's seeing the cottage that she's lived in her whole life for the first time again. After looking around for a moment, she locks her gaze onto you as if she can see through the door. Then she carefully walks towards the pantry door and opens it with a bright smile as she talks to you.
" I FOUND YOU PAPA!! "
" Oh darn! You found me again! "
You say to Rosie in a playful manner as you pick her up and start to tickle her. Rosie laughs uncontrollably as you spin around tickling her. Rosie pleads to her mother the best she can through her laughter.
" MAMA!! HAHAHA THE TICKLE MONSTER GOT ME!! HAHAHAHA HELP ME MAMA!! "
Rosie says through her bright smile.
Ariel then walks into the room with a laundry basket in her hands. You can see that she's aged, as Ariel now looks about 35. She sits down on the couch in the living room and smiles gently as she starts folding clothes and responds.
" Mama's getting a little too old to be playing the games that you and Papa play when he visits. "
Upon hearing that, you stop tickling Rosie and quickly snap your gaze onto Ariel with a mischievous look. Ariel sees the way you're looking at her and she smiles nervously because she knows what's about to happen next. Now Ariel is pleading with you through her smile as you set Rosie down and start walking towards her quickly.
" NO! PLEASE! DONNY! I'm trying to fold laund- "
Then you pick Ariel up off of the couch and shower her with kisses as you hold her in your arms. Rosie and Ariel both laugh hysterically while Ariel squirms and pleads with you as you kiss her all over. Then you set Ariel back down on the couch and sit down next to her. Ariel fixes her hair while looking at you with loving eyes, then goes back to folding clothes. As you help her fold the clothes, Ariel talks to Rosie.
" Your father is a real brat, huh Rosie? He thinks he can just kiss and tickle us whenever he wants. "
Rosie looks at her mother with a smug smile as she responds.
" Don't lie, Mama. I know you love Papa's kisses and tickles! "
You turn to Ariel playfully and chime in, taking Rosie's side.
" Yeah, Mama. Rosie knows better. "
Ariel responds playfully and with a smile seeing that you and Rosie have teamed up on her.
" Well… I never said that I didn't. "
Suddenly you hear a knocking on the front door and Rosie jumps up and shouts loudly before running out of the room.
" I'LL GET IT!! "
As Rosie leaves the room, Ariel turns to you and puts her hand gently on your leg. You can see the love in her eyes as she speaks to you.
" Thank you for making it here for her birthday… "
" Do you really think I'd miss my little girl's 10th birthday? "
You say playfully before Ariel gives you a kiss. After Ariel kisses you, she looks you up and down intimately and in silence for a moment. You notice that she's deep in thought, so you ask her about it.
" What's on your mind? "
" It's so surreal… "
She says to you as she puts her hand gently on your face.
" 13 years… and you look like you haven't aged a day… "
She has a look of sadness in her eyes as she continues talking.
" I'm getting old, Donny… I'm not the young woman that you fell in love with anymore… "
You put your hand on hers and gently hold it to your face as you look deeply into her eyes and respond to her.
" It doesn't matter how old you get, Ari. I'll still love you the same… even long after you're gone. "
A tear begins to run down Ariel's face as you and her have your moment, then it's interrupted by Rosie screaming as she runs back into the room with her arms in the air.
" UNCLE TOM'S HERE!! "
You then see Tom enter the room chasing after her. Then he catches her and she squeals with excitement and laughs uncontrollably. Tom holds her above his head and talks to her playfully as she giggles.
" RAAAH!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE ALREADY 8 YEARS OLD!! "
Rosie laughs and responds.
" No, silly! I'm 10!! "
Tom and Rosie go back and forth. Tom's obviously playing around.
" YOU'RE TURNING 9?! "
" NO, SILLY! I'M 10!! "
" Oh ok… You're turning 7 today. "
Rosie giggles even more as she responds to Tom.
" III'M 10!! "
Tom acts like he finally gets it as he sets Rosie down and puts his hands on his hips while looking at her.
" Ohhhh! You're 10!! Well in that case, I brought you a little birthday present for your big day hitting double digits! "
Tom then pulls what looks like some sort of luxury case out of his pocket and he hands it to Rosie. Rosie's eyes light up as she opens it and takes out a 1:1 scale of a rose made out of solid gold.
" WOAHHH!! "
Rosie exclaims as she's struck in awe holding it in her small hands.
" It's really heavy!! "
You turn to Ariel and see that she's fascinated as well by the gift that Tom brought Rosie. Tom speaks to Rosie while she examines it.
" The thorns on the stem are sharp so be careful not to prick your finger, ok? "
Rosie smiles brightly as she looks up and responds to Tom.
" Don't worry, Uncle Tom. It's ok if I prick my finger on the rose because that means that I really love it! "
Confused, Tom looks at you and Ariel. Ariel smiles gently and explains why Rosie said what she said.
" When Rosie was younger, she'd always ask me why I spend so much time out in the garden. It wasn't until recently that I thought that she'd be able to understand, but now that she's gotten a bit older, she gets it. "
Ariel then looks at Rosie and politely asks her a question.
" Rosie, may I see the gift that Tom brought you? "
" Sure mama! "
Rosie says as she hands Ariel the golden rose and Ariel admires the beauty of the rose and the craftsmanship that it took to make it as detailed as it is. Ariel then speaks from the heart as she holds Rosie's gift in her hands.
" The reason why I've cultivated Roses all my life is because of how much I love them and what they mean to me… I told Rosie that for someone to really love roses, their love and admiration for them would have to outweigh the fear of getting pricked by their thorns. To truly love a rose would be to accept the rose for everything that it is, thorns and all, and the people who can do that often share a similar outlook for the people that they love as well. They accept the people that they love for everything they are, regardless of whether those people have thorns... So in my eyes, a person who can truly love and admire roses is a person who understands what love really means. "
Ariel gives the golden rose back to Rosie and you look at Tom. Tom telepathically speaks to you in your mind as to not tell Ariel or Rosie what he's telling you.
" It makes me happy knowing that you've started a family with someone so beautiful and insightful, Donny. She's certainly one of a kind. You chose well, brother. I'm proud of you. "
You smile and look back at Rosie to see that she's staring at the golden rose with a puzzled look while she's holding it in her hands. She's looking at it just like she looked around before when you guys were playing hide and seek, and Tom notices that something's up as well so he asks her a question.
" Hey Rosie, what's going on? Are you alright? "
Ariel looks at you concerned and you put your hand on her leg to comfort her before Rosie responds.
" Yeah, Uncle Tom? Sometimes my eyes change and I can see a bunch of black and white inside stuff. It's kinda cool cause I can see through things too and I don't know why. "
Rosie then looks up at Tom confused as she continues to talk to him.
" It's weird though. You and Papa don't have any white on the inside. That's how I found him when we were playing hide and seek earlier… "
You and Tom both look at each other knowing exactly what this means. Rosie's part Black Trap and she's starting to grow into her abilities.
Rosie's hands suddenly begin glowing bright green as she holds Tom's gift in her hands. Seeing this happen, Tom swiftly picks up Rosie and the rose drops to the ground before Rosie's able to siphon any Light from it. You and Ariel both get up from the couch and quickly check on your daughter as she's feeling distressed.
" That was close. "
Tom says as he gently hands Rosie to you. As you're holding her, Ariel pulls the hair out of Rosie's face and looks at her baby with a concerned look.
" What was that? "
Ariel asks as you slowly rock Rosie back and forth in your arms to calm her down. You respond to her in a serious tone.
" Remember how I told you that I have certain abilities that I'm not able to use, otherwise you'd probably never see me again? "
" Yeah… "
Ariel says with a grave look on her face before you respond.
" Well it appears that Rosie has inherited those abilities as well… "
Rosie speaks up to you in a frightened manner.
" Papa? What's wrong with me? Am I gonna be ok? "
" Nothing's wrong with you, sweetie. You're gonna be just fine. It turns out you're just special. That's all. "
You say to her in an assured tone.
" Yes, Rosie. You're very special. More special than you know. "
Tom says as he puts his hand on Rosie's shoulder gently. He looks you deep in your eyes and nods. You know exactly what Tom means. Since she's your daughter, Rosie is a singularity as well. She's also the first Black Trap that's a female and the first ever to be born.
The environment begins to fracture once more as light seeps through the cracks into the memory until the memory shatters and you're back in space.
Your heart aches as you long to see your daughter again. The One erased your memory of her. You feel infuriated and disgusted that he'd even do such a thing to you.
Where are they? What happened to Ariel and Rosie?