Chapter 1

There is a place far away from the rustle and bustle of the busy city life. A small village home to a small number of individuals who yearn for the tranquility of country life. A place where everyone knows and helps one another. This small piece of paradise exists in the middle of a dense forest sandwiched between an ocean and a tall mountain. This place is called Flowerbud Village.

Surprisingly, there are many things to do in this remote village. Many residents spend their days walking around enjoying the beautiful views. Others spend their days fishing and harvesting for a living. Residents gather together several times a year to sing and dance at festivals. Even on non-festival days, they gather at cafe's and inns to chat about the busy lives they came to love.

Every resident has their story. But this story begins a bit differently. The village has recently built a sanitarium behind the local clinic. This building was especially built to resemble a home, so a special guest can live in it peacefully. This new resident will need to live in this hospital/home hybrid for the rest of her life.

A few days after the sanitarium is built, a limousine pulls into the village and parks at the side of the sanitarium. The side door opens, and a young nurse walks out to take a good look at the sanitarium. After giving her approval, she moves to the other side of the limo and opens the door.

The nurse smile and says, “Dia, we are here. From now on, this is going to be our new home! The sanitarium looks a lot nicer than the doctor told us about. Come out and take a look yourself.”

A young girl then steps out of the limo and takes a look at the sanitarium. The building is brand new, but the style looks old fashioned and rustic. Completely contradictory to Dia’s clothes that looks more traditional and sophisticated. She then takes a quick look around at the rest of the village and frowns. Nothing but miles of dirt roads rather than the streets and sidewalks she is used to. Even though she is wearing a green dress, she feels that it does not match with the rest of the foliage. She feels that her new mary-jane shoes will get dirty and scratched from the dirt and pebbles on the ground. And she feels that the pollen in the air won’t be good for her jet black medium short hair.

She adjusts her gold colored circlet before saying, “Gina, why do I have to live in a sanitarium? Why can't I just go back home?”

The nurse named Gina sighs and answers, “you know what the doctor said. It's best for your health to stay in a place where you'll be taken care of. You don't like living in a hospital, so this is a better alternative. It's almost like living in a normal house.”

Dia grunts angrily and says, “fine, whatever. As long as I don't live in a hospital, then this will have to do. But I was hoping I would live someplace closer to home.”

“Everything is going to be okay, I’m right here with you.”

Dia nods. Gina is Dia’s nurse. They both met after Dia was hospitalized three years ago. Now they’ve become good friends. Gina was then hired by Dia’s family to care for her in Flowerbud Village. Gina had no family at her hometown, so she gladly decided to start a new life with Dia.

The next day, Dia is introduced to the medic of Flowerbud Village, Doctor Alex. She found it quite surprising that Alex is so young, only a few years older than Gina. He also has medium long jet black hair, but his hair is loose. “Let’s see. . .” said Alex while he reviews Dia’s medical charts that came in the mail. “Your name is Dia, age 23, blood type O-. Looks like you had quite an accident some years ago.”

Dia nods quietly as Alex continues to review her charts. “Okay, I get why you are here, but I’ll need to examine you thoroughly. I’ll need to see some of your injuries.”

Dia nods, and turned her back to show the doctor her scars. She is somewhat comfortable with undressing partially; she had many doctors look at her before. She unbuttons the back of her dress and exposes her back. Alex cringes as he sees the burn scars on her body that is hidden under her dress. According to his charts, Dia has burn scars all over her body.

“That must have been quite an accident. It’s a miracle that you’re alive right now,” he comments.

“If you call this living,” Dia snaps as she covers herself again. “I can’t move around a lot, I need to live under the care of a doctor or nurse, I can’t live a normal life, and now I must live in a cottage for the rest of my life in a hick town.”

“It’s not so bad,” said Gina. “After all, I’m here with you, and we’ll be together forever. So you won’t be alone.”

Dia grunts as she looks away. Gina only smiles, considering that this is normal for Dia. The doctor then puts away the charts and says, “Well, it’s not perfect place, but I’m sure you’ll like it here. The air is clean, the people are friendly, and there is no noise or flashing lights keeping you awake. Hopefully, they’ll be a new treatment sooner or later that might allow your body to recover a bit better.”

Dia sighs. She has no hope that she’ll ever get better. After all, she’s not sick, but her body is weak from an accident that happened earlier. Even though she came to the village with a good friend, she doesn’t think she can come to trust anyone else. She would rather be alone than get hurt even more.