Elegy for Olea europaea

There was a coffin in front of the country house which was in the center of the entire base. The entire base population surrounded the area as they watched a somber and usually strong man with dark hair and equally dark eyebags break down in front of them.

The base leader was a symbol of hope and strength for the entire base. He helped them survive the apocalypse and live a semi-normal life. Seeing him break down was disheartening and scary.

When Aiden came back alone with only a bus, many of his subordinates questioned the state of the other people.

He simply stared at them with dull eyes and a flattened mouth as a response.

From there, he ordered the banishment of the flowers that always clung onto him. Many of his subordinates knew that the self-made harem was always bothersome: never pulling their own weight, acting like the lovers of the base leader and antagonized anyone who refuted or disagreed with them.

They were only kept as it was inhuman to toss them out of the base for being rude or spreading gossip. The boss had a strong sense of justice and humanity, thus he let their petty actions slide. So, the close subordinates ignored these "lovers" of their boss.

But now, with the boss's firm orders, they weeded out any clingy flowers left in the base and those still out of the base by barring them from the entrance and punishing anyone who disagreed.

The common population felt distressed at the crying flowers, but after finding out of the truth, there was no sympathy left for them. Thus, these flowers had no other choice but to leave the safe haven.

After a week, Aiden finally announced that he was hosting a funeral in memory of Oliver. Everyone, but the close subordinates, were surprised. Although they have been told that the harem had murdered another base member for selfish reasons, Oliver didn't have a good image in the base either.

He was seen as an average face that managed to hold onto the biggest thigh through threats of taking all the supplies of the base with his strong spatial ability. Rumors of his wicked deeds dispersed throughout the base and many took it as the truth.

Seeing Aiden break down in gentle sobs in front of an empty coffin, they erased the negative notion and simply grieved along with him. Aiden's subordinates patted his back and gave a few consoling words.

Aiden already confirmed that there was no body to bury. When he saw those disgusting "beauties" run over to him, he only saw a spotless and wet floor behind them. He could already infer Oliver's fate in their hands.

The people under Aiden knew how much Oliver meant to their boss. They have seen Oliver turn their astute and strict boss into a warm mush. Aiden had tried confessing a couple of times, but they were always interrupted at the most opportune moments, no matter how much the subordinates tried to stop those annoyances from bothering the duo.

Eventually, Aiden stopped trying to confess and thought there was always time. He had confidence in his strength and ability to protect his important one.

Unfortunately, Aiden was wrong. When he later told his subordinates why the bus was empty and told them to prepare the funeral, he went into the central country house and stayed there for a couple of days. As if waiting would wash away the pain of losing Oliver.

The subordinates tacitly left him alone and immediately arranged the funeral for Oliver.

A large funeral has not ever occurred in the base and it was hosted by the base leader. The entire base population came over to either grieve along or stay silent during the entire process.

During the funeral, Aiden gently stroked a piece of paper. It was a photo of Oliver, a really old one, about thirteen years old. It was a childhood photo of a ten-year-old boy holding a corncob the size of his head, his squishy face was stretched out into a grin as the sun beat down on top of his fluffy dark brown hair. Aiden found the picture of Oliver at the week of the apocalypse in the country house. He seemed a little embarrassed that Aiden found it, the base leader lied that he would put it away and instead kept it on him as he thought it was too cute to leave it lying in the closet.

He laid the photo into the coffin and gently closed it. At first, a tear slid down his cheek and landed on the coffin made of birchwood. Then, the tears just wouldn't stop. He silently cried as he bore his eyes upon the lifeless wooden box, refusing to blink, as he carried it alone to a pre-dug hole and carefully lowered it with the help of ropes.

It wasn't heavy, but Aiden felt that the coffin holding only a picture weighed a thousand tons as he put it down.

His teardrops continued to rain down onto the floor as he quietly and devotedly began to bury the hole. When it was completely buried, he stood panting near the newly formed grave, despite his strength and prowess, he seemed fragile and exhausted. His cracked and gritty voice reverberated into the air.

"Goodbye."