The Town Full of Edelweiss

In a distant land where Monsters, people with Superpowers, Guardian Spirits, Beasts in the form of Humans alike, Gods and Goddesses, Demons/Devils, and etc. roams the land. There is a mysterious town that everyone is trying to find because of how beautiful that place is. It was just a deserted area before but now, it is considered to be one of the Seven most beautiful places in the continent due to its beautiful scenery, a town full of flowers it is called, The Town of Flowers - Mhyka. Only a few were able to tell a tale, some believed it was just a myth or a legend. But some claims they have been there and it was truly out of this world, somehow out of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people trying to look for it, only one or two was able to find it and came back out to tell the tale.

A man and a Mystical Deer was flying through the sky and decided to descend because they both got mesmerized by the beauty of the town. When the man and the Mystical Deer landed, they saw a girl around the age of 15 near the town's gate sitting on a flower field with a frown on her face. The duo decided to approach the girl and ask if everything was alright.

"Hello," the man said with a smile. 

The girl was spooked hearing someone say Hello out of nowhere and looked back really fast. She saw a man around his 20s and was really charming like a prince and a deer??? Well, next to him was a deer the size of a human, it had a pretty horn that looked like a wood with flowers and vines growing with it. It had such mystical eyes, it's as if it was created just to be beautiful and perfect. It looks like nature itself.

"Hello, I have never seen you here before. You must be a visitor. Well, we only had a few actually. People tend to get lost in this place, and we still don't know why" the girl said with a cheerful smile.

The man just looked at the girl in the eyes and ignored what she said and asked, "I saw you looking really sad as if you were reminiscing about the past. I can lend you my ear if you want"

At first, the girl was very hesitant because even though the man in front of him looks harmful and yet charming, she never felt like her life was in any sort of danger. In fact, she felt secure being around this man, and the Mystical Deer with him looks like one of those guardian spirits who only approaches and follows people who are unique on their own, especially deer ones. They are very cautious, and it is very hard to get their trust. They will only get near you if they know you truly are not a bad person and so decided to open up.

"Well, you see. My grandmother planted all the flowers in this town and she is the only family I had left in this world. I mean, I still have my grandpa but he is too busy taking care of the town that he neglected his responsibility and we were never close. So, my grandma was the only family I have left. My real parents left me here with my grandma and grandpa to pursue their dreams together and do not want to just be stuck here like a normal person and now she died a few days ago." the girl said as she was trying to hold her tears from falling down her eyes.

The man looked at the girl and was silent for a few seconds. The girl noticed the man looking straight into her eyes as if he was looking straight into her soul, as if no secrets can ever hide in those emerald eyes. It was so beautiful and a bit embarrassing because a really charming man was looking at her really intently.

"What if I tell you that I can grant you any wish you want and in exchange, you will give up one of your precious memories, what would you do? And what would that desire be?" The man said very calmly as he was looking straight into the girl's eyes.

The girl didn't know how to react to the man that suddenly came out of nowhere, the only thing she heard was his question that kept repeating inside her head about granting him a wish in exchange for a precious memory. The girl's mind was in absolute chaos, she wanted to believe the man but she also knew there was no such thing, but the possibility of it being real, even just an ounce of chance, she would definitely grab it.

As she mustered up her courage, she decided to just go with it even if it was just a joke.

"I don't know if it is real but I would lose nothing even if I tried. But if I didn't try it just because of that and it turns out it was real, it would be my biggest regret in my life. So, I would like to take your offer. And for my wish…" the girl paused as she was pondering what she would definitely want right now.

The man smiled at her and the girl suddenly, "How about this, come with me inside the town and explore our and try out some stuff while I go back to my house and think about what I want. When I finally know what I want, I will look for you before the Sun even sets, is that okay?"

The girl left running after saying what she had decided. 

The man was surprised, he has been doing this for quite a long time now. He even lost count on how many hundred years it has been, but this was the 2nd time someone went on and decided to think and made him wait. Now that you think about it, I know there was a first one, but how come I cannot remember who it was.

Granting wishes in exchange for a precious memory seems like a good thing but for him, if he decided not to accept the precious memory that was randomly given to him, he will end up losing his own memories. He had done it a lot of times, there were memories of people that he couldn't just take away because it would be like a bird crippling its wings.

Any precious memory will be given to him in exchange for a wish, it's either he accepts the memory and the person loses that which will now become his, or if he refuses to accept the precious memory of the one he granted the wish for without the person knowing he took it or not, they will never even have an idea what was missing from them. It was as if it was only natural that it happens and for some reason, he will be the one to lose his own precious memories randomly.

The man and the deer were walking together to explore the town. Even though it is normal for other people to have their own little guardian spirit, they tend to ignore it. The Mystical Deer was the center of attention in the town because it was truly a majestic guardian spirit as they claimed it to be.

As they were walking, the man heard two people arguing. It was a man around the same age as the girl, while the other one was a little girl.

Apparently, they were siblings. The little girl wanted to play with her brother but her brother was busy trying to make a living and heard what the guy was saying.

"Man, she is so annoying, can't she see I am busy trying to sell something or else we won't have anything to eat in a few days from now. I am trying to show her how I am loving her by being able to provide and care for her needs. How I wish someone would play with her so she can stop annoying me" the guy said while being attentive to their little flower stall.

The man approached the guy selling a flower in the stall and asked, "Are you sure you want that to be your wish? Isn't she your little sister?"

The boy looked at the man and a deer???

He was confused but answered anyway.

"Yeah, I am doing this for her anyways. Why?" the boy answered and asked.

"I can grant you that wish if you really want it, but in exchange, you will lose a precious memory." the man said to the boy.

The boy looked at his money pouch and then looked at her little sister with teary eyes.

"Yes, I am willing to. If it could make us live, then why not. Even if it's real or not, I will still ask for that wish and that wish is for someone to play with her for a little while I sell some of these flowers." the boy implied.

"Well then, your wish is my command." the man said and a magical light appeared around them and the girl was no longer annoying his brother went to the Mystical Deer.

The man added, "This is my partner, she will keep your sister safe, and at the same time I am sure she can make her have a blast"

The boy looked at his sister and heard her say something before the deer and her little sister left. 

She said, "You hate me, I know because we are not blood related. We are just both adopted that is why you don't love me and never play with me"

The boy was so shocked that his face turned really sour as he clenched his fist and was about to cry.

He looked at the man and smiled bitterly and said,"You see, we were both orphans. We were adopted by our foster parents but they died a few months ago. And I am her only family left, if I don't earn money we will not be able to eat anything. I don't want to see her starve, that is why I just give her my food sometimes and say I already ate even though I did not." the guy said to the man who was looking at him with a really calm and charming face.

"I see." That was the only reply the man gave to the boy and smiled and gave him a pat in the shoulder.

1-2 hours later, the little girl and the Mystical Deer came back. The girl looked happy but her eyes were full of sadness.

The man was about to say that he has fulfilled his wish and is about to collect the boy's precious memory, the boy suddenly said.

"Mister, is it okay if I change my wish? Or is it too late now?"

The man simply smiled and said "What would that be?"

"Can I wish for someone to watch my stall for just a few minutes so I can go on and play with my little sister?" the boy asked in a very polite tone.

Hearing the boy's request made the man look at the boy with praise. He met tons of people and granted them wishes, but for others it was only for their own selfish desires. They succumb to their greed, but this boy, at such a young age, had such a golden heart. How could he refuse?

"Very well, I shall go on and take over the stall for you. Go on and have fun and catch up with each other." the man said.

The little girl was looking at her brother as she could not stop herself from crying. Even though she is only around 7 years old, she thinks so maturely already. She knows that her brother was doing his very best, and it is all for her.

The girl cried and sat down on the floor and said, "I am so sorry brother, for saying that you hate me even though I know you don't. I know you don't even eat just so that I can eat and yet, and yet I still kept on bugging you to play with me because that is the only thing I can do. I wanted you to have fun for at least once in a while because I can see how much effort you give everyday even though you are so tired already, yet you still kept on doing all these things for me. I am sorry for being a bad little sister." The man just watched as the girl kept on crying and apologizing to his brother.

The boy didn't say anything and just hugged her little sister so tight for a few minutes until she finally calmed down.

The boy looked at the man happily while smiling and said, "It is fine now, you can take one of my precious memories. We will just make tons of new ones together even if I lose one, I don't mind."

The man nodded and a white light suddenly popped out of the guy's head and burst into light as the man closed his eyes, he saw what the precious memory was. It was a memory of the boy before her mother died, how she told him that no matter what happens, he must take care of her little sister because even if they are not blood related, she is his family now. He must love her, care for her, protect her, and cherish her. As the boy heard her foster mom's dying wish, their mom slowly closed her eyes and stopped breathing while his little sister was sleeping peacefully next to her foster mom's death bed.

The man had seen a few of this type of memories, but it's his first time seeing someone so young that he couldn't help but feel very sad of the two. And so, the only thing he can do for the young man is reject the random precious memory that he got from the boy and decide to sacrifice his own precious memory that he has no idea what he might lose, but he has to in order to pay for the wish that was granted. If he accepts that precious memory, he might have destroyed something he shouldn't and might regret it for life.

As soon as the light fades away, the man said it was all done and bid them goodluck and left the area.

After walking around the town for about 10 minutes, the man encountered an interesting man. He was around his mid 30s, and an interesting man approached the man and his deer. He was a painter, he was talking about how he wanted to paint such a magnificent and beautiful and elegant piece to add to his paintings. He was talking about making a masterpiece if he would grant me a wish to paint it.

The man was so flattered and so he agreed and granted his wish and he said in exchange for a precious memory which the painter didn't mind as long as his name will forever be known for such a magnificent painter. The painter led them to his house and the man showed tons of great paintings on the wall.

The painter told them that he will begin now, so is it possible to leave now. The man was so confused because, why would the painter want me to leave if he was to paint him. 

Well, it was embarrassing, it turns out that the painter was so amazed and it was not at him, but at his Mystical Deer. He was so devastated and walked near the side aimlessly and sat down on the floor. 

As he sat down feeling so defeated by his partner, he saw tons of paintings in front of him. The pictures were all the same, at first it was an old lady but then as the painting went on, it kept getting younger and younger, looking like what an old lady would look like back in her youth.

The man was curious so he asked the painter, and the painter said.

'An old lady came to my house a month ago, she requested such an absurd painting but I can't refuse such a challenging task. She wanted me to draw her based on what I see in front of me and let me keep painting till I get it right on what she looks like when she is young. And she wants it to be accurate. It took me a week, but it was a success, which felt so good as a painter to be able to achieve such a feat.' 

After taking the precious memory of the painter, the duo, man and deer, left the painter's house and went to the town square.

It just happens that the Mayor was there and approached me because I was a visitor. He said the last time they got a visitor was a month ago, it was two people. They were a married couple, and a couple of a pain in the ass, he said.

Apparently, those two got here coincidentally and started picking up empty lands full of flowers and claiming it was theirs. And they were pretty violent. They charge the flowers at a really high price and they trick you into buying it, and when you buy it, they will ask you for an additional fee for buying at their stall.

The mayor was sighing really long and said that he would wish for the God of Harvest and his partner the Divine beast to grant him a wish and banish those two rogue-like visitors.

The man offered the same thing to the other two, he said, I would fulfill your wish but in exchange you will give me your precious memory. And surprisingly, the mayor said yes without any hesitation as long as it can help this town become peaceful once again.

As he was approaching, he saw the husband with a flower pot on his hands as he intentionally bumped into a lady with her child on her left arm walking happily.

The husband went into a rage as he demanded to be fully paid of the damage and an extra fee for the inconvenience that the lady and her child had caused.

'Such a scum' was what the man was thinking inside his head.

The lady and her child were forced to pay 10x the regular price of a flower and another fee for the inconvenience, as they were leaving. The man went on straight ahead and told them to leave. He hates those types of people who swindle others intentionally. The man confronted the married couple and went on straight ahead to say, if I grant you a wish, will you leave this town, he asked.

The couple looked at him as if he was crazy but still went on along with it.

''Yeah sure, we will leave. If you make us very rich this instant, we don't mind whatever happens as long as we become rich.'' the husband said.

The wife added, "One wish? Why not three then? We will only leave if there are 3 wishes."

The husband also agreed and had a smug look on his face.

The man then said "Sure, but in exchange you will leave this place."

The couple looked at each other and said at the same time just to test it out if the man in front of them is serious.

"We wish for all the flowers we had to be purchased right here, right now." the two said at the same time as if they are one.

The man simply said "Granted."

And the next thing was, tons of people went on and bought their flowers, but it was 10x more expensive than what it should be and was sold off right away.

The couple could not believe what just happened. They were still looking at the amount of money they had made after a few minutes. This was the biggest amount they had seen in their entire life. And so, their faces were so full of greed. Before they could even ask for the 2nd wish, the man interrupted them and said, "Now, I shall take away one of your precious memories together."

The moment the man snapped his finger, the 3 of them were surrounded by a mysterious white light and something came out of their head. When the man saw what that precious memory was, he just smiled and said what is your next wish.

Before the couple said what their 2nd wish was, the two somehow started yelling at each other as if they were having a big argument. But that didn't stop them from their greed, even though they were fighting with each other, their desire to be rich still aligned.

Their second wish was 'Give us tons of flowers, the most beautiful and most expensive flower there is that existed in this world'

The man shakes his head and grants their wish.

Then somehow, a magical thing happened. The land that they occupied bloomed with the most precious and most beautiful flowers there is that could exist in this world. But before they could even enjoy it, the man took their precious memories together in an instant. Completely random and just took it without even looking at what it was.

Next thing that happened was, the couple looked at each other, he/she could not recognize each other. They started fighting over who was the real owner of the stall and the flowers. The girl claimed it was her who owns it, but the guy refuses and says he owns it. It seems like they lost the most precious memory they had. They are now complete strangers, all of the years and moments and precious memories they spent together were wiped out just like that. That is why, the man only allows one or two wishes because the wish he grants is a double-edged sword. You can get something in your favour but the consequence it has is very unfavourable.

As they were fighting, the girl was screaming saying that her final wish would be for that man to never exist so she can have all the treasure.

At the same time, the guy also wished for the same.

As the man was annoyed and wanted to end it, he snapped his finger and said "Both your wishes are my command."

After a few seconds, a blackhole appeared between the girl and the guy sucking them in along with the flowers and was sent away to the void and will be forever lost. Greed can never be a good thing, as it can lead us to our own demise if we let it take over us. Desire is everybody's greatest enemy. Each soul has their own desire, and those who fall are the ones who succumb to their desire.

With all that commotion coming to an end, the Mayor approached the man and said his thanks and said to take away one of his precious memories.

As the man was receiving the mayor's precious memories, it turns out to be one of the best he had. In his memory, it was the day where he met the love of his life. He admired her for her hardwork and persistent character. The girl was planting flowers alone, she never stopped even after the man left her after she was about to die and miraculously got healed after the man left her. Day by day, weeks had passed, months went by and years until she died, she kept planting. That woman became the mayor's wife, they had kids but her heart was never his. 

The mayor dedicated his whole life for her, admired her even just at the side, and he even named the town in her name, The Town of Flower - Mhyka, no one helped her, she worked hard all by herself while others mock her. When the town was discovered and became famous, everyone started to admire her too and voted for the town's name dedicated to her. 

Apparently, once you leave the town, you can never come back as if there was a curse or a barrier. That's why the people that lived here never left the town since this is their home. Which was a little strange because when he got here, it was not hard at all, it was in plain sight. How come people get lost and never make it there. Even if I exit and come back, I could still do it. Such an odd town, but it's so odd. It feels as if I had been here before, and it feels as if this place is welcoming me and pulling me to be here.

When he got the precious memories from the mayor, the man decided to leave and started walking around the town.

The sun was about to set in an hour, the man was looking for the girl for her wish. He never stayed in the same place for more than a day. People would start suspecting of his capabilities and all of them will ask for wishes for their own desires which he does not want chaos to happen around the world and bring destruction. He will only grant  those who are destined to meet him. And his wish has a limit on what it can grant, if it is beyond him, it could cost him something terrible. Could be life threatening or even worse.

As he was walking around, he heard someone calling him. He looked back and saw that it was the girl he first met at the town's entrance. It seems like she is Mhyka's granddaughter then.

The girl told him to follow her to her house as she would show him something and she would ask what her wish was.

As he was following her, he noticed that the place was a bit far from everyone in the town. There was only one house in the area and behind the house was a huge towering tree that you can't even see behind it. The girl introduced herself to the man and told him that her name is Grace. She asked the man about his name too, but just ended up with a smile and nothing more. 

Grace suddenly stopped before they could even get into the forest and looked at the man straight into the eyes and said.

"Please, if you can grant a wish. Make this flower come back to life. This is the only thing my grandma always kept around her everyday. When she passed away a few days ago, the flower died along with her. I just want this flower to keep on living so I can feel her with me" as Grace asked for her wish, the man saw how important the flower and the grandma was to her. She was crying emotionally while hugging the dead flower.

With just a snap of his finger, a magical circle appeared around grace and slowly the life of the flower was brimming with life. Grace looked at her grandma's dead flower coming back to life in a rapid speed as if it never aged at all and she felt a connection with the flower as if she died right now, the flower would also die, just like her grandma. Which made her so happy and her knees fell to the floor as she kept crying and saying 'Thank you' to the man he never met and all of the sudden, now she feels like she owes her life to him and will be eternally grateful of what he has granted her.

After the wish was granted, the precious memory of Grace just popped out of his head just like that as the man was trying to see what the memory was.

As the man was looking into Grace's precious memory, it was the part where she was still a kid and her grandma was showing her how to plant a flower. It was the very first day together with her grandmother, there was no way he could accept that, so he once again rejected and lost a piece of precious memory that he has no idea what he lost. He didn't even bother finishing the precious memories content and just rejected it.

After telling Grace that everything is fine now, as he was about to leave the town, the girls stopped him and told the man to see her grandma's secret garden where only her has seen it. And Grace wanted to let the man see if because of the wish that he had granted her.

The man couldn't find a reason to decline it so he followed inside and decided to check it out instead.

When the man got over by the towering tree, he saw flowers. Tons of white flowers anywhere you look at and eventually at the end was a horizon leading to the sea, and you can feel the breeze of the ocean. It was indeed a paradise.

Sooner or later, he went around to look. Grace just let him in alone because she said she had an urgent matter to do.

Looking around this man made paradise, the man could not believe what he was seeing. Such patience, hard work, struggle, etc. Everything that Mhyka did was apparently for that mysterious man. Grace told me about her grandma's story before she let me in.

She said how her grandma, Mhyka, met a man, he was so charming and so mysterious. They only got to spend time with each other once in a while due to the man disappearing after a day and he would come back the day after. Even though it was just a short while, her grandma fell in love with that man. The man had taught her how to plant small white plants with sweet little flowers with silvery leaves, the flowers looking like snowflakes blooming from late spring to early fall.

They had made tons of promises for each other, but the man always forgets his promises. Each time he comes back, he forgets his promises. Even though it was like that, Mhyka was still so in love with the man and she knew that he also felt the same way, or else why would he keep coming back. But not until that day, when Mhyka was dying from an incurable illness. She was bound to die in a few days. Such a young lady to die at a very young age is very sad.

Eventually, the man came back with beautiful flowers, it was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The man came in and gave the flower to Mhyka and kissed her lightly on the forehead and said, 'don't worry, just sleep. When you wake up, all of this will just be a dream, everything will go back to normal'

That was the last time they ever saw the man, the mysterious man never appeared in the town after that. Mhyka never stopped planting trees hoping the man would find her way home back into her arms because he is very forgetful. She never stopped planting white flowers hoping someday the man would come back and the flowers will guide him home again. Even before she died, she died smiling at the Paradise that she was building because it was their promise, to live there forever and build a paradise of white flowers together and be together forever.

As the man stopped his steps, he saw a gravestone in front of him and a painting of a very beautiful girl. The exact girl that he saw the painter painted, Grace and the mayor's precious memories. It was the picture of Mhyka next to her graveston.

The man doesn't know what to do, his partner, the Mystical Deer, the Divine Beast of Nature was looking at him very sad. As he looked at the gravestone, there was a message carved into it which made the man cry in tears and his head was rushing with unknown images. It was as if it was his own memories coming back after so long.

"My dear Stefan, I know someday we will be united again. I know you were an extraordinary being. I will probably go on ahead, I will always be here waiting at our promised spot where we will be buried to be together again someday. My dear Stefan, I will be waiting for you forever right here, you will always be in my heart, I love you."

The man somehow didn't know what was happening, why would a gravestone of an old lady have a very big impact on him. He cannot stop the tears from falling out of his eyes, his heart was hurting as if it was to burst at any moment. He was the God of Harvest, he was on a journey to restore the World Tree together with his partner, the  Mystical Deer, the Divine Beast of Nature.

The reason why he accepts wishes was because each time he gets a memory, that memory becomes nutrients to the World Tree, that is why he embarked on a Journey to restore the World Tree because he was the God of Harvest.

As the man was writhing in pain, memories are slowly coming back into his head. He remembered slowly and slowly. His name was Stefan, he was on a Journey to restore the World Tree, but he was chased out by some demonic forces and was on a verge of death and crashed into an unknown land. When he woke up, he was wrapped in clothes where he was wounded. And there was a beautiful woman cleaning the blood on his body.

Now he remembers, he remembers all of it. Mhyka took her in and took care of her until he fully healed. He taught Mhyka many things about the world, his adventure, about him being the God of something. Everything that he can tell her, he would willingly tell her for no reason. He somehow felt connected with her. Time passed by and he was fully healed. He only told Mhyka he was a God of Something, but not the God of Harvest who can grant wishes in exchange for a memory, it's either he loses his precious memory or the people he granted a wish will.

He can never tell her that. And so he decided to put up a barrier around the land where Mhyka would be safe even if he was out there fighting the demons and granting people's wishes. Each time he comes back, he never noticed that he had forgotten a promise he made for her, even the Paradise that they promised to build together.

The God of Harvest was known because he was selfless. He would be more concerned with others' needs and wishes than his own.

And finally, he remembered the Day where he decided to stop all the fights he had. He wanted to spend his time together with the woman he loves till she grows old with her and enjoy life and continues his journey then after that he would restore the World Tree. But when he came back, he heard that the love of his life has an incurable illness and that she will die anytime tomorrow or next or even today. He doesn't know what to do, he can't lose her now that he found his happiness, his home.

As he was despairing, his partner, the Divine Beast of Nature, offered him a deal which he cannot refuse. The Divine Beast of Nature was the key to reviving the World Tree, the Mystical beast itself was the essence of the World Tree. The Divine Beast offered him that it would cure the girl in exchange for all the memories they had together, it will all be wiped out into nothingness, forever. That is why the Divine Beast connected Mhyka's life into the flower so that it can live until she can get old, but the price was too heavy yet Stefan did not even hesitate.

As Stefano gave his final kiss on the love of his life on the forehead. He remembered their conversation before as they were sitting on a white flower field. Mhyka told Stefan.

"Wow, they're so pretty. It's as if they are shining. What are they called?" Mhyka asked.

 The man replied, "The name of this Flower is called Edelweiss, Mhyka. Edelweiss symbolizes "Precious Memory".

And that was Stefan's last memory of everything as he slowly forgot everything and he faded into the darkness and was wondering what he was doing in a flower field instead of restoring the World Tree.

The End.