Petra's Site!

In the world of Lothario there is a orchid. It is a beautiful place full of flowers, cherry blossoms and wildlife. At least it was before the Great Tragedy. Now the orchid is only black. Everything that you look at is black and the sun never shines there anymore. I can tell you the story if you like. It happened over a thousand years ago...
The bright cheerful sun used to shine on the orchid everyday. Never was there a cloud in sight. It was a very joyful place, even the flowers joined in the happiness. There were also two kids who went there everyday, that joined in the happiness. But usually they weren't very happy. No, instead, they were always sad. But the orchid was their safe haven, their place of solitude. The people of Elan never went there. And rarely were there ever visitors from other towns. So the orchid was theirs to enjoy.
One of the kids, a boy, went there everyday after school. He was small, and underweight, from lack of food. His dark, brown hair was always a mess, falling in his face and standing up in the air. His clothing was tattered and had lost all color to it. His brown eyes had a certain rebellious flame and his mouth was always set in a straight line.
He had been born in Elan as a poor boy, and he grew up a poor boy. His father had run away after he had been born so his mother worked two jobs to support them. He was the poorest kid in town and all the other kids made fun of that fact. He had no friends, all the kids beat on him and teased him. So he took refuge in the orchid. He would sit there for hours on end thinking about having a different life... money... friends. Then when it was dark he would hurry back home. This is what happened everyday. The orchid felt sorry for him but there was nothing it could do.
The other kid was a girl. She was not scrawny nor hungry. She had beautiful, long, sunshine-colored hair, that was somehow always blowing in the wind. She always had on a new dress and her bright blue eyes were always awash in tears.
She had just moved to Elan and was terribly lonely. She was not poor but the richest person there. She was beautiful and all the boys liked her. But she didn't like any of the kids because all they did was pick on others and use her. So she went and hid in the field everyday, dreaming of a different life.
After an especially hard day, the boy came running to the orchid. That day the kids had made fun of his clothes and had pushed him into the mud. A few of them even threw a few punches and kicks. And as he had started to run away, they had started to throw stones at him.
When he got to his favourite spot on the hill by the biggest cherry blossom tree, he sat down roughly. He was so upset he didn't see the girl sitting beside him. He started thinking about throwing rocks at the other kids and smiled wearily. He could hear sobbing and he thought, wow I must be really upset. But when he realized that he wasn't crying anymore he looked over to his right. He jumped back in surprise when he saw the girl. He slowly put his hand on her shoulder and she raised her head. As soon as they looked into each other's eyes they fell in love instantly.
For years they went to the orchid and consoled each other until all the pain was gone. They loved each other dearly and they needed no one else. One beautiful day as they were just lying on the hill where they had met, the boy jumped up and grabbed a handful of daisies. He tied them together until he had made a ring. Then he slipped it onto her finger and asked her to marry him. She grabbed him tightly and said yes. They were so happy, like they had never been before, that they ran to town to tell everyone the good news.
The sun and the orchid were overjoyed to hear that. They grew even happier. The flowers danced and blossoms bloomed and the sun shone at it's brightest. Finally, the two that always came to the orchid crying were now happy.
But the couple had made a mistake in wanting to tell the village. They should have left to live somewhere else. But mistakes can't be undone. The villagers, as they heard the news, were not happy but outraged. The poorest boy in the village marrying the richest, most beautiful girl? It was an outrage. She had much better suitors than this boy. But the couple insisted that they loved each other and they would never separate. Then they kissed and the villagers could take no more. The couple ran to the orchid as fast they could, to their safe haven. But it could not protect them this time.
The couple was cornered against a tree and had no where to go. The villagers came forward and tore them apart. The girl cried out and tried to break free but it was useless. The father of the girl came forth and handed a rope over to one of the men. He nodded and the man started to tie it to the tree. He put a loop on the end and beckoned for them to bring the boy over. The father was going to have him hung. Everyone agreed with this prospect, saying he had done evil things to the girl and he deserved to die.
They put the rope end over the boy's head. He smiled at his love," I will always love you, don't forget that." Then they let him go. He hung there choking, trying to grab that one last breath. Everything went black and he fell still.
They took the grief stricken girl back to her house. But that very night she jumped from her window, not wanting to live without her love.
The next day, the orchid wept in sorrow at the deaths of the two lovers. It slowly went through a change. It could feel itself dying and soon the whole orchid turned a bitter black. There was no longer any life there. Everything died with the couple. So whenever the sun comes out and sees that dead, lifeless orchid, once the pride of all Lothario, it weeps bitterly and mourns over the the couple's tragic death.
And whenever someone goes into that lifeless orchid they can hear the boy's last words, "I will always love you, don't forget that."