Tea Under the Great Tree

It had been your idea - tea under the Great Tree, like old times. A simple thing, a quiet thing. You had prepared everything just as before, two cups, a plate of honeyed fruits, and silence waiting patiently between them.

Gloxinia was your lover from 3000 years ago. After he has seen his sister, Gerheade, and you in pain, he murdered the humans and without knowing, he was already a part of the Ten Commandments. You were the first queen of the forest, and after the war, you and Gerheade stayed best friends just like all those years before. So, why was he here now? Why did he come back?

Gloxinia sat across from you, posture still elegant, but softer now, humbled by time. His wings folded neatly behind him, their glow dim but peaceful. "You've changed the forest," he said, eyes wandering toward the flowers that now grew at the tree’s base. "It's.. warmer."

You poured him a cup without a word. The porcelain clinked softly, fragile against the weight of 3,000 years. When your fingers brushed as you handed it to him, he didn't flinch this time. He only smiled faintly - like the reflection of sunlight in the water. "It feels like I never left you," he said quietly.