The Flow of Love

[Unna Hi Chaanu]

Unna smiled politely and genrly put her hand back into the fountain and lightly caressed the waters of the fountain. She gazed into the fountain as she spoke. "This whole garden of fountains was constructed for Lady Baku by her husband. There was even a plaque that said so, but the republic removed it when they took over the city..."Unna's expression faded from one of nostalgia to one of sadness as she spoke of the plaque removal. "but this isn't a lesson in Republic history. That's all public record. What you won't learn from the books is what a wonderful person she was..."

Unna sat on the edge of the fountain, still swirling her fingers gently through the water, and looked up at the highest spout. "This is one of the largest fountains in the garden. It is called The Fountain of Eternal Roses, because the roses are always in bloom! If you look at the fountain from overhead, it even looks like a rose! Isn't it romantic?"

Unna sighed deeply as she pondered her ideas of romance. Her red eyes widened and sparkled with dreams she never spoke of. She then caught herself and blushed from feeling foolish. "I would love to get married in this garden some day. This is one of my top choices of fountains to get married in front of!"

[Gar]

Ni's hand slowly dropped to her side as she listened. A wicked grin grew on her face. "Married, huh?" she looked as if she was holding back laughter. "I admit this place did inspire some recreational activities in me, but it wasn't marriage..." She took her seat next to Unna again, but a little closer this time, so that they faced each other. "Is that normal for your people? To marry?"

[Unna Hi Chaanu]

"Oh, yes!" Unna exclaimed happily, as she stood up and skipped happily over to a rose bush to sniff a large, lush red rose. "My parents got married, as did my grandparents! I suppose their parents did too! It is wonderful that they all found their soul mates and celebrated their love with weddings! My family never had opportunities like I have. My mother and father both came from different home worlds, but the weather conditions weren't nice like it is here."

Unna looked around the rose bushes with wonder. "Roses could not grow on those worlds, but look at all of the roses we have here!"

[Gar]

Ni sighed and raised an eyebrow at this. "Hm. I suppose I'm accustomed to it. We have many pleasures on Zeltros, floral gardens among them...my people are known for their collections of pleasures..." She slowly stood from the fountain and approached Una, saying with a calculating tone, "Tell me... if you could choose to see only one flower to see or experience for the rest of your life, which would you chose?"

[Unna Hi Chaanu]

"This kind," Unna replied, "I like the color. They match my eyes! Fortunately, this won't be the last kind I see, for there are many more kinds of flowers in this garden!" Unna began to walk along the path and gestured for Ni to follow! "Seriously, Ni! That was a silly question!" Unna giggled as she led Ni to another fountain.

"Here we are," Unna walked over to another fountain and lovingly caressed the waters just as she had at the one before. "This is The Fountain of Rainbows!" This was a fountain with a statue of a big, white cloud in the center with lights of different colors installed to make the flowing water look like rainbows. "As you can see, there are many different kinds of flowers all around to represent the colors of the rainbow!" Unna walked over to a patch of red roses, "and of course, my favorite, but look at all of the others! Here, I don't have to choose!"

[Gar]

Ni was observing the Iktachi with a strange, thoughtful expression. "It is very beautiful," she said with the same tone, "If you could choose only one fountain to see for the rest of your life, which would it be?"

[Unna Hi Chaanu]

Unna looked quizzically at Ni. "How do you come up with these funny questions?" she asked, before pondering the answer. "I suppose it would be The Fountain of My One and Only Heart, but the good thing is that we must pass many fountains to get there, for it is at the center of the gardens! It certainly won't be the last fountain I see, unless I go blind though," Unna giggled briefly, then stopped herself. "Sadly, The Lady went blind. I wonder which was the last fountain she saw? I suppose it was one in the palace..." Unna thought out loud, until her voice trailed off and she stood pensively, looking into the distance.

[Gar]

Ni had not taken her eyes off Unna. She stared in silence as she watched her friend think out loud. "Would you be content, though? If you were only to have one rose or one fountain for the rest of your days? To never experience others?" She closed the gap between them and leaned her hip against the fountain, reaching a hand out to brush along the side of Unna's arm before gently catching her hand.

[Unna Hi Chaanu]

"Ni, it is not the same with love," Unna sighed, releasing her hand and taking a few steps back. "I cherish these fountains and flowers. I would be devastated if they were to all disappear, but I would survive and eventually be okay. When you lose your love, you are never the same. Nothing else matters."

Unna started to walk away, in the direction of the center of the vast gardens. "This whole garden and its one thousand fountains was carefully designed and built in honor of just one being. Can you even imagine caring for something enough to dedicate the time and effort to just one thing, rather than just putting a little effort here and there for whatever comes along, only to move on to something else tomorrow?"

Unna continued to walk, dipping her fingers in each fountain she passed, as if she were saying hello to them. "This isn't a thousand separate fountains or millions of individual flowers. Together, they are one monument to one love!"

[Gar]

Ni steadily kept pace with Unna, smiling wryly. "Sharing these fountains and flowers with me doesn't make the garden any less special or beautiful, does it?" she asked, "If anything, sharing makes it better. Multiple people share this place with each other every day, and yet its value is not reduced. If anything, its vast gifts would be wasted if it was restricted to only one person." She stops at a fountain and pauses to look inside at her reflection.

"I'm sure your friend was special, but we do not need gardens dedicated to us to feel value or worth. We do not need one single person to acknowledge or prove that we are special. Our worth comes from within. And worth cannot be divided or stolen..." she continues on her way, looking after Unna. "The love between two people is no better than the love between many individuals." She chuckles, "The point is, Unna... experiences in life would be limited if we only allowed ourselves to experience just one flower; just one fountain; just one lover..."

Ni takes Unna's hand again, only this time she tugs softly to spin the Iktachi around. With her other hand Ni catches Unna's waist, never breaking eye contact. "Won't you give me a chance?" Ni asked with a hopeful smile, sliding both hands to hug around the Iktachi's waist, pulling her closer.