Lilac

<h1>LILAC</h1>A short piece of interactive fiction<img src="https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/0llKHJmR4WJtPt0AwH38svGUfleeCv7XCieUj47LLTNVeckJC/out.png" width=800>by Iris Chen | June 4, 2023Note: text may not display properly on a mobile device.<h3 id="start">[[Start->Beginning]]</h3>

<img src="https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/96/377/232/anime-everlasting-summer-hospital-original-anime-wallpaper-preview.jpg"> You open your eyes to the summer wind caressing your face. You find yourself wearing a striped uniform and lying on a clean hospital bed. You head is fixed in place by an apparatus, with a label reading "Life Support." There is no one else in the room. "Hello?" You venture, "Anyone?" Within half a minute, hurried footsteps ring down the hallway. A girl rushes in with a beaming face. "Lilah!" You shout as she collapses by your side onto the hospital bed. "You've made it. You've made it... I miss you so much!" Tears flow from her large eyes, wetting the sheets. You carefully move your hand and place it on Lilah's hair. And, looking into each other's eyes, the two of you say simultaneously, "I love you." [[HAPPY ENDING->Conclusion]] [[<center class="fadein">Or, what if?</center>->Memory 1-copy]]

<img src="https://preview.redd.it/is-there-any-model-out-there-good-at-generating-anime-v0-shgs8lrixnha1.png?auto=webp&v=enabled&s=6ac055052a41e60c2246c89038254ccad94f6b6b" width=800> You open your eyes to the morning breeze of early spring, as another dream slips away through your fingers. You can still feel Lilah's breath prickling your body. Sighing, you get up from your bedroom bed and check the calendar. //328 days.// It's almost a year since Lilah passed away. Every night onwards, you dream about the girl dancing in a flowery dress, about her slight frame lying still on the white hospital linens, and about the five-petal lilacs, sought time and time again but never found. "Remember?" [[And you dream the same dream, once again. ->Beginning]] [[<center class="fadein">Or, you may end it here.</center>->Conclusion]]

<img src="https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/0llKHJmR4WJtPt0AwH38svGUfleeCv7XCieUj47LLTNVeckJC/out.png" width=800> As the wind blew past, lilacs rained down the trees. You caught one in your palm and showed it to Lilah, who was probing intently among a handful of lilacs she had collected. "Where is my five-petaled lilac?" Lilah frowned as she continued to catch the falling lilacs. All of them had four pink-purple petals attached to a delicate core. "Why so serious about finding a special flower?" You pointed toward the cluster of tiny flowers on the branch overhead, "Look at all these lilacs blooming on the tree. They're like clouds." Still holding tight to her flowers, Lilah looked up, her eyes wide open at the myriad of purple blossoms - beautiful, yet fragile. At the moment, did you [[start talking to her->Memory 3]], or did you [[remain silent->Memory 2]], enjoying the scenery and reflecting?

<img src="https://w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/989/608/HD-wallpaper-anime-landscape-fence-street-trees-clouds-road-anime.jpg" width=800> At the park, Lilah and you silently watched the purple rain of lilacs blossoms falling in the breeze, enjoying this pristine moment.. Afterwards, as the two of you departed from the park toward your car, you remained deep in reflection. Yet, your mind quickly left behind the ephemeral beauty to focus on the practicals, since people turned practical by modern life had practical thoughts. You could not help but worry about the rent due in three days. The two of you lived in a single-room apartment you inherited, along with the mortgage, from your parents when they passed away. You lived on the meagre wage of a book dealer. Life was tough, yet with the two of you, you were mostly satisfied with it. You had gotten used to spotting the little beauties, such as this brief spring trip, in between the mundanities and, sometimes, miseries, of this life. You and Lilah entered your secondhand Chevrolet and started the engine, taking off the highway towards a restaurant. Suddenly, you heard a loud skid closing in from the right. Inside the car, the alarm went off. [[Proceed ->Memory 4]]

<img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuWBrVBWYAI14jB.jpg" width=800> Horns. A deafening bang. A heartbreaking scream of a girl. You felt the world spin. Your lips tasted of blood. When your vision recovered for a second, you looked back and saw Lilah, blood dripping from the corner of her lips. Her mouth opened to utter a three-syllable word. Then the world went black. [[Proceed->Hospital Room]]

<img src="https://e1.pxfuel.com/desktop-wallpaper/403/412/desktop-wallpaper-anime-road.jpg" width=800> Lilah and you kept chatting as you drove the car from the park's parking lot. As usual, her mind had wandered off into the realm of imagination, "What if I turn into a flower? Would you still recognize me?" When you did not reply, she pouted in the rear-view mirror, "Well, I guess you'd have forgotten about me in a few days." "No. I'd definitely remember you. For my life." I replied. "You'd remember?" She asked. "I would remember." You said back as you maneuvered the steering wheel into a sharp turn. "Remember" has been the secret code between you two. Remember what? Remember whom? Neither of you knew. Merely saying the word is reassuring. Suddenly, you heard a loud skid closing in from the right. Inside the car, the alarm went off. [[Proceed...->Memory 4]]

<img src="https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/0llKHJmR4WJtPt0AwH38svGUfleeCv7XCieUj47LLTNVeckJC/out.png" width=800> END.Thank you for playing. By irisnviolets | I do not own the pictures | Music: Rainy Memory by RABPIT Some notes: - A passage beginning with a mention of the spring breeze indicates that the event is real, while a passage beginning with a mention of the summer wind indicates that the event is imaginary. - A passage in past tense happens before the accident; a passage in present tense happens, or is supposed to happen, after the car accident. - Lilah can be a lover or a younger sister. It is up to the reader’s preference. - The symbolic meaning of the lilac is "remembrance" and “purity.”

<img src="https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/485a34b1-56a6-4cb9-a4bc-abd15c9b7a51/d8ifcz6-65356f54-f59e-40dd-8bbe-ee41d3bcd379.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_338,q_75,strp/hospital_by_idaoki_d8ifcz6-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MzM4IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNDg1YTM0YjEtNTZhNi00Y2I5LWE0YmMtYWJkMTVjOWI3YTUxXC9kOGlmY3o2LTY1MzU2ZjU0LWY1OWUtNDBkZC04YmJlLWVlNDFkM2JjZDM3OS5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.CXhzKFex4mkGnCEPv15u25f4TL6XcGQ5Zy1_xm1lSeQ" width=700> Suddenly, memories repressed by grief gush out from the subconscious. The accident had happened exactly one year ago. You had emerged from the ICU a month after, only to be told that Lilah had fallen into "deep sleep." You rushed to her bed, watched her being breathed, and fell onto her bed and cried until the nurse told you to leave. From the start you have known that there is no hope for her, yet you just can't let go. A year has passed as you emptied your savings, mortgaged your house, and borrowed to keep her alive. Just one more week. You told yourself over and over again. But now, it's just not possible anymore. Lilac is going to die today. You realize with a sharp jolt. You blame yourself - why haven't you worked harder? Why haven't you saved your money? In regret, you whisper to her ears for one last story, "Remember?" But she will never hear or reply. [[BAD ENDING ->Conclusion]]

<img src="https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/96/377/232/anime-everlasting-summer-hospital-original-anime-wallpaper-preview.jpg" width=800> (set: $password to (prompt: [Drawn from your reveries, a single word slips from your lips:], "(Capitalize the first letter)")) (if: $password contains "Remember")[[[Proceed...->HE]]] (else:)[[[Proceed...->BE]]]

<img src="https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/96/377/232/anime-everlasting-summer-hospital-original-anime-wallpaper-preview.jpg"> The spring breeze pulls you back into reality. Lilah is still lying on the bed in front of you, still breathing evenly with the aid of the apparatus. You lean down on her bed and stroke her hair. [[Drawn from your reveries, a single word slips from your lips.->Decision]]

<img src="https://replicate.delivery/pbxt/0llKHJmR4WJtPt0AwH38svGUfleeCv7XCieUj47LLTNVeckJC/out.png" width=800> Lilacs rained down the trees. You caught one in your palm and showed it to Lilah, who was probing intently among a handfull of lilacs she had collected. "Where is my five-petaled lilac?" Lilah frowned as she continued to catch the falling lilacs. All of them had four pink-purple petals attached to a delicate core. They were beautiful, yet fragile. "Why so serious about finding a special flower?" You pointed toward the cluster of tiny flowers on the branch overhead, "Look at all these lilacs blooming on the tree. They're like clouds." Still holding tight to her flowers, Lilah looked up, her eyes wide open at the myriad of purple blossoms - beautiful, yet fragile. At the moment, did you [[start talking to her->Memory 3]], or did you [[remain silent->Memory 2-copy]], enjoying the scenery and reflecting?

<img src="https://w0.peakpx.com/wallpaper/989/608/HD-wallpaper-anime-landscape-fence-street-trees-clouds-road-anime.jpg" width=800> Lilac and you silently watched the purple rain of lilacs blossoms at the park, enjoying this pristine moment.. Afterwards, as the two of you departed from the park toward your car, you remained deep in reflection. Yet, your mind quickly left behind the ephemeral beauty to focus on the practicals, since people turned practical by modern life had practical thoughts. You could not help but worry about the rent due in three days. The two of you lived in a single-room apartment you inherited, along with the mortgage, from your parents when they passed away. You lived on the meagre wage of a book dealer. Life was tough, yet with the two of you, you were mostly satisfied with it. You had gotten used to spotting the little beauties, such as this brief spring trip, in between the mundanities and, sometimes, miseries, of this life. You and Lilah entered your secondhand Chevrolet and started the engine, taking off the highway towards a restaurant. [[Proceed->BE-copy]]

<img src="https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/96/377/232/anime-everlasting-summer-hospital-original-anime-wallpaper-preview.jpg"> The spring breeze rustles through the white curtains, waking you up. You find yourself sitting on a chair in the corner of a hospital room, brightly lit with the sunlight from the large windows. In the middle of the room there is a single bed on which lies a beautiful girl, breathing gently in deep sleep. She is wearing a striped hospital uniform with a name tag that says "Lilah." A large, clumsy life support apparatus stands behind her, injecting yellow fluids into her arteries. On the bedstand, there is a white vase filled with fresh lilac flowers. You... [[- Try waking her up->PVS]] [[- Recall... Lilacs...->Memory 1]]