APH Fire Lily: A Reader Insert

You let out a light chuckle as you watched the children frolic, romping happily through the grassy field. The green land space was occasionally peppered by flowers, but not a single tree could be seen. Only the sounds of sweet innocent laughter and the wind rustling the grass could be heard for miles. The sun hung precariously in the sky, seeming to dangle there, radiating a lite red hue and bathing the blue sky in a warm glow. Not a cloud lay in sight on the blue sky.
You shifted your gaze back to the many happy children, a smile tugging at your lips. So innocent and happy, not facing any problems of real life. Or, at least, the problems of being a country.
Yes, you were a country. The country of (insert country here) to be exact. And you were dying. Bitter winters, once a rare thing, became a regular occurrence.
Crops failed, and now you were having a hard time getting enough food to feed all your people, let alone any to sell for much needed money.
Everyday you would work hard, doing farm work or manual labour, in your attempts to help your people. Day in and day out, it would be the same thing over and over.
You couldn't say that you weren't making a difference though, because that would be a lie. Every little bit helped. Every crop planted or harvested helped feed a family, another live saved. That was why you worked so hard, and never took breaks.
Today, however, was different. For once, you had managed to gain a surplus of food. This was due in part to spending the previous week working double hours with little sleep. Oh yes, you felt like a brick and were exhausted, but it was worth it. Finally, you could take a break. And now, you were enjoying your free time.
A summer breeze blew past you, fluttering your (h/c) hair around.
Some may have asked you why you didn't ask any other countries for help. After all, surely they would have helped you in your time of need? Not all of them could be heartless? That's where you're wrong, dear listener.
No one had helped you. Not a single person. In fact, you weren't even sure they had heard you when you pleaded for some form of help, but it's not like it would have made a difference.
It had hurt you greatly, but you brushed it off. Not like you needed their help anyway, you could manage without them.
All you had to do was farm....day in....and day out....everyday of the week...every year....18 hours a day....
A sigh escaped your lips.
Who were you kidding, what was the point anyway. No matter what you did, you hardly had enough food to feed your people. Hell, you couldn't even eat any anyway. If you tried to you would throw it up out of guilt, because you knew there were people that needed it more than you.
You only ate when you had to, which wasn't often. Just enough to make sure you wouldn't die, but never enough so that your stomach ceased it's eternal growling.
The day you finally allowed yourself to eat whatever you wanted whenever you pleased would be the day everyone in your country could do the same.
For now, the surplus would be stored away. Even then it wouldn't last very long, it would be gone by the end of the month. That's why you kept working. Why you had to.
Suddenly, a light tap on your shoulder pulled you out of your thoughts. Your (e/c) orbs looked over to see what it was, and you were surprised to see it was one of the children you had seen playing in the grassland earlier.
She looked up at you timidly, brunette hair falling just above her shoulders, blue eyes staring up at you. With one sudden movement, she shot out her tiny hand to reveal a flower, clenched in her fist. She held it out in front of you, in a motion for you to take it.
Hesitantly, you reached out and plucked it from her grip, which was surprising looser than what you had originally thought it to be.
You studied the flower in your hand. It was a Fire Lily, a favourite flower of yours. The red petals seemed to have a hue similar to that of a dancing flame, hence the name.
After removing your eyes from the flower, you looked back up at the little girl and gave her a warm smile. You said the words 'thank you' in your native tongue, and watched happily as she giggled and then turned around, running back to play with the other children.
Gingerly, you set the flower in your (h/l)  (h/c) hair, the red seeming to blend in with it.
Oh the innocence of a child. That was all you could think as you watched her happily run through the field with her friends.
It was moments like this that you loved.
It was for moments like this that you worked for, that you slaved back-breaking hours for.
Just for these little moments.
They were worth it.
Suddenly, you felt a surge courage like no other fill your chest: if she could gather the courage to speak to a random stranger, then you could gather the courage to speak up to the other countries!
Silent determination filled your mind as you got up from your spot sitting on the ground.
Before leaving, though, you had to do one thing.
"Hey, little girl!" You call out to the child who had given you the flower. You see her head turn towards you as you call to her. She seems to hesitate,but only briefly, before she runs over towards you.
"Yes?" She questions, her blue eyes looking up at you, masking a hint of curiosity.
"What's your name? After all, I need to thank you properly for giving me this beautiful flower, and I can't do that if I don't know your name.” You say with a warm smile, gesturing slightly to the Fire Lily in your hair.
"My name is Anna." The girl replies with a giggle, the sun dancing of her hair at the sudden movement.  
"Well then, Anna, thank you very much for the flower. In fact, the Fire Lily is one of my favourite flowers.” Your face still held a warm smile on it. However, a thought suddenly crossed your mind, causing your smile turned into a slight frown.
“But didn't your parents tell you about talking you random strangers? Some may not be as nice as me." You say warningly, not wanting any harm to come to a nice child like this.
"Oh, my mum and dad aren't here anymore. They went to a Hospital one day and then they never came back. Mrs. Stalk says that they won't be back for a long time.” Anna says with a smile, as if she didn't quite grasp what that meant. Then again, who could at such a young age.
You felt a knob of guilt twist in you.
"I see. Where do you live then?" You asked worriedly, (e/c) orbs filled with a form of motherly instinct.
"Oh, I live in a big house with lots of other little girls and boys called an Or....Orpha....Orphanage!" She said excitedly, happy for having been able to pronounce the word. "Mrs. Stalk is the bosses of the place."
Anna looks around suddenly, then motions for you to lean down so she could whisper something into your ear. Her tiny hands cup around your ear, her voice so quiet you have to strain to hear her.
“Mrs. Stalk is a big meanie though. She says that I won't be adopted, but I know she's lying. I want a person like you to adopt me one day, because you're very nice and pretty.”
Anna pulls away from your ear, a slight frown now present on her face as her blue orbs stared up at you with concern.
“That's why I gave you that flower, Ms. Because you looked sad, and I don't like it when people are sad.”
You could have sworn that you felt your heart both melt and break at the same time upon listening to her speak. However, you made sure to put a smile back onto your face as you spoke again.
"Alright. Well, I'll stop by and have a chat with Mrs. Stalk sometime, so that maybe we can go and get Ice Cream sometime. How does that sound?" You ask Anna calmly, though your mind was currently racing with calculations and thoughts.
"Okay Ms!" Anna chirped happily, smile on her face.
"Oh, you can call me Lee if you'd like" You say, your face taking on a genuine smile this time.
"Okay Ms. Lee!" Anna says as she corrects herself, letting out a giggle.
You waved goodbye to Anna as you made your way from the grassy field. First, you had some countries to talk to. Then, you had to go and chat with this 'Mrs. Stalk' considering Anna.
As you walked, your face still resided in a smile. Today may not have been a horrible day after all.


{Le awesome time-skip of 80 years because reasons}



The sun dangled in the sky, obscured by gray clouds.
The once vibrant green grass now lay a dead brown, frozen over by frost. They crunched under your boots with little resistance as you walked through the snowy field.
Cold winter wind blasted past your face, seeming to bite you and sending both your hair and your scarf whipping wildly around.
Your (e/c) eyes narrowed and you brought up a fabric covered arm to shield your face from the snow as it smacked your face.
Diligently, or maybe it could be considered stubbornly, you pressed on. Black boots crunched snow as you trudged through the blizzard, persistently continuing your journey. Finally, after what seemed like ages, you reached your destination: a small rock, standing alone in the snow.
Upon closer inspection, one might find that it wasn't a rock, but a grave marker.
You reached out a gloved hand and brushed away some snow that had fallen onto the surface of the marker, revealing lettering and numbers.
It read as follows: R.I.P. Anna Sanderson, Born 2008 Died 2088. Daughter of Lee Sanderson. Memento Mori.
The rest lay obscured under a thick layer of snow and ice.
You sighed as you read, a wave of sadness washing over you. After you finished reading, you reached into your bag and pulled out a single item, one that held great value: A Fire Lily.
A single tear managed to roll down your face as you found yourself assaulted by memories.
The wind had managed to die down a little while you read the marker, now residing as a gentle breeze.
Gingerly, you placed the flower down beside yourself and pulled out a small shovel.
You carefully dug a small hole, then, once you were satisfied with its depth, delicately placed the Fire Lily in it. Soon you had filled in the dirt around it, and now the Fire Lily stood tall in the dirt. A silent reminder of times once passed.
You muttered something under your breath. To anyone else it would have sounded like gibberish, but to the people of your country it was their native language. It came out like this "Thank you for all you've done for me."
You were met with a sudden urge to speak, and then you found yourself talking with no intent on stopping as you spoke your heart out, tears now flowing freely down your face.
"I love you, I'm sorry I won't see you again. Don't wait for me wherever you are, I won't come. I want you to move on, but I'll always love you more than life itself. I would gladly give up my life to see you again. You were my everything, why did you have to go?"
By now, you had collapsed onto your knees, the tears drenched your face, feeling frozen by the wind but you didn't care. You continued to speak out your heart to the tombstone.
"Why did you leave?! Why couldn't it have been me?! I've been on this world for so long, I've seen so much death, why not take me instead?!"
You had screamed that last part, fists beating the ground in frustration, tears falling as you shook your head.
Now, your voice took on a much softer tone, your furious beating on the ground now having slowed down to a halt.  
"I miss you so much. Everyday I do. Sometimes I see your children, my grandchildren, but none of them are half as wonderful as you were. I wish you would come back...please. You were the one that gave me courage. That one day, when you gave me that Fire Lily, you helped me. Helped me convince the other countries to help my country, helped me establish trade connections with other countries, so much. Without you, I'd be gone."
You look up at the sky now, snow drifting down upon your face.
"And in return, I helped you. I adopted you, become your mother. We were inseparable. Sometimes the other countries would tease me for this, but I never cared. I raised you as my daughter, taught you all the right things. You were perfect....so if you were, why did you have to go and leave me alone?"
It wasn't a question you expected to be answered.
Now, your voice was just above a whisper.
"Whoever said immortality was a gift lied. Its not a gift....it's a curse."
You sat unmoving on the cold, snow covered Earth. Finally, you had said all that was in your heart to say. And now, you just sat there, silently sobbing in the snow.
A tap on your shoulder brought you out of your thoughts, and you turned your head to see who is was, checks still stained with tears.
A girl stood before you, no more than 6 years old. In her hand she held a flower, which she extended out towards you.
Your heart stopped beating for a second as you realised what it was: a Fire Lily.
You looked up at the girl as you accept the flower, seeing brunette shoulder length hair and blue eyes.
You felt your own eyes prick with tears for the hundredth time that day as you stared disbelieving at her.
Your lip quivered as you spoke.
"An-Anna?"


EXTENDED ENDING MOTHER FAKKERS [Could be considered a non cannon ending]

The girl blinked in confusion, before replying.
"How do you know my name, Ms?"