Heat flower (5)
Clear sunlight streamed through the window.
The night sky bloomed with a brilliant dawn.
Following the dazzling platinum fragments, the darkness that had filled the study slowly ripped apart.
Silence and tranquility reigned.
Rachel, lost in the peaceful scenery, came to her senses with a murmur.
"Ugh..."
Perhaps it was from frantically searching every nook and cranny of the mansion since dawn.
A deep fatigue was pressing down on the young girl.
As she rubbed her face, trying to shake off the drowsiness, a soft sound of breathing reached her from below.
-Sigh... Sigh...
Jet-black hair rested on her lap, its owner sound asleep.
Rachel hesitated for a moment, then reached out towards the boy.
Her delicate fingertips touched his warm skin.
She savored the comfort radiating from him.
"...I was worried, you disappeared so suddenly."
A sigh of relief escaped her rosy lips.
Gently wiping away the dried tear tracks on the boy's cheeks, Rachel's expression darkened.
"I passed by the young master's bedroom this morning. The door was open, but the room was empty... so..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
Each wavering syllable was laced with worry and fear.
"...At that moment, I remembered you saying you were going to leave."
Rachel was terrified.
She couldn't bear to see the boy who had brought light into her world of darkness disappear, consumed by misfortune.
She couldn't bear to see the dew that guarded her dawn fall as cold tears.
So, she ran.
The moment she found his bedroom empty like a nightmare, she frantically searched the mansion.
Unable to hold back her choked sobs, she desperately called out his name.
For hours on end.
"I had no idea you were in the study... I ran around for so long..."
Rachel gave a bitter smile.
Her touch, as she caressed the boy's face, spoke volumes of affection, sadness, and compassion.
Small ripples spread within her.
She quietly took his hand in hers.
"...Young Master."
She called out, but no answer came.
An empty feeling washed over her, and her shoulders slumped.
Wiping away the tears that welled up in her eyes, Rachel brought his warm hand to her cheek.
A single teardrop fell.
"You can't stay here, can you? You've already made up your mind to leave..."
His hand was so warm.
Warm enough to melt away the winter chill that had gripped the study.
She bit her lip.
And in a voice on the verge of breaking, she stammered,
"What... should I do... I don't... know how... to live without... you, Young Master..."
What am I supposed to live for now?
Untangling the emotions of worry and despair, she released a silent question into the air.
Her heart, dyed a vivid blue, replayed a scene from the past.
-You seem lost... Come with me. I'll give you a warm place to stay.
-My name is Raiden. What's yours?
-Rachel...
-Let's go, Rachel. From today onwards, you're my family.
His voice echoed in her ears.
Yesterday, cruelly severed, returned as a phantom pain, stabbing deep into her heart.
As the memories in her tears intensified, so did the questions.
"Young Master."
The god she had devoted her life to serving.
The god she had devoted her life to respecting.
The god she had decided to love for the rest of her life.
If he were to disappear one day...
Could she, the girl left alone in an empty world, possibly go on living?
"Young Master."
Rachel closed her eyes, clasping her hands together.
And prayed.
"Please... wherever you are, be happy..."
Please, find happiness wherever you go.
If your happiness lies in a world without her, then so be it.
"May you leave this place without a shred of regret..."
Her own happiness didn't matter anymore.
Without him, her meager breath would have already been extinguished.
But...
She wished for him to shine with a brilliant smile.
"Please... be happy, Young Master..."
The girl pleaded.
Hers was a love that embodied devotion.
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The honor of being a saintess should've been given to her.
ReplyDeleteI'll burn everything if she was the saintess and got closer to Allen, though.