With every breath I hope to draw out all the sad things,
And lay to rest this feeling of dread.
- Vixtrola, "End: User"
· ·· x · ··
Goodbye.
She stood for a long time after he'd left, and felt much the same way she had when he'd first stood within the
negacion, her hand snapping back instinctively from the static brightness. This time, the departure was a little less shocking in its coming, but even so the silence and stillness of the aftermath echoed painfully around her.
Fingertips rose to her neck of their own volition, touching gently, before she finally broke the spell by glancing back towards the busy street, eyes inevitably drawn to the chocolate shoppe again. She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her sides while she thought about her next course of action.
I could use a private place to think right now. But she wasn't getting one without making a decision.
... no, better. Don't think about it. Just do it.
...
She shook herself out of her reverie and finally approached the street again, back around the corner to the front of the store. A bell chimed above the door as she went inside, and she bubbled a greeting cheerfully to the dark-haired female clerk behind the glass displays of more cleverly-crafted chocolate and candies. Izuru would like a present, she was sure. Something to cheer him up..
Long minutes of perusal only delayed the unavoidable, and she finally settled on two different sets of artfully decorated chocolates. She had chipper gossip ready for the cashier girl while the girl carefully wrapped and boxed the chocolates up for her, and the smiling request for a pen and a few pieces of suitable paper was granted with knowing winks. The girl said it was very sweet to be including little secret notes for loved ones like that, how romantic!
She blew on the ink when she was finished writing, the letters elegant and black on the creamy note-sized cards the girl had provided. The cards themselves were embossed intricately around the borders.
She looked at the first small card once again.
Goodbye..., it said.
She tucked it inside the first box, made sure the ribbon tying it shut was secure, then handed back the leftover cards and pen graciously and paid for the purchases. She stepped back outside, looking up at the sky.
So much to say, not enough words to say them.
In the end she left the box on a park bench nearby, a second card tucked in the ribbon that said,
Hello, You. If he didn't find them, no harm done. And if he did..
As the senkaimon doors slid open away from prying eyes, she stepped inside and glanced back one last, final time. The doors shut.
For what it was worth, I loved you.
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