A/N: I know, I know...I still have some ongoing fics (three at the last count), but I had to get this out before I went on; otherwise, my PC would have eaten my files again, and I'd have lost the idea for this story...which, by the way, had a very strange inspiration...


Prologue

The soil along the bank slowly washes away, enticed to slumber by the water's gurgling lullaby.The bits and pieces float and drift along, sinking slowly to the bottom to join their fellows in the hazy twilight of the lowest reaches of the river.

Nothing lasts forever

Though we wish it were so...

The fire leaps and dances, exulting in the heat and illumination it provides. However, all too soon, it seems, its flames are doused, and nothing more is left but half-blackened wood, smoke, and gray ashes.

Everything can be had at once

But soon we must let go...

The trees of the forests thrive, reaching their leafy boughs to the sky, trying to catch something as yet unknown to us. Though their lives are quite long, it is easily ended with a single match or a swing of an axe.

Words and whispers and wanton thoughts

Remain for but a moment...

The rose, well-known for its beauty, is nonetheless a symbol for the fleeting quality of life; it blooms, and then dies, a cold darkness slowly engulfing its warm red petals and scattering them to the wind.

Though we struggle to keep our hold,

These are forever evanescent...

Man is no different from these things. Though we have wills and spirits all our own, we are still prone to that one law of Nature.

'Tis ironic, then, that oftentimes

We only take to heart

Nothing lives forever.

The value of what once was worthless

When with it we're forced to part...

Man has long fought to keep Life within his grasp, despite the odds. And while there exists technology that can help one live longer than expected, none yet exists that can extend a lifespan into eternity.

It's a rule, an ever-present law of opposites kept in balance. We laugh, we cry. We give, we take. We agree, we disagree. We love, we hate. We live, we die. Each of our actions belongs to one of two forces thought to exist by the Orient.

Yin and yang. Light and darkness.

While we live - yin, essentially - not all we do represents the light; there will always be dark deeds, words, thoughts. And when we do die - succumb to the yang, darkness - not all descend to the Realm of Darkness, the Kingdom of Hades; most, if not all, are led towards the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Often what vexes those left behind is not the thought of death itself, but whether that person is in pain and suffering, or enjoying the pleasures of that dimension where the cherubim and seraphim reside, in eternal happiness.

This doesn't mean, though, that everyone feels this way. There will always be someone who wishes the dead would be revived. Sadly, though, this is impossible in the present time, where miracles are always a mix of science and the inherent determination of man.

However, if you were granted the opportunity to bring someone you held dear back to life, would you take it? Or would you let Nature take its course?

For one man, the answer to that question was fairly simple.


Another haunting cry broke the silence, as a night bird, its form a stark shadow against the deep blue-black of the evening sky, shot through the air and returned its mate's call. Only the mildest of breezes was felt, stirring only slightly the long grasses that lined the cobbled walkway, surrounded by gravestones of varying sizes.

A sudden flash of white in the depressing darkness, seeming to reflect fully the light coming from the half moon, hung low in the sky. Only a flower, a pale lily, hanging from the fingers of a man, his skin nearly as pale as the flower he held, his hair as dark as the shadows.

The soft click-clack of his heels as he traversed the walkway, his raven tresses moving only slightly in the gentle breeze, several strands caressing his grim face.

Finally, he came to a stop in front of one gravestone, the name of the deceased engraved in gold upon the cool gray granite. With one hand, he placed the lily in the small crevasse, deliberately carved in to hold flowers or candles, and ran the fingers of the other over the lettering, the gold leaf glittering faintly in the moonlight.

He was a professor of biology at the nearby university, this man, and the unfortunate soul buried beneath the gravestone had been his student. His best, in fact.

The man sighed, passing a hand briefly over his amber eyes. His student had shown such promise, and at the tender age of seventeen! And then, without warning, that horrible accident...

Apparently, the boy's parents had learned of it the failed operation, for when the professor had tried to contact them, no one answered, his calls went unreturned. Perhaps they'd left the country, he thought, or, more likely, killed themselves. After all, the mother had left the acceptable age for childbirth, more than five years past now.

He'd been the only child, this boy; a brother had been born in his childhood, but sadly, the neonate had not survived a week. All their hopes and dreams had lain with this one boy, who now lay six feet under.

The professor himself had suggested they bury the student on the university cemetery, saying he deserved this honor, submitting as proof the student's exemplary grades and the shining comments from fellow faculty regarding the seventeen-year-old's prowess.

Such a shame... the young man thought, resting one hand lightly on the top of the gravestone as he stared up at the dark sky, clouded with graying clouds that obscured the moon and cast uneven shadows on the cobbles. You were already outshining those in the upper years, and then this had to happen to you!

And then a small smile crept onto the professor's pale face. But no matter...it won't be long now. You've inspired me, young man... He straightened, taking his hand off the granite and allowing it to rest at his side, clenched tight with resolve. Because of you and your death, I've discovered it, the secret every scientist has been dying to get their hands on! And it's all thanks to you

The nighttime birds began their calling once more, joined by the crickets with their tiny violins setting the tune. The wind picked up, nearly blowing his dark blue jacket off and setting his hair to streaming all about him.

The smile grew wider as he listened to Nature all around him, singing to him with a silent melody of encouragement, as though the moon, the stars, the animals could read his mind, could know what he was planning, and that they agreed with him.

The young man glanced down at his feet, thinking how, soon, the person lying beneath the loam would soon give life to another, similar in intelligence and aptitude.

The raven-haired man turned away, not noticing that the lily had been blown out of its holder and onto the stone. Very soon, young one...very soon...


A/N: I think it's fairly obvious who this professor is, don't you? XD Anyway, as always, please let me know what you think so far. Domo arigatou gozaimasu!

Peace out!