Disclaimer: I do not own anything having to do with Tales of Symphonia

Reflections

She sat by the lonely headstone, far away from the places she might have found him if he were still living. This isle was miles away from the riches of Meltokio or the lavish beaches of Altamira spotted with scantily clad women. It was often that she found herself by the single grave marker, a painful reminder of the past trials she and her friends had been through. Many things and memories crossed her mind as her finger traced the name engraved on the stone. The wind whipped her hair from its tie so that it blew carelessly around her face. Sadness gripped at her heart. Why did the idiot have to go? What was she to do now? Everyone was gone or busy with their own lives. And she could have been busy as well. But instead, she found herself, once again, at this place. It was a comforting place and when the wind blew at her from behind, she could almost feel him hugging her in the goofy way that he used to do. The bouquet of warm red roses gave away that his sister had recently been there to visit. The young girl had never shown much affection for her older brother, but now that he was gone, she realized just how much she loved him. Sheena felt ashamed, as she had come empty handed. But she had her memories. And that was enough because maybe, just maybe, he could tell that she was thinking about him. Maybe he could also tell that she missed him. She missed his stupid, perverted ways and the way he always used to make her jealous… If she weren't so stubborn, maybe he would have died knowing her feelings for him. Not that it would have saved him, but at least he would have known. A tear made its way down her face. She was an idiot. He had died right in front of her and she still didn't say what she wanted to. She wanted to be the one that held him as those last few precious moments slipped by. That was her last chance to tell him and she blew it. Another tear ran down her already wet cheek. There was nothing to be done now. She wanted him there so badly she cursed herself. Weak; she was weak and stubborn.

He was buried on the island next to the Abbey where his sister once was kept. They had, essentially, traded places. He would rest here alone until his younger sister was buried next to him. Night was falling quickly and the wind was beginning to turn cold. It was time to leave. There were a lot of preparations to do, as she soon would be moving her entire village to Sylvarant. This would be the last time she could come here for a long time. It hurt her that the only two people left here in Tehte'ala would be Regal and Presea. They didn't know him like she did and would probably only visit his grave a few times if any. She chuckled… because she didn't want him to be lonely.

A shiver ran down her spine. She might be cold now, but he couldn't be chilled by the wind or warmed by the sun anymore. He couldn't walk through fields of fragrant flowers on cloudy days or feel the lips of another on his own anymore. He would never know that this woman, this beautiful woman that he had loved and respected, who stood in front of his grave now loved him dearly. She had never spoken the words and regretted it with every passing moment of her life. Sending her prayers up to him, she begged that if there was a God or Goddess up there, seeing as Martel wasn't truly the goddess after all, Zelos would know and understand that she was too proud to tell him during their fleeting time together that she really did love him. It was like she could actually feel her heart breaking deep in her chest. He knew he would loose to them. He knew that he would betray them so they could get into the deeper levels of the Tower of Salvation. But she still found it hard to believe they actually had killed him; their friend. She helped kill the man she loved.

She placed a kiss on her fingertips and lowered them to the stone. Now she would never know what it was like to kiss him or to be made love to by him. She would never know if he could have stayed monogamous with her. Never know if he would have stayed with her forever or even married her. She would never know how it sounded to hear him say that he loved her or comfort their child when it cried. She would never know how it might have been to grow old with him. No, now she would have to go through life without him there to experience these things along side her. She would have to live for both of them. And she could never ever forget him; because as long as she kept their memories alive in her heart, he would live on with her. Her fingers wiped the tears from her eyes and she sighed one last time.

"Zelos, you big idiot, I love you. Please wait for me. Where ever you are."

Sheena smiled at saying this out loud to him for the first time. It came too late, that was true, but at least she said it. She knew that he was listening. For a second, she would have sworn the wind became warm again against her back. It was just like he was giving her one of his big goofy hugs again. She couldn't hear him saying he loved her too, so that was the only way to show her. After a moment more, she turned to leave. Sheena wrapped her arms around herself and looked back at the headstone one last time before walking away. She knew he would have been proud of her.

Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Authors note:

Yes yes I know it's very short. But I was so moved by the potential for this relationship something like this seemed plausible to me. Hope everyone enjoyed.

Song lyrics from Run by Snow Patrol and I don't own them either. 