Journey's End
He stood staring at his reflection for a long time. They were so alike, and yet, so different. Of course they would look different; he reminded himself. They weren't twins, after all.
They were brothers, though, so the shared many things. That hair, golden like the sun, like their father, as much as he had hated him. Those matching eyes, his just a hair darker, softer than they were.
Standing there, staring at himself in the reflection off the smooth lake, that bright-blue Resembool sky reflected all around him. He couldn't help feeling as though it was mocking him.
He raised his eyes from the pond to gaze out over the rolling hills surrounding the tiny town. Trees swayed and the tall grasses were bent gently as a gust of wind traveled lazily over them, eventually reaching him. It tugged at his coat and hair softly, as if trying to coax him back.
He couldn't go back now, though, he knew. Not after everything that happened to them, to him. No one would forgive him, that was certain. He decided it would be better if he just disappeared. He didn't want to do this, by any means, but he couldn't tell them. He wasn't strong enough; he wasn't him.
Something told him that he should leave soon, something he couldn't explain. But he couldn't part from this town yet, he needed more time! He scanned the empty countryside around himself once more, only to see his best dream, and worst nightmare.
Running across the barren openness was a tall girl, her hair as yellow as the sun and her eyes, that clear Resembool sky blue, brimming with tears. As she drew near, his heart broke. He was not the one she waited for. He was but a ghost of him. As she ran into the gully between hills, he turned once more to gaze at the reflection at his feet.
He had to hurry, before she got to him, but time seemed to stand still, if only for a moment.
He pulled a silver chain from his pocket, and the watch on its end slid smoothly from the cloth, as if it were silk. He let it twirl on its chain a moment before him, arms length away. The sunlight bounced off it once, twice, then he let go. It fell in slow-motion to him and plopped gently into the water, disturbing the glass surface.
He watched it descend into the darkness that waited under the glass mirror, it slowly turning, the chain billowing gracefully above it. He watched until the darkness consumed it completely, and he knew it was now nestled gently in the muddy bottom, surrounded by trinkets lost, forgotten by time, just like he would be someday as well. It was safe. He heard a heart-wrenching sob behind him, but he couldn't turn around to face her.
He was not him, nor would he ever be. He could not face that future, not yet, so he stood, staring into the past.
"Goodbye."
End
This is the first thing I've written in a long while. I wrote this sitting in my college's library a couple of weeks ago and I finally got it typed up to submit. The inspiration came from the drive to college. I saw a lake, and the setting sun bounced off of it and caught my eye, and this was born. Not really sure about it, but I like it. No idea if I'm gonna write anymore soon.
Be kind, feed the plot kitties! Review!
Shadow Kat-Lyn