You didn't break your promise - A story of Auron and a lost character, FFX
"Auron!" I screamed as I clumsily ran after him down the Highbridge. He turned around as I clashed in to him, my sobs bubbling out of my throat. My body pressed against his,
struggling to breath as I made sure there was no space in between us because, if there was, he might disappear forever. He put his arms around me and I buried my face in his chest. My tears started to be absorbed by his clothes. I slowly brought my head up and wiped away my tears. The guardian looked down at me and smiled. I reached one hand up and gently placed it on his cheek.
"I have to go." Auron said in an attempt to make it less hard on both of us. I sniffled and shook my head "no".
"I know... But-" I was cut off by his lips meeting mine. He let go of my body and took a step back. " I ... I have one thing to ask of you before you leave." The guardian nodded. "Don't die."
"I promise." He said in a soothing tone.
"And, I love you." The tears a heavy stream down my cheeks though my sobs had subsided.
Auron took my hand and squeezed it. "I love you too."
*Ten years later*
I'd like to say that I was different from then, more mature, more understanding, but I wasn't. I still clung to the idea that he was out there. I still cried at night. I still loved others to no boundary, but I couldn't find love for myself within my own heart. But mainly, I still loved him. Though I couldn't help but think that he didn't love me, that he never did. That I was just a young girl, a bump in his path. Sitting in the Blitzball stadium, I thought about how my life ended up to be this mask of happiness, always smiling for others, but never smiling on the inside. Why couldn't I just let people see me frown? Why couldn't I let people in to my thoughts?
I heard a buzzer. The Auroch's had lost to the Goers. They gave it their all, but coming from such a poor island made it hard to practice. But everyone loves an underdog.
Then fiends started to flow into the stadium. Massive amounts pouring in from nowhere. I jumped down the bleachers, kicking and punching my way through the fiends to Yuna. Everything around me was silent. It was just me and the fiends in my mind. I had one goal and it was to protect Yuna, nothing else.
Lulu and I ran out of the stadium guarding Yuna. Once into the clearing we all halted. It must have been an Aeon. It was the most powerful thing I had ever seen. Its monstrous size captivated me. It took out foes so easily, one minute fiends were there and the next they weren't. I paid thanks to it for protecting Yuna as we continued toward the Mi'ihen Highroad.
We reached the edge of Luca and the beginning of the Highroad and stopped, waiting for the boys. I leaned on the railing, overseeing the city. Coming from Bevelle, I did not miss the city. I preferred the quiet life of Besaid, to the bustling city life of Luca or Bevelle, but I never liked to stay in one place. I always kept moving, running away from others and myself. If I kept running, no one, nothing could ever catch me, never again. I heard footsteps as I closed my eyes to feel the wind sweep against my face. Since I couldn't enjoy the complicated things in life, I opted to enjoy the little things. I heard Yuna gasp and I opened my eyes.
"Sir Auron?" I heard her choke out, but it was those words that made my heart stop. At first, I refused to believe it. 'No. Don't believe it. You will just be disappointed and shattered when he isn't there. He's never there. You misheard. Just turn around and smile like you always do.'
Shaking, I turned around. My hair swung around as my body made one big jerky movement. My eyes violently distorted my vision and I fell. I shook my head trying to straighten my vision when I saw boots at my knees. I looked up slightly and saw a hand being offered. I accepted and with their help I now stood straight, with my vision in check.
I looked at him. Him. Him. My head was screaming with impossibilities, shouting 'WAKE UP', but for once, I ignored my thoughts. I accepted a little bit of happiness for myself and decided to smile. He looked at me. It was him. Auron. He wasn't dead. For the first time in a long time, I felt something more than the need to smile, to hide in my body, to never let anybody else in. I felt like an open book, a book that anyone could pick up and read, one with bright vocabulary and rhetoric. I felt the meaning of life just rush back into me. I remember my actual love for each and every one of my friends, a love that I thought was long gone, buried in my loneliness. I was me again and I was smiling.
"I love you." He whispered in my ear.
"After ten years, you didn't break your promise." He chuckled and kissed my forehead.
