Coccinea Extra Story: Flickered Flame
It has been several months since Kyoko and I became steady lovers.
We have greatly enjoyed each other's company, and even discovered each other's tastes that we never knew before.
For example, I never knew she is into earphones and the musical tastes that come with them. She, on the other hand, never knew that I am fond of reading novels in my spare time.
Of course, our relationship is never always unicorns and rainbows. We argue over minuscule things, but we eventually settle them with compromises and understanding.
But one day...
She went back into being a vagabond again, prying whatever food she can get.
Whatever dangers she encountered as an orphaned street kid without a place to call home, she shrugged them off.
But even toughness has its limits.
On a dark alleyway somewhere in Mitakihara...
She was about to evaluate the loot she got for today...
And then...
Her heart stopped beating.
Her body collapsed in the dirt in an instant.
Her eyes lost their scarlet red color and faded into pale gray.
Her flame... flickered and died away.
Another life, taken in an instant.
"K-Kyoko, no!"
I suddenly wake up from this nightmare, in my bed, with my beloved by my side.
She... died again?
One death from the main instigator of the "traitor game" off the spaceship Pakaskas is not enough?
But why? WHY?
It can be another mind trick my brain is playing on me.
Just then...
She also wakes up.
Beneath the beautiful face she always wears, as well as the white negligee she has as her sleepwear...
...is a woman about to cross the verge of tears.
"K-Kit!"
"What's wrong?"
"You saw that nightmare too, right? Where I suddenly collapsed and died on the road for no reason at all?"
"Yes, I do."
"Even though we're both given second chances at life because of our burning resolves that allowed us to love each other... we..."
"Yes, I know. I also have those nightmares every now and then. Being in a coffin, lifeless, and lowered to a hole six feet under... I also can't avoid seeing these recurring scenes."
"I know. That's why... I don't wanna die! I... I DON'T WANNA DIE! NEVER AGAIN!"
She can then only sob as she leans on my shoulder.
I let her pour out her truest innermost feelings.
I don't wanna die.
Yes, there's this inevitability of dying... even for those who are considered born again like us.
As they say, "If it's your time, it's your time."
And as that time comes, the flame that sustains life is gone.
A person's body heat fades away as it begins its cessation of life, giving way to a cold, lifeless husk that will degenerate even further until the husk becomes just mere dust.
And thus, we all have this instinct to avoid that bitter fate as much as we can.
I want to live.
I want that flame inside me to never flicker.
Minutes later, she finally ends her crying.
After a moment of silence, she speaks out her mind.
"I've never imagined myself to be the emotional type... until you came into my life.
"I was always numb to death ever since Dad, Mom, and Momo all perished.
"I've never cared about lives being thrown away left and right, as long as I get by another day, surviving, existing.
"I've closed my heart, and I followed only one rule: Care for no one else but myself.
"But then... you came.
"You wanted to escape this traitor game alive as much as I did and return to where you came from like nothing happened.
"But something else happened.
"There is this invisible bond that connected both of us, as if some cosmic force conspired to link us.
"That force gradually restored whatever compassion I threw away.
"Thus, I cared for what you've gone through yourself.
"But they say we were incompatible. We've eventually proved them wrong, right?
"And that is why... I want you... to remind me why the flame inside me still burns bright... even as we we were reborn.
"Please... hug me, Kit."
Without any hesitation, I reply.
With a gentle wrap of my arms around her.
"This is good, Kit."
"Yeah."
She feels the warmth of life as we silently hug each other.
Even I need her warmth too – it's mutuality at work.
Minutes pass as the warmth we share serves as our counterbalance to the cold autumn night.
"Let's stay this way longer. In fact... I now prefer this warmth to the cold pangs of death."
"Yeah."
This silent, yet comforting moment, goes on for some more minutes; and she then signals me to calmly let her go.
"There. If you need more of that warmth, just say the word. I'll always be here for you."
"Thank you, Kit. We must try our best to keep our own flames shining bright, because when the time comes that we will leave our world, that shine will always be remembered by others who saw and are inspired by our story."
"Of course. Our story still continues."
We will continue living... by the scarlet flame that resides in our souls.
Dedicated to Ibn Larry Fe "Thousand Mistress" Barra
1993-2018
May her flame always shine bright in our memories.