So Far Away
Disclaimer: All Sonic the Hedgehog names, characters and locations belong to Sega. I own nothing that you recognize.
Written for the Diverse City contest on Caesar's Palace
The warm winds of summer were blowing, carrying with it the exotic scent of jasmine. The moon was shining its light on Knothole Village, causing the surface of the lake to shimmer with undulating waves of silver. And yet it was always the same. No matter the season, no matter the time of day, he was always eager to uproot himself and leave them all behind. Sally told herself, time and time again, that it wasn't her. She tried to convince herself that it wasn't because he didn't love her. It was because of his hyperactive personality.
And yet she wondered, her mind wandering over their many encounters when she was alone at night, if maybe he didn't feel the same way about her that she felt about him. Or maybe she was just being stupid. Of course he loved her. He just had his own unique way of showing it.
"Sonic," she whispered, her eyes finding his beneath the shadow of the old oak tree. She reached up and gently stroked the quills on the side of his face, moving in the direction of the spikes so as not to prick herself. "I wish you could stay."
Her voice was choked with emotion. It was difficult for her to speak, even harder to say goodbye, because she never knew if he'd return alive. She held his hand in hers, her sapphire blue eyes shining in the moonlight, and felt him fidget as she ran her thumb over the back of his hand. His faded gloves were still warm from the heat of the day. The smell of sweat clung to his quills, his shoes covered in a layer of dust and grime. He was anxious to leave, but it wasn't because of her. It was part of who he was. He never liked to stay in one place for too long.
"Sally, don't worry about me," he said gently, smiling as he brushed the hair out of her face. "I will always see you later. You know that."
"Yes. Yes, I suppose you're right. But I'll miss you, Son - " She stopped in midsentence, a cloud of dust filling the air as bolted down the path and disappeared into the woods.
Dust rose on the wind, dancing in a shaft of moonlight that filtered through the trees. She coughed as it entered her lungs, fanning the air in front of her with her hand, then sighed heavily and gazed out at the horizon.
He was gone. Off into the night, off on another one of his never ending quests to defeat the evil Dr. Robotnik. She watched the dust settle, each tiny speck slowly spiraling towards the earth like feathers falling from the heavens, then turned and began the long walk home.
.oOo.
Sally returned to her hut in Knothole village, the door creaking as she pushed it open and made her way across the room. Her footsteps seemed to echo in the stillness of the night, with nothing to fill the silence but the sound of crickets singing in the field.
She took a seat beside the window, the mattress shifting slightly as she moved across it, then lifted her head and gazed at the starry skies above. She could see the moon had risen above the treetops, bathing the canopy in its gentle light. When a breeze came up the leaves would quiver and dance, the light changing as it moved across the surface, changing emerald green to silver and white and back again.
She didn't know how long she sat there, watching the moon drift across the heavens, changing the pattern of light and dark as shadows slowly crept across the earth. After a while her tired eyes began to close, with beads of silver forming in the corner of those endless pools of sapphire. She was tired. So tired. She was tired of this, tired of Sonic always running from one place to the next, tired of watching him leave when all she wanted was to spend time with him.
A single tear spilled from the corner of her eye as she remembered a conversation they had, his voice drifting home again on the wind.
"Will you think of me when you see the moon? Will you remember me and know that, somewhere, I am out there, gazing up at the starry skies with you?"
"Of course I will, Sally. A hedgehog's gotta stop running sometime."
She closed her eyes, her arms crossed on the windowsill as she drifted off to sleep.
~end~
Like the moon in blue heaven
I'm alone in my room
I have put out the light
And I am weeping
I weep... I weep because you are so far away
And because you will never know how much I love you
-from "I Have Put Out The Light" by James Holden