Beneath the Stars and Sunlight
An umbrella was clutched tightly in her grip despite the slow trickles of rain fading into a faint mist. She took a deep breath, eyes fixed on the touch of her stilettos on the concrete pavement. It was little under an hour since the set had closed and she had declined the limo sent by her erstwhile manager.
She didn't know why she was walking or where to. She only knew that she was staying away from the hotel. Even her reasons for that was a mystery to her. Though, if pressed, she supposed it might be because of the intervening years. The earth was safe. It had been for a long time. That she was glad of, grateful for, but there was an ever-growing emptiness inside of her and everything was slipping into it.
She lived because she had to. It was expected of her. She was beautiful. She was successful. She was admired the world over. She had friends. She had everything. Bitterly, she found she was always reminded of the millions of young people the world over looking up to her and so she did as she was expected.
"My," a cool voice jolted her out of her thoughts. "What a surprise. If it isn't Zakuro. It's been a while."
Looking up, she saw a floating figure. The first rays of the new day falling over the park entrance and the familiar figure. Eyes widening, her grip on the umbrella slackened.
"You weren't expecting me?" he smiled. "That's good."
Her free hand trembled, ready to reach for her amulet – but it wasn't there. It hadn't been there for years. She had left it behind in her apartment; the little one in Paris on Rue Danton.
She straightened, her expression neutral and voice unaffected. "What do you want, Kish?"
His smile faltered, faded. "I'm not here to hurt you."
Her lips pursed. "Then why are you here?"
"I wanted to see earth," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Is that so bad?"
"You've seen earth," she shot back.
"Times change…" he smiled again but it was bitter. "People change. Nothing stays the same."
She narrowed her eyes, striding forward.
He gaped. "Aren't you going to stick around?"
"We've said enough," she answered. "We were foolish. We thought we could seize leadership of what wasn't ours. There's nothing more to say."
He faltered.
"You've seen earth. Twice now. Go home," she squeezed her eyes shut against the intrusion of unwanted emotions. "That's what you wanted."
Was she really so selfish that she wanted them to return? With a population of over seven billion people, had she really wanted things to go back to the way they had been?
"Times change," he called after her, but didn't follow. "Even you."
She gritted her teeth, glancing up to the daybreak. The stars still shone, the last vestige of what was, weakening against the light. Her footfalls slowed, her breathing evening out. Her grip on the umbrella loosened yet further.
Author's Note: This fanfiction is dedicated to Minum12345. I'm not entirely sure this is the kind of fanfiction that you wanted. However, in case it isn't, I will be keeping these two on my to-write list. This is just the first thing that came to mind. I hope you guys don't mind. It's a lot to different to what I used to write, I know.
The title 'Beneath the Stars and Sunlight' is meant to signify being torn. It's representative of what was and what the future could be. Because the future is coming. It's coming whether you want it to or not which is why I never stated whether she turned around or not. It's also meant to mean being stuck in the past, carrying it with you as you go forward.
Thank you all for choosing to read my work. I hope that you enjoyed!
