Emil
They know nothing, she thought. She could feel the Letter Bees desperately tried to destroy Laphroaig. Even though she couldn't see, Emil had always been able to know and understand what people were thinking. She knew that all the Letter Bee saw her nothing as a monster. Except Zazie. He was more complicated. Zazie had seen her kind and sweet side, the side that she didn't show to just anyone. She could feel his confusion and reluctance to kill her – for she as well as him knew that she would die with Laphroaig. And beyond that, there was sadness. Emil wondered if the sadness was from know that she was partnered with the gaichuu that ate his parents' hearts or if it was because he genuinely cared for her.
No one had cared for her before. Emil supposed that her mother had cared for her while she was still in the womb, but that love had vanished when she had died. Emil had been born to a dead woman, and that knowledge made people wary of her, almost as if she had supernatural powers. The innkeeper and his wife hadn't loved her at all. They had used her, made her bleed, and made her afraid every day she was in that house. Emil wasn't sad at all when they died. She had wanted to kill them for a long time.
But Zazie…
Zazie was different. He had been the first one who was kind to her. He had treated her as a friend, and for a brief time, Emil had treasured their moments together. Those were the only happy moments in her sad life. Laphroaig had wanted his heart though. It had been lacking a kind heart for so long, and Emil complied. The gaichuu had saved her life, so she complied. The gaichuu had given her a reason to live when she had wanted to end her life, and for the first time, she felt wanted, she felt needed. The people of the village were as cruel as the innkeeper and his wife, and ridiculed her whenever they had a chance. They ignored the obvious knowledge that she was abused by the only people who took her in because they didn't care. She had wanted to destroy the village, and destroy everything. She wanted to destroy everything that had made her suffer. Destroy…destroy… Unlike the other Letter Bees, Zazie had experienced the same pain she had. He knew what it was like to feel unloved. To be beaten. He knew what it was like to hope for something and have it snatched away before it had a chance to grow. It was as if…he was her. Something inside her melted, and Emil held on to the few happy memories she had with Zazie. She wanted him to live. That was why she allowed him to kill Laphroaig.
As the gaichuu shattered and as her heart slowed. She felt Zazie's sadness come through her. She heard his voice and the last words he spoke to her. "Emil…if I'd just…met you sooner…maybe…I could have…saved you…"
You didn't have to save me, Zazie. I chose this. She let out a weak smile. Thank you…Zazie. You finally allowed me what I wanted most. I...don't know why…I denied myself this…sooner. People say that hearing is that last sense to be lost when dying, and for Emil, that was true. She thought she heard Zazie shout her name.
Or perhaps it was only the wind.