I
I don't think he ever really meant to leave us, but promises are easier to break than vows. For the first few days, it was paranoia about a loved one out at sea. With the weeks that began passing there came comforting words from my friends that surely he'd written, and that I'd get his letter soon.
Slowly it became guilt, first at my expense, then his. If I'd been a better wife, maybe he'd still be here. No, he shouldn't have left in the first place.
But, as fourths on the calendar passed with the empty promise of notice, it finally became nothing but a lonesome memory. If he was gone, he was dead to me. Surely he'd broken his promise, but at least I could always say he kept his vow in the end.
II
The sound of the sea offers little comfort, the vast expanse of water before me blurring the fragile lines of reality I held onto so dearly. How I got here, so far from home... I'm not sure anymore. Perhaps the mist has clouded my mind.
All I can do is wonder if she's thinking of me; I sincerely hope she is.
"I'll see you soon," I promise no one in particular. The ground trembles beneath me. I know he's having trouble hanging on, too.
But, just as my mind can't forget her face, my tongue can't speak her name. I've become too weak to move, too tired to breathe.
I broke my promise; I didn't come back. I pray she'll know I still kept my vow.
AN: Two little things I wrote- the first one using a prompt from , the second a counterpart piece- in hopes of getting to know the Rune Factory ToD cast a bit better. Intended to be Odette and Aden, but part I could really be any bachelorette.