A

I have never seen brighter colors anywhere.

It is snowing outside, but even though the fire has long since died out, I am curled up next to it, lying awake with my eyes closed, and I am fully concious of his head on my shoulder. I feel his breath, so enticingly faint, trace the outline of my jaw, and I shiver not from the cold but in delight. I make a movement that is no more significant than a deep sigh, and I inch closer to him, just a bit, and while he is asleep, I take his hand. He is warm and I feel his pulse, and when he stirrs, I freeze, but all he does is press closer to me in his dreams and his blond hair spills onto my shoulder, triggering another silent fit of euphoria in the middle of this brisk, sharp, winter night. It takes me seconds, or minutes, or hours to finally move, and when I do, I gently snake my arm around his and I feel him breathe deeply, as if bracing himself. I lean as close to his face as I can get, so close that I can feel his breath on my lips, and for a second I thought I was going to lock my lips with his, but instead I open my eyes, and realize once more that I have never seen brighter colors anywhere.

B

I am so, so sorry.

He will not hear it. He pressed his weapon against my throat and in a voice that was not like my dear friend's, told me to leave, told me to never come back. For my own sake I did not cry, nor beg, nor show any sign of remorse, and in youthful arrogance I turned and sped away. I did not, could not look back, for when I do, I know I will see him there, and that urge to run and beg for forgiveness would be too strong to supress.

There is so much I have not told him. I hate myself for procastinating so, yet I know, somehow, that my words are better left to float, to drift like the remaining smoke of a once passionate fire, so it can eventually fill in the gap we have wedged between us.

I want to tell him that when he held me in my sleep, I felt it in my dreams. I want to tell him that when he leaned so close that I could feel his breath intertwine with mine, I ran my spirit dry hoping that he will move just a bit closer, even for a second. I want to tell him that when I said I would rather die today than live forever, it is because I would never live for a second without him.

B

I am thinking of you, do you know that?

I know he is on his way, and if somehow, by some miracle, your spirit hears this whisper, you will take me away the moment I soar, because an eternity with you is all I have ever wanted.

A century has passed, has it not? And you have never come to see me since the last time we fought.

I never imagined it would be so difficult to battle an enemy, and when you said that love dampens unlimited power, I now know that you were right. You have always been brighter than me, better, braver, and I meant it when I said I would rather die than live without you.

I am glad he is coming, because I can't die on my own.

And I hope you know I have tried.

A

If you slowed down, I could speed up.

I am young again, and I am running after your shadow. You are evading me so skillfully, like you have been practicing, and when my blood runs cold from this thought, I force it out of my head. Have you, though? Have you never paused for one precious moment to ponder my love for you?

Am I foolish to be doing this? I have always placed the greater good above all else because it is the right thing to do, but what is right? You, my love, you are the right to my wrong, and I am pursuing you, but you will not even stop.

I will run forever just to chase you, because there is no greater pleasure in the world than just being in your shadow. They try to do the work for me, but you are mine, mine, and I will not have it. I feel like I have been running forever, but I will not stop until every tired muscle tears, until every blood cell bursts, until I render myself too undeserving to even follow you in the darkness.

There is no more trace of you, and then I realize that we are running in parallel lines.

I cannot stop, even though I know the word parallel is a death sentence for us, and when I cry for you, all that comes back to me is that echo, that hollow sound, that calm loss.