Author's note:
This one I'm not happy about at all. I've been very busy all week with school so I never had the time to come up with anything good. :( So sorry. I'll write better ones next time!
Ging
"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring" - Oscar Wilde
She had this habit of walking around the place at night. Sometimes it was because of the so-called power naps she had – more like 4 hours – but most nights it was because of her anxiety. For her, it was something she could never let go and for him, something he wished he could fix. During the night, he would swing himself over to her region of the bed only to be met with cold empty sheets and a fluffed pillow.
"Hm?" he would lift his head and slowly open his eyes while swiftly running his hand across the sheet.
She was gone again.
He used to search for her endlessly around the house, first walking then speed walking from fear of never finding her. Eventually, he discovered her, always in the same spot.
His fingers tightened grip on the side of the sliding door as he stood behind her robed figure, the breeze of the wind flew past her shoulder length locks. He sighed in relief and stepped out, his feet pressing on the cool wooded open-low balcony and shifting himself to sit beside her.
She never turned her head and her eyes observed the number of stars in the deep black canvas above her. She always counted the number of stars and – tease, as you may – close her eyes, held her hands together and thought of a wish when her eyes lay on the first star she saw. She blinked a couple of times and finally turned to look at her husband, wandering her gaze at the wooden floor in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry for waking you up," she would say.
"It's alright," would be his response and routinely he would straighten himself up, tidy his robe, offer her his hand and the two would walk back into the room for another slumber.
She turned her head and apologized, her finger pressing on the floor, following the visible line that connected two wood boards together. He kept his eyesight at the sky, never looking away as she waited for his answer.
"I wish there was something I can do to make you feel better"
She looked up to see his cold eyes, still at the sky. She gulped as her head bobbed in acknowledgment. She intertwined her fingers and played with her thumbs as she looked down on her lap.
"I'm sorry,"
He stood up and walked inside, leaving her sitting outside the balcony.
Hisana pulled her knees up to her chin and moments later, adjusted herself to stand up, lifting her long, petal decorated pink silk robe to keep herself from tripping. Her brows furrowed as she squinted her eyes in the darkness to see his figure soundly sleeping from the rhythmic rising and dropping of the blanket. Shuffling herself in bed, she gently pulled the comforter over her neck and closed her eyes, wiping a tear that escaped from her eye with the back of her hand.
The light from the sun made its way inside the room and her eyes squeezed from the glare of the brightness. She rubbed her eyes and attempted to run her fingers through her heavily knotted and tangled hair. Her husband was missing, but as usual, he continued his habit of accidentally leaving his used clothes on the floor.
She stretched out her arms and rolled off the bed and walked silently to the kitchen. She was greeted by the helper who offered the lady of the house her usual seat.
"Thank you,"
Her eyes moved to the rose and cherry blossom beside her plate as her helper served her food and a little note:
Please feel better today.
Byakuya
She smiled at his note and smelled the aroma of the rose, caressing the smooth petal of the pink rose.
He always had nice writing, she thought, draping her fingers over his neat and pretty handwriting. Her heart hurt, this time, because she realized his hurt. She wiped a tear that crawled out of her eye and cracked a small smile.
He rolled his shoulders in a circle and strained his neck to the right side, massaging with his hand. He scanned for the wall clock.
11:12 pm
He was late. Again. But this was only one of the consequences and sacrifices of being a captain, let alone, a head of a family. He darted his eyes at the bed and squinted his eyes when he couldn't make out if she was there or not. Slowly walking, he ran his hand over the bed to check for her presence.
He sighed when he realized the bed was empty and carefully walked around the bed in the dark, scared to hit something.
His hand slid the door open to see her in the same spot, with the same position of her knees held up to her chest and her eyes up to the sky. He silently sat beside her and shifted closer to her.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I'm sorry for hurting you. I never mean to but I also never realize how hard it is for you."
He shifted closer to her and draped his white robe over her, protecting her body from the cool breeze that night. She smiled of the warmth of the robe, the warmth of his arm around her with the feeling of her face buried in his chest.
"I'm always here, Hisana. Forever. Don't worry."
And for a long time since, she felt warmth and protection in her heart again.