[[Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Professor Layton. This piece contains major spoilers for Eternal Diva as well as some Janice/Melina. Basically what Janice experiences when Melina leaves her body.]]
Gone
Tears drops sparkled in her eyes like stars against the night sky when she wished me farewell. Some of the tears spilled down her face as she said that it was time to return to my own life, a life without her. I didn't want that. I didn't want to listen to her suggesting such a thing.
But it's hard to ignore the voice inside your own head.
I recalled a memory— any memory as long as I could escape hearing her forlorn words.
Last year, when she returned from the hospital and informed me that her illness was terminal; I'd rubbed my thumb across her tear streaked cheek before she'd thrown her arms around me. She'd sobbed that she was going to die, never achieving her ambitions; never sharing her music with the world...
Suddenly, I realized that this was exactly what she hoped I would do. Tune her out as if she didn't even exist. Panicked, I tore myself from the reminiscence. It wasn't too late— she was still here, but she had turned away from me. She had regained control for a moment longer to say goodbye to my father... no, her father, Luke and Professor Layton.
In turn, each of them uttered her name:
"Melina!"
"Melina..."
"Melina."
Time was short. I needed to fill my thoughts with nothing except my dearest friend. If I was able to do that, I could prevent her from leaving yet!
I am Melina Whistler, I insisted, making myself believe it. I had to know her better than I knew myself. Every inch of her personality. Romantic, brave, selfless.
More visions flooded in; Melina singing a solo during choir practice in comprehensive school, Melina twirling joyously around her teenage bedroom, Melina strolling past a row of shops, Melina standing on the balcony with her blonde hair swaying in the sea breeze, Melina playing the piano whilst she attempted to complete her composition...
Try as I may, the terrible proof that she was fading dawned on me— I now had free thought.
"I'm so glad that all of you were my very last memory."
Her last words crossed my lips. Then, once again, we were standing together above the verdant cliff overlooking the glistening sea. However, this time I was on the opposite side to her, as if a mirror image had been moved edgeways. She turned to me with a faint smile and began to walk away. I couldn't bring myself to look at her though. I was rooted to the spot, unable to reach out and never let her go...
My eyes— my eyes— flew open with a gasp. I blinked in surprise like I had just awoken from a deep sleep. My body felt foreign to me after a year of resignation. My mind was an empty room; there was too much space now. Within my chest I experienced a stab of loneliness; a fragment of my soul had just been ripped away.
"Melina...!" My breath hitched.
Gone. She was gone forever, as was a part of me that I could never reclaim.
Had these stray tears belonged to her or were they my own now?