A very old plotbunny that I finally got around to writing. I actually don't know where the idea came from; if I've somehow inadvertently stolen it from someone, please let me know!
Written for Murking Fantasy Summer Challenge Week 3: Moonlight.
Word Count: 200
COTN belongs to VVV. The quote belongs to Shakespeare.
"O, swear not by the moon, th'inconstant moon..."
- Romeo and Juliet
It happens every time he sees the moonlight. He has to silently repeat the words. Kerry is not coming back.
He knows that by now he should have closed off his heart to her, as she has done to him. But still he dreams of a girl who ought to be long dead—he smiles grimly at the word—to him.
In his dreams, she is ahead of him, shining almost angelically in the moonlight. But no matter how fast he runs, she remains out of reach. He feels at once protective and abandoned. The sense of loss is overwhelming in both dreams and waking: she has chosen to leave him to be with the others, and he will never choose to follow her.
Does she still love me?
A tear runs down his cheek, and he swears that he will mourn her no longer. He is happy, he tells himself, and Kerry—wherever she is—must be happy too.
"It's a beautiful summer night," he tells Kerry, "Why don't we go watch the eclipse outside?" She agrees, smiling.
He holds her close. "I love you."
"I love you too, Grandpa Ian," his sister's namesake tells him, hugging him back.