Richter has never really liked the snow.
Emil has always loved it.
Richter keeps this in mind as he trudges along the snow-laden sidewalk, hands hidden in the pockets of his coat. Christmas lights of various colors twinkle brightly in the branches of the trees lining the road. The festive feeling in the air seems to mock Richter and he tucks his chin into his scarf. He soon crosses paths with a young couple. The two are holding hands and smiling as if there was nothing better or more important than the love they shared, as if their happiness would last forever.
But nothing lasts forever. Richter, of all people, knows that fact only too well.
A few minutes later, Richter reaches his destination. The snow crunches under his feet as he walks on the empty path. The complete and utter silence is deafening to him after living in the city for so long. He is starting to get used to the constant silence of his home nowadays. The oppressing silence always comes with loneliness. Loneliness in the mornings when Richter would wake up and reach out for the warmth that has always been curled up at his side in the mornings. But it isn't there, it will never be there... ever again.
Richter stops in front of a gravestone with a light layer of snow obscuring the intricately carved words on the white marble. He sits down, not noticing the cold that immediately soaks into the fabric of his pants. He reaches over and brushed away the snow with a gloved hand. A wave of emotions hits him as he once again reads the inscription on the gravestone.
In loving memory of
Emil Castagnier,
Who lived for his family, friends,
and loved ones.
Richter feels the prickling in his nose and the wetness starting to gather in his eyes. He takes a deep breath and refuses to cry. It has already been a month. A month of walking around in a stunned daze, not knowing what to do with the empty hole in his heart. He could not sleep, could not eat properly, because what was the point anymore? What was the point when the only thing he could ever want is now impossible for him to get back? What was the point when Emil, his one love, his happiness, his light, his reason for existence, is now gone forever?
He only regained his senses when Marta showed up at thei- his doorstep, crying and saying that Emil would not have wanted this. He would not have wanted Richter to be hurting himself like this because of him. Richter keeps on telling himself that he has to move on, for Emil's sake and his own. But he cannot. Perhaps he would never quite be able to let it go completely.
The sharp pain of loss pierces his chest and it hurts him. It hurts more than anything he has ever experienced before. He feels utterly alone, cold, and empty in this colorless world of silently falling snow.
He rests a shaky hand on the engraved image of a flower and he remembers, because these precious memories are all he has left.
Welp, finally uploading this prologue thing. This will be sporadically updated so don't expect a new chapter every week or something. This is set in an AU modern world but has some parallelisms to the original storyline. It's about Richter and Emil's relationship and story and is it obvious that I like sad/tragic stories?
Hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated!