"What's wrong?" the Edel asked. The object of her question looked to her for only a brief moment, before turning away again.
"Ren is lonely." she replied, the same thing she always said, speaking as if she herself was not Ren.
The Edel stayed, but only for a few seconds, before realizing that no more would leave the girl's mouth. That was always her response, and that always would be her response.
She did not cry, for she had run out of tears to shed decades ago. She appeared exactly as she had back then, and she would continue to look the same for centuries to come.
Why was she cursed like this? One would think living such a long life, amongst others who could live as long as she, would be a blessing.
But Ren saw it as a curse.
Decades ago, she had lost the only one she truly called a friend. He was human, his lifespan was so much shorter than hers. She knew that, even when they first met. She knew that some day, she would have to see him die. She thought she'd accepted that when they travelled together.
But when the time came, she found herself broken.
She had known it would happen, but she had misjudged her own feelings. She had thought she could heal quickly, thought that she would forget him soon.
Humans are such fragile creatures, living for just an instant compared to the Edels.
But when it finally did happen, she was all but destroyed. She was the only one left alive who knew the man, and so she was the only one left to weep for him.
And she wept enough to cover everyone who could not cry anymore.
Hours, no, days, no, months. She did not know how long she'd cried for. But by the end of it, she discovered that she could cry no more.
She had run out of tears.
She became hollow, a shell of what she had been. She had been so innocent back then, so oblivious to the world.
Now she knew how humans felt when they lost their loved ones. Now she knew what it was like to have half of her soul ripped out and torn to shreds.
She had thought one couldn't live with only half a soul. Apparently she had been wrong.