For Ly.
Just one hour left. One hour is all they had. One hour is all the Oracle gave them. Torn looked back at Ophelia. She sat on a bed with her head turned, eyes closed. The heat on the furnace was turned up to the maximum in the hideout. Nobody was there except Torn and Ophelia. He walked over, fearful of what he was about to do. He sat down carefully. She turned and smiled. He looked into her eyes. They were a rich brown.
"Ophelia," he said. "It's almost time." Her smile slowly faded. "Yes," she said in return. "Ophelia, there something you need to know. I should have told you this every day, from the day I met you," he said again.
He had never said something like this before. He was nervous. She looked expectantly, waiting fatefully for his statement.
"I love you." He said it. It was out. Ophelia looked at him with shock. Now, here was the hard part. "But, Ophelia, we can never be." He sighed and closed his eyes. "Somehow, I had always known, what you really were. A human, not a Denzian." Her soft voice cooed, "Oh, Torn, I know there are risks. And I was willing to take them with you." He smiled softly. "Ophelia, if anything had happened to you, I could never forgive myself."
There was a brief moment of silence, yet every second felt like a lifetime. He began speaking before he had a chance to think about his next words. "In one hour, you will leave me forever. And if I cannot have you...then, I will have no other." A soft, female hand touched his face gently. He opened his eyes to Ophelia's big, brown eyes. Her skin was paled, her face soft, yet bold. She began to speak once more. "Torn...if we never see each other again..." She cut off, seemingly afraid of her own words. He finished for her. "You love me," he said. She replied, barely a whisper, "I do."
There was more silence, but this moment was a silence that was understood, a silence of meaning. They were expressing their emotions without having to speak at all. Finally, Torn got the courage to speak again. "Ophelia, it is almost time. I will miss you, very much." She spoke with confidence this time. "And I, will miss you. Promise me, that you will keep me close? Promise to love me, even after I am gone?" He closed his eyes, and took Ophelia's hands in his. "Ophelia, I would promise you, my life."
He brought he close, and their hearts beat together, one last time. He looked into her eyes, carefully. They came close, their heads touched. And in one fateful moment, they kissed. For what seemed like a lifetime, locked in an embrace. And that's when it happened; Her whole body seemed to glow. He was suddenly blinded by a light, a light that was very bright. It faded in a millisecond, and he saw no one. Ophelia had gone. His face turned to surprise, and then he saw it, Ophelia's gold amulet fall to the floor. It landed with a clink, and it lay there, glimmering brightly despite the dim light.
He bent to his knees and picked it up in his hands. He gripped it carefully. He said quietly, to himself, "Ophelia, I will forever keep my promise."
THE END