Red droplets on white snow.
A chill wind across the tranquil clearing.
Two figures interrupt the blanket of oblivion covering the land. One holds a weapon. The other holds a wound.
Red droplets on white snow.
"Why?" the girl asks.
"You're annoying." The boy replies.
"Why?" the girl asks, a glistening trail of wetness dripping down her windblown cheeks.
"You held me back." The boy growls.
"But…why?" the girl asks, coughing, a crimson stream seeping out from her delicate porcelain fingers.
"I had to protect you. I never wished to protect you. You were the reason I could not pursue power." The boy snaps, his ire rising.
Silence.
Red droplets on white snow.
A teardrop, splashing uselessly to the ground. The pain of the body and the pain of the soul conjoin on the surface of the cover of winter.
"I…I loved you…"
The boy's motions are fluid and quick. One motion of his weapon. A spray of life stains the ground. The girl drops to her knees, her frame quivering.
"I don't need your love. I never needed your love." The boy roars, his anger gripping him in a furious embrace.
The girl collapses into a drift of white, her lifeblood weeping into the cruel, uncaring chill.
Red droplets on white snow.
"I…still love you…" the girl whispers, her voice barely audible as she takes her final breath, the gale stealing her spirit as her last words tumble out of the pale lips.
The boy's knuckles whiten. Clear mixes with crimson as memory strikes him.
"I know…"
One final lament, and the boy disappears into the world.
The girl lies alone, forgotten in the thicket, winter already masking her cold body with its presence.
Cherry blossoms drifting on the wind.
Red droplets on white snow.