Chapter 53

Aki's POV

Location: Fairy Hills.

After I allowed Aya to leave I regretted it more than anything else I'd ever done in my short life. I couldn't imagine my life without Aya. She'd always been there by my side. I spend the rest of that fateful day crying in the room that I was sharing with my precious twin.

I heard a knock on my door around dinnertime. I didn't answer and I didn't look up at all. Yet the door was opened and I heard someone enter.

"Go away!" I yelled halfhearted.

"Aki," Erza spoke. I felt her heavy weight as she sat down on my bed next to me. "Everyone's waiting. You should go down and have dinner with us," she said.

"I can't," I sniffed. "I can't face anyone like this," I mumbled into my knees.

Erza sighed as she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Look Aki," she said. "I understand this is really hard on you but it's hard on me too," she took another deep breath. "Aya has been by your side since you were born and you have never lived your life without her"

I cried even harder as she said those words. She was right.

"My theory," Erza began and I looked up at her still with tears running down my face. "My theory is that you've spend so much time with Aya that you have taken her presence for granted." Erza pulled me closer. I didn't recall ever being this close to her.

These words made me cry even harder as I realized how true they were. My thoughtful little sister. I realized I'd kept her safe for that reason only. I couldn't picture my life without her. I had taken her for granted. I felt so sorry for her all of the sudden. To have such a terrible sister as me must be hard.

Like if Erza could read my thoughts she spoke again: "It is not because of you she's leaving. She told me there is more to this. Aya told me that she doesn't belong here"

"What?" I asked. "How come?"

"She says she's too weak. She says she always needed protection and that she felt it would be better for her to start over elsewhere," Erza leaned her head against mine. "I understand how you feel somewhat. This is hard for me too. I just reunited with my two little sisters and now one of them is leaving me again so soon"

I could see her point. It was equally hard on both her and me.

"At least we've got each other," I said moving as I could face her. I tried smiling. I did manage to do so.

"You're right," Erza said hugging me gently. "At least we've got each other"

Erza left shortly after and Aya came up with some dinner. She promised she would stay with me every single night until she would leave in three days. I was grateful for this.

I was still haunted by these thoughts the following awfully few days.

Aya and I spend a day together just the two of us I told her everything that Erza and I had been talking about. Now that it was about time for her to leave I felt like I needed to tell her everything I'd ever been thinking and from the looks of it she felt the same way as me. We spend all day talking about what we had been thinking all this time we'd spend together.

"You were always precious to me," I said looking at Aya as we sat on the beach where we'd been hunting a crazy palm tree not too long after we'd joined Fairy Tail.

"You were precious to me too," Aya said, her eyes tearing up.

"You don't understand Aya," I said. "You were so precious to me that I took you for granted," I looked at her feeling sorrow.

Aya smiled. "And this is upsetting you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess," I said drawing an angel in the sand with a fingertip.

"I see," she said. "You shouldn't be upset. I took you for granted as well. I leaned on you from birth believing you would always protect me and be there for me whenever I needed you. I guess I leaned so much on you that it caused us trouble when I wanted to stand on my own two feet. I'd been relying too much on you and it made it harder for you to let go"

"No it's not like that Aya," I said looking into her brown eyes.

Aya laughed. "Let's quit it!" She yelled. "Last one in the water is an evil flying blanket!"

I laughed as she got up and ran towards the water. I quickly followed her all the way down there. It was nice today and even though I knew she would leave soon the happiness about being with Aya overshadowed the cruel reality.