The morning was hazy, and the morning dew produced a light mist on the
grass outside. Vaughan woke up abruptly, covered in sweat. He had been
dreaming again. He walked to his window, tripping over broken objects as he
walked. He leaned out of his window and stared at the large pool filled
with colourful fish. He sighed and turned his back on them, only to see the
mess he had made the night before.
"I should start clearing this up." Vaughan said to himself as he bent down
to pick up the curtains. As he scooped the large blue curtains into his
arms, he heard a knock at the door. Immediately Vaughan dropped them, and
walked toward the door. He opened it slowly, fearing it was Merle. He
remembered how he shut her out the night before.
"Who is it?" Vaughan said, avoiding the face of the person outside the
door.
"It's me, Vaughan." Hitomi replied. His eyes lit up. He opened the door
quickly, to be greeted with a beaming smile. She walked in.
"I was worried about you!" Hitomi said as she skipped in. "You've never
slept in this late before..." Hitomi looked around the room, inspecting the
scattered objects. She bent down and picked up a vase.
"What happened?" Hitomi stared into Vaughan's eyes, searching for some
truth. Vaughan looked out the window.
"I was a bit steamed last night." Vaughan said quietly. "I kind of let my
anger out on the room!" He joked. Hitomi brushed Vaughan's hair away from
his eyes. She smiled sympathetically.
"Steamed about...what I said?" Hitomi asked softly. Vaughan looked away from
her. He didn't want her to know that he was angry that she spoke her mind
for the first time in a long time.
"I...don't know." Vaughan exclaimed. He grabbed Hitomi's shoulders. "When you
told me that you wanted to leave, I suppose I took it personally." Vaughan
stared into Hitomi's eyes once more. He sighed. "I don't want you to leave.
I don't want to lose you." Hitomi chuckled.
"I'm not leaving because I want to leave you, Vaughan." Hitomi held
Vaughan's hands. "I don't see it as leaving, I see it as returning. I want
to return to my family and see them for a while." Vaughan felt re-assured.
"I will come back." Hitomi frowned. How was she going to get back anyway?
She put the vase in her hand on a nearby table and began to pick other
things up from the floor. Vaughan bent down and picked up the curtains he
begun to clean up. Merle burst through the door, quickly seizing the moment
to embrace Vaughan in a friendly hug. Vaughan was more reasonable and
decided to return the hug to Merle, who squeezed him tighter. She looked up
at him.
"What was wrong, Lord Vaughan?" Merle asked quietly. Vaughan smiled. Her
pulled her away.
"Nothing." He replied. He pointed to the door. "Why don't you go out and
find something to play with? Me and Hitomi still need to talk." Merle
looked sad, but agreed anyway. She knew how much Hitomi meant to Vaughan.
It was a sort of childish jealousy that always plagued Merle, but she had
accepted Hitomi and seen her fit to be with her brother. Merle always
wanted Vaughan to be there, but his recent neglection didn't go down well
with her. Merle smiled happily, and quickly hopped onto all fours. She
paused at the door, only to glance back at Vaughan, who had now turned to
face Hitomi. Hitomi continued to pick various items up from the floor,
drawers, bed sheets and feathers. She seemed content, she had finally told
Vaughan exactly what she wanted to say. But why didn't she feel any better?
A long silence ensued after Merle departed from the room, and rapidly, the
room began to look tidy, except for the shards of broken glass. Vaughan
finished straightening out the desk in the corner, as Hitomi came over with
a vase filled with Moon roses. Vaughan stood aside, and allowed Hitomi to
arrange the flowers, adding extra light to the room. He smiled as he
watched her prune and move the separate stems. He couldn't believe that his
angel was leaving.
"Hitomi." Vaughan said quietly. Hitomi looked up from the vase. Vaughan
lowered his head.
"How will you...How will you come back?" Vaughan asked, while grasping his
shirt tightly. Hitomi looked back to the vase, not quite sure on how to
answer.
"I...I don't know, Vaughan." Hitomi had no other answer. She glanced up at
Vaughan, noticing her pendant around his neck. A smile spread across her
face, as she turned to fully face him. She walked energetically up to him,
and held the pendant stone in her palm.
"My pendant!" She said excitedly. She shook her palm with the pendant. "I
can take it back with me, and use it to summon that column of light again!"
Vaughan smiled softly, his eyes falling to the floor. She was always coming
up with ideas. Farfetched ones. He didn't want to strike her idea down; at
least she had one. He looked back up to her grinning face, and stroked it,
resting his hand on her cheek. He sighed a content sigh.
"There's no guarantee that it can bring you back." Vaughan whispered, as he
clasped his hand around hers.
"The strength of my wishes..." Hitomi mused. She stared at Vaughan's hand
around hers. She could feel the pendant in her palm pulsating. "If I wish
hard enough, it will bring me back." Her face lifted to meet his once more
in a loving stare. She knew the risks, but wasn't it worth trying? Vaughan
lifted his arms and pulled the pendant over his head, giving it fully to
Hitomi. What was the point in trying to change her mind? It's what she
wants, Vaughan thought.
"Just..." Vaughan paused to steal a glance at her eyes. "Just promise me that
you'll come back. Somehow." He smiled that innocent smile once more. The
smile that Hitomi knew she couldn't leave. Hitomi walked to the window, and
stared up at the mystic moon, up at the earth, her home. The sun shone down
brightly upon her, a warmth building in her heart. She spun on her heel to
face him once more.
"Of course." She smiled happily, a small giggle uttering from her mouth.
"Of course I'll come back." Hitomi swayed towards Vaughan, and leant
forward, catching him in a long, tender kiss. Unconsciously, he wrapped his
arms around her, holding her tightly, as though he never wanted to let go.
