by Master Slade
From the first moment I laid eyes on him, I knew I had been given another chance. I didn't know how it was happening or why, but I knew. For hundreds of years, those same dark eyes had haunted my troubled dreams. They beckoned to me, promising me something long lost and forgotten.
The first time I remember seeing them, I was still just a boy. I don't remember much. Just the laughter of children and the glory of meadows in springtime. When my village was destroyed, much of my memories of the time before that were destroyed as well. Those brief years were the only carefree and peaceful moments of my long life, but what little I can recall is broken, like so much shattered glass. Beautiful, yet painful to the touch. Something my mind has swept away over time.
I would not have remembered at all, had I not encountered those eyes again, in another era. When I met Aldo, I had been in one of my lowest points. I had barely come back to the real world, after years of shrouding myself in a false peace. I had finally accepted my responsibility, but I was as miserable as I have ever been. I barely saw those around me, and I didn't want to see them.
Except for one.
Aldo was fascinated by me, and he wouldn't leave me alone. His freedom to seek closeness made me bitter and angry. I came to hate his eyes, because they fascinated me in turn. They were familiar, but I couldn't quite remember. I only knew I wanted to know them better. Which was a luxury I did not have.
I pushed him away with every fiber of my being, terrified of myself. But he wouldn't let me go, even when I tried to run away. In the end, there was nothing I could do to save him. I could only live with my regret.
I thought I would never see him again. That I had chanced upon him twice in two of his lifetimes was already completely improbable. So the day I met him again, I finally knew without a doubt that it was fated to be. I had a long ago memory of a fairytale, about mirror souls that followed each other through eternity, forever bound to the other. Having lived so many years, I could now see the truth in that tale.
They say the eyes are a window to the soul. I could look into them, easily see the recognition there, even if his mind did not know me. For the first time in ages, I felt joy again. I decided I would not run from him any longer. I had learned my lesson with Aldo, that this was something I could not run from, anymore than I could run from the Souleater. In truth, I was tired of running, and knew my heart could never do it again. Whatever fate and my curse held in store for us, I would cherish the time we had.
Never, in all my 300 years did I live as fully as I did during those few years I spent in the McDohl household. Tir, I tried so many times to tell you, but even then, I was still afraid to say it aloud. To say it the way I wanted. In 300 years, you were my only true love. But, I didn't have to say it, did I?
Now, I have no regrets.
Now, it is my turn to follow you.