"It may well be, that we will never meet again in this lifetime. So let me say before we part, so much of me…is what I learned from you. You'll be with me…like a handprint on my heart. And now whatever way our stories end, I know you have re-written mine by being my friend. Like a ship pulled from its mooring, by a wind off the sea, like a seed dropped by a sky bird in a distant wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better but, because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"AAHH! YAMATO! STOP THE TAXI!" I shouted. The driver looked pretty confused. I ran out of the taxi and ran toward the bar. I ran so hard that everything else seemed to be in slow motion. I saw that people hardly moved, I just rushed past them. I bit my lip so hard that it started to bleed. I could feel the warm liquid fall down my lip. I could see the bar coming ahead. I also saw fire and the remains of a car farther ahead. Life was so horrible!

I ran even harder and when I saw the flames. They were burning my friend and I couldn't let that happen! When I got closer I saw some other people fussing and running around. I didn't really care who was there as long as Yamato was safe so I attacked a policeman with questions.

"WHERE IS MY FRIEND! WHERE IS YAMATO! IS HE ALRIGHT!" I shouted with a certain urgency in my voice.

The officer just stared at my blankly but I had no time for any of that so I pushed him aside, not caring whether I offended somebody working in federal law. Finally, I found the ambulance with a cart with Yamato on it. I ran toward it and found Yamato covered in blood. It was horrible! He had several gashes on his face and there were many burn marks on his arms and legs. I didn't know what to do anymore so I just hugged him and shouted with all my heart.

"YAMATO! DON'T LEAVE ME! WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO ME IF YOU'RE GONE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! I WON'T LET YOU!"

It was then that the men pushed me away and wheeled him away into the ambulance. But before they could close the back ambulance doors I quickly jumped in it. The hospital men didn't really bother whether I came or not so they let me stay.

I kneeled by Yamato and grabbed his hand. I prayed as hard as I ever have, wishing that Yamato would be okay. Miraculously, Yamato seemed to have the strength to speak just a couple of words.

"Cam…Camilla…" He whispered. I was amazed he could actually be conscience after the explosion. I found out that I was crying and I must have been crying for a while because my shirt was tear-stained.

"Shh…Yamato, please, don't leave me now. You can't!"

"In…case…I..I…n-…never…s-…s-….see…you…ag-…again…I…w-…want to….s-..say…that…I…l-…l-…love…y-…you…" And then he fell unconscious.

I stood dumbfounded. I couldn't believe it. He cared enough for me to say that he loved me at his time of practical death. I cried more then I ever did in my life. They streamed down my face and landed on his. I buried my face into his chest and just cried. I cried my heart out.

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Next thing I knew, everything went black and I found myself in a fog. There was little light. I tried to walk around but my legs were like jell-o…so I crawled instead. I couldn't find anything. I heard a steady breath…I looked up and I found a pair of red eyes staring at me. I screamed and tried to get away but it got me first. It tied my feet together and tied my arms as well. It had a shiny silver blade and it put it against my throat. The light reflected onto its face and I found that it was Yamato. He…he was trying to kill me…I couldn't believe it.

"Yamato…why are you doing this?" I gasped.

He grabbed my throat tightly and put a little slit below my chin on my throat. I screamed with pain, I screamed so loud it felt as if my heart was going to stop. Blood trickled down my throat.

"Please…Yama-…Yamato…stop…"I muttered.

Before I could see or say anything else, I found myself sinking into the ground…below the ground was darkness…I fell into it and I couldn't concentrate on where I was...there was so much haze…

"NOOO! YAMATO!" I shouted.

I found that I was only having a nightmare. I was sweating cold sweat and I was gasping for breath…I clutched my heart and I couldn't breathe. When I finally got myself together, I looked around and found that I was at the hospital. I looked to the right and found a bedside table with a lit lamp and a glass of water with some tablets. To the left, I found a young man with all sorts of devices strapped to him.

Then I realized that that young man was Yamato! I let out a little gasp and tried to get up to run toward him. I stopped before I could even get off of the bed. My shoulder hurt badly and so did my stomach. I felt as if I wanted to scream with pain. But I realized I had done enough screaming and I restrained myself.

"Camilla?...Are you okay?" said a soft voice to the left of me.

I gasped as I found Yamato sitting up in his bed. He seemed fine but he still had much evidence of the explosion. Despite my excruciating pain, I jumped out of my bed and half-limped half-ran toward Yamato. He seemed happy to see me and welcomed my upcoming hug.

I hugged him tightly. I didn't want to let him go. I didn't want Yamato to slip away from me again. I found myself crying again. I was angry at myself for showing so much weakness. Yamato must have sensed this because he hugged me tighter as well and kissed my forehead.

"Camilla Ashiru, I expected more from you. You shouldn't be crying. No girl of mine cries like this…"

I was amazed…a…girl of his? He kissed me again, this time on the lips. It was so warm and I just wanted to stay with him forever.

"I-…I just…It's all my fault! I saw you at the bar! I could've stopped you! If I had enough sense, I would've known that something bad was going to happen and that I should've taken you home! Yamato! I can never forgive myself!"

I cried my heart out again. There was just so much sadness and pain. Yamato must have saw me crying again because he held me against his chest, lifted my chin so my eyes met his, and he whispered ever so faintly.

"Please, don't cry. I don't like it when you cry. You must be strong. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for me…"

"Yes, I will Yamato. But you must promise me something."

"Anything for you."

"Don't ever leave me. Even if you leave in body, don't ever leave me in spirit. Promise me that you will never forget me!"

"Of course. I'll never forget you. You always will be in my heart. In return, you must never forget me."

We stayed in that position for what seemed like a while. I didn't want to leave. Being close to Yamato was the only thing that I could rely on. I could always depend on him, and he would always be there for me.

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I eventually woke up and found that I was still on Yamato's bed. He was asleep as well. I sat up on the bed and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up. Just then, the doctor came in with a couple of nurses walked into the room. He explained everything to me.

"Don't worry, Camilla, Yamato will be fine. He just needs some resting time and he needs to take two of these painkiller tablets each day for a week. One after breakfast and one after dinner"

I nodded. Then I realized something.

"Hey! How did you know our names?"

"Oh right, we did a DNA search. Anyway, back to what I was saying, I can't believe you woke up! You've been asleep for about a week and a half now."

"A week and a half! Are you sure I was asleep for that long?"

"Well of course I'm sure. Who would know better then me? Well anyway, I think if Yamato stays for just a couple more nights, he can go home. He is recovering quicker then anything I've seen!"

This was relief to me and I sighed. We could go home and Yamato would be fine. I would've jumped for joy if I wasn't hurting so badly. I clutched the beside railing to keep myself steady. The doctor helped me stand back up.

I needed to take a walk…again. I walked up and down the hallways and eventually outside. It was so bright. I covered my eyes. I guess that I was so used to being inside the hospital. I soon got used to the light and I was able to take walks just like before…

"Hmm…before…" I said to myself.

I wasn't sure that I liked the walks from before. Now that I thought about it, they only led to bad things: the stereotyping and the bar…I didn't want to the think about it so I just shook my head and walked on. This walk would be different. I went down to the beach. Not many people were there. I took off my shoes and walked into the mushy sand and the cool waves. I breathed in the salty scent of the ocean and I watched the waves splash against the mighty rocks. Yes, this walk was different. It was peaceful for once…

After a while, I decided it was about time to head home for the first time in a week and a half. Boy, was this going to be a change of scenery. I walked in and found it the exact same way it was before the explosion. It was good to be back. I found many letters and cards at the foot of the door.

'These must be from my friends…' I thought.

I opened the ones for me one-by-one and found out that indeed, they were from my friends. I was glad that somebody actually cared for Yamato and me.

'Maybe life wasn't so horrible after all.' I thought to myself.

How wrong that statement was…