Chapter 32
Neal sighed as he finished in the infirmary and met Kel going to the practice courts. "It's strange isn't it?" he asked, walking with her.
"What is strange?" the lady knight answered, turning to her friend.
"That Midori…she never spends time with anyone anymore except that gods-cursed cat."
Kel nodded in understanding, "It's a Yamani's way of letting go. She's avoiding the people she fears she will lose. Don't worry Neal, it's just practice" Kel pat Neal's shoulder and left.
Neal nodded and noticed the sun was low in the sky, deciding to nap, he hurried to his own chambers and began settling in. Closing the draperies, his eyes came upon an all-too familiar object: A fan.
That was all he needed to see. His reserved emotions surfaced and as he gripped the fan and unfolded it, pictures played before his eyes: His wife's wonderful news of her pregnancy, the tears of joy…the preparations and congradulations among friends and family…Kel telling Neal of the prophecy, the shock and joy…Months of anxiety…Yuki's labor and death…the naming of the girl…Years of mourning, the tears of shame…
Tears falling from his eyes, Neal shut the fan and slumped to the ground, sobbing. "Why, gods why, did she have to go?" the healer placed the fan back on the windowsill and let his arm slide back to his side. "I could have let her die and killed myself there…not this! This—this waiting is killing me!"
Must I?
Must I cry another tear?
Must I cry for another year?
I wish your were near
I wish you were here
But I wait and want in vain
I knew sixteen years ago you were slain
Now there is only pain
Regret, sorrow and self-disdain
I watch oblivious to it all
I watch, wait and call
But all I receive is the echo down the hall
You are rising while I fall
As I read the last letter sent
I cry and want my tears to vent
My happiness, my joy, I'm wondering where it went
As I see many sunsets, walk many roads, and grow old and bent
Watching the rain
Watching as it wets the ground where you were lain
It washes away my pain
The memories, however, still remain
"Please, Goddess, bring her back. Take my pain away…That's all I want." Neal sniffed, head in his hands.
A woman's voice answered, soft, and consoling. "You have wept so many days, Sir Nealan of Queenscove. If this is a wish you make upon a star, the wish your heart beats…May it be granted."
Neal stood shakily and heard a soft whispering, the wind, had somehow opened the window and now blew into the room. Then all was quiet.
A soft voice broke the silence and a figure stepped into Neal's chambers and Neal gasped. "Yuki?"
The figure nodded and smiled, "The Goddess granted your wish, Neal…"