"Murrue...Murrue..." The voice was soft, but insistent, rousing the young woman. Opening amber eyes, she gazed at the one who had woken her. Erica sat by her side, expression one of worry. "I thought you were never going to wake up.." She reached out and took the younger woman's hand, squeezing gently. "You passed out..." Murrue closed her eyes, the memory washing over her. The news report, the train crash, all of it. Mwu... "Was there anything else on the news about it?" she asked faintly, reopening her eyes to look over at Erica. "Did they.." Her friend glanced away. "Initial reports were...no survivors. He was on one of those trains, wasn't he? Your fiance?"
"I don't know.." Murrue replied. "That was the same train he went back on..." Scrambling from the sofa, she made her way over to the phone in the corner, dialling a familiar number rapidly. Her eyes were wide, her heart racing. Please...please...
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialled cannot be reached. Please hang up and try again." She tried time and time again, getting the same message every time. Finally, she replaced the reciever in the cradle, sinking to her knees. "Have I lost him?" she asked aloud, not expecting an answer. Slowly, tears began to fall, dripping to the ground. No survivors...Burying her face in her hands, Murrue began to cry. "Mwu..." A thousand images and feelings flooded through her at that moment, the shyness of their first meeting, their happiness at their first kiss, the first night they had spent together, it all hit her at once, and all she could do was cry. Erica watched the younger woman in sympathy, unable to say anything to soothe her distress. She knew that if she ever lost her husband, it would kill her. And Murrue had never got the chance to marry the one she loved. And you did love him, didn't you? I can tell...
"Here, come on," she said gently, kneeling down to place a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Let's get you home.."
Over the next couple of days, Murrue rarely ventured from her house, preferring instead to stay curled up in her bed. The fabric of her sheets and pillowcases were soaked from her tears, but her eyes were dry. She had cried all her tears away. All that was left was a jagged pain in her chest, as though her heart had been shattered, and her memories. Memories of those last six months, of the times they had spent together, and how happy they had been. And strongest of all those memories..were the ones of those four days of August. Rolling onto her back, she gazed at the ceiling. I'd missed him so much...it was like a dream when he came home for those few days. He could have done anything he wanted with that time - but he came back to visit me. He...he said that..I was all he had thought about...And that brief time..they had spent it together. They had lived outdoors, exploring the countryside, picknicking, swimming in the river...and she had been so happy. Because she had finally realised that she really did want to spend the rest of her life with this man. I think I realised it..the night he came back. We barely slept at all. I remember that we talked for hours, but the rest of it I don't remember so well. Images, feelings mostly. His voice, telling me how much he loved me, his eyes reflecting the moonlight...and the way it all felt. It was...wonderful, so much so I could hardly bear it. If I never remember anything else, that much will stay with me forever...Closing her eyes, Murrue smiled, one small hand closing around the tiny angel pendant. She had promised Mwu that she would wait for him forever, and she would. Sitting up, she reached out for the framed photograph beside her bed, caressing the image of the smiling blonde man with a finger.
I'll always love you. Thank you so much...for making me happy.
The shrill sound of the phone ringing startled the young woman, causing her to drop the picture onto the bedcovers. Picking up the reciever, she answered in confusion, wondering who it could be calling her at this time. "Hello?"
"Murrue? Did you check the news?" It was Erica's voice, the older woman sounding somewhat breathless. Murrue frowned. "No, why?" I can't bring myself to watch it...it hurts too much... Surprisingly, Erica laughed. "There are survivors. Only a few, but..There's a number you can ring, a hotline of sorts. His surname, it's La Fllaga, isn't it?"
What she was hearing..it didn't register at first. "Y-yes.." replied Murrue softly. At her answer, her friend laughed again, this time in delight. "He's alive, Murrue!"
"W-what?" For a moment, her heart stopped. "He..."
"He survived..." came the answer again, Erica's voice gentler this time. "He's in a hospital near the city." Murrue listened in disbelief, the tears returning to streak down her cheeks. Mwu was alive? Her hand tightened on the pendant at her throat. Her friend must have heard the soft sobs from her end of the phone. "Go find him." The young woman blinked, startled. "But Erica, I..."
Erica laughed. "This is more important than work. He'll be waiting for you..." Murrue smiled. "Thank you..." Setting the phone down, she picked up the photograph, gazing once more at the image of her fiance. Her tears splashed onto the glass, blurring the picture. You..you didn't leave me... Climbing from the bed, she dressed quickly, packing a few belongings into a small bag. After all, he had come to visit her from all the way down there, the least she could do was return the favour, right?
The journey took a long time, hours longer than it should have, due to the rail delay caused by the accident. More than once, Murrue found herself nodding off, exhausted due to the long journey and her own fatigue. When the train finally pulled into the station, it was late evening, the sky darkening. The young woman stood outside the station, wide-eyed at the vastness of this city compared to the one she worked in. How will I ever find him? She wandered the streets for a little while, trying to avoid the crowds, wondering if coming here was really the right idea. The summer night was hot and oppressive, the sea breeze offering little respite, and sweat blurred her vision more than once, mixing with her tears of frustration. She was so close!
"Are you all right, miss?" The voice was kind, and Murrue spun around to find herself face-to-face with a policeman. Sighing in relief, she nodded. "Please, can you help me? Where...did they take the survivors from the rail crash?" The man smiled, noting her tears and obvious worry, and guided her to her destination. "Someone you know?" She nodded fervently. "My fiance." The policeman whistled. "You sure are lucky, and so is he. They only found five people alive in that wreckage, out of almost two hundred.." Murrue closed her eyes, saddened at the realisation that although her beloved had survived, so many others had died.
The hospital was quiet this time of night, although it was still visiting hours. After a little searching, and more than a few questions put to nurses and orderlies, she found the ward. She had been expecting intensive care, or at least some kind of observation ward, but the place she was shown to was pretty ordinary. A few people slept in the beds lining the wall, including one man swathed in bandages. Murrue pressed a hand to her mouth, shocked at the state he was in. Mwu was fast asleep, all that was visible of him beneath the bedsheet and bandages just his chin and the top of his head, blue eyes tightly closed. Sitting down beside her sleeping fiance, she took his hand, stroking his fingers gently. I thought...I had lost you. Do you have any idea how frightened I was?
"You must be Murrue.." The soft voice belonged to a nurse, who was checking the other patients. At the other woman's nod, the nurse smiled. "He'll be happy you're here. He's been asking for you, you know - he's told us all about you. He says you're his angel..." Murrue flushed scarlet at those words, but her heart was racing. He...said that? "So...he'll be okay?" she asked.
The nurse nodded. "It's amazing, actually. He must have had some kind of angel looking out for him. There were four other survivors as well as him, and none of them came out of it as well as he did. Some are burnt terribly, and one is missing a leg. Mr. La Fllaga, on the other hand, has a broken leg and several shrapnel wounds, but he's going to be just fine apart from a few scars. He's incredibly lucky..."
Murrue gazed at the sleeping man, tears brimming in her eyes. After all the grief, pain and worry she had suffered over the past few days, the realisation that not only was Mwu alive, but he was going to be all right..it was too much to bear, and she leaned forward, buried her face in his bedsheet, and cried her heart out. "Idiot.." she sobbed, still holding onto his hand. "Do you know how scared I was?" The nurse smiled. "He said that you were his fiancee. When's the wedding planned for?"
She peeked up from the sheets, face stained with tears, and smiled. "We hadn't really decided when it would be, just that it would happen. He was meant to stay down here for a year for his job, then we'd plan when he got home.." Her cheeks were crimson, and the nurse nodded warmly. "I see." Making as if to leave the room, she stopped, and turned back. "Where are you staying tonight?"
Murrue blinked. "Uh...I don't know. Coming down here was a spur of the moment thing...I didn't make any plans..."
The nurse smiled. "Well, it's against regulations, but if you like, you can stay here with him.."
The whole room was dark, save for the light shining from the corridor. He didn't know what had woken him, or even where he was for a moment. Then he remembered. Oh yeah...hospital. Damn. I was really hoping that was a dream...He ached all over from bruises, the pain from his shrapnel scars burning, and his leg hurt like hell. Closing his eyes, Mwu sighed, feeling rather sorry for himself. This sucks... Trying to sleep again, he gradually became aware of a warmth in his left hand. What? Turning his head, he saw the one beside him, and all his misery and self-pity vanished, being replaced by delight. Murrue...
She was fast asleep, sitting up in a chair. A blanket was wrapped around her shoulders, and one small hand was entwined with one of his. Her beautiful face was tearstained, shadows visible under her eyes. Mwu smiled a little, squeezing her hand. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I must have scared you, huh? He remembered all too well the moment of the crash, how the world turned upside down, and how she had been all he was thinking about at that moment. In an instant, his mind had flashed back to the last time he had seen her, at the station earlier that day. He'd promised her that he'd come back to her, hadn't he? I couldn't break that promise...
Perhaps feeling the pressure of his fingers around hers, the woman by his side stirred, amber eyes flitting open. She glanced around her for a moment, then her gaze lit on him. "Oh.." she murmured, her face lighting up into a huge smile. "You're awake..." She looked happy, although she had begun to cry, the tears sparkling in the dim light. Mwu squeezed her hand a little tighter, managing to reach out with his other hand to brush the tears away. "Ssssh..." he told her gently. "Don't cry. It'll be okay..." Murrue nodded, but the tears still fell. "I thought...that you..." she managed to whisper, then she leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. "Until this morning...I thought I'd lost you.." He closed his eyes at those words, understanding. If it had been me...if I'd thought that I'd lost you... "It's all right, sweetheart," he said gently, trying to reassure her. "I'm going to be okay. I'll have a few scars, sure, but that's all. As soon as they let me out of here, we'll go home.." His fiancee smiled, and moved to kiss him sweetly, her eyes fluttering closed. "Love you," she said softly when they broke, then she laughed a little, wiping her tears away. "I didn't think I'd ever be able to tell you that again.." Mwu grinned. "Well, you can tell me that as much as you like. And I'll tell you it right back.."
Two weeks later, the couple made their way up the pathway to the tiny house, Mwu using crutches due to his injured leg. As Murrue unlocked the door, the blonde man leaned against the wall of the house, gazing around at the summer garden with a smile. "It's so peaceful here.." he said happily. It was only now that he realised how homesick he had been, both for the quiet surroundings, and for the one who lived there. Murrue smiled, opening the door to let air into the house, then sat down on the doorstep. "I was surprised that the company you were testing for let you come home.." she admitted. Mwu nodded, sitting down beside her with an effort. "Well, I can't drive with a busted leg, and the guys there said something about being able to tell that I wasn't happy there..."
"They let you come back here because you were homesick?" she asked, laughter in her soft voice. "You missed this place that much?"
"No, I missed you." he replied cheerfully, making his fiancee blush. At her embarrassed squeak, he chuckled, slipping an arm around her and pulling her close. "I wasn't happy...because you weren't there." Murrue closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. "Same here." A smile curved her lips. "You know, my friend wants to meet you.."
"Oh?" he asked teasingly. "You told people about me?" She nodded. "My best friend. She said that when you came back, she wanted to meet you. She wouldn't believe me at first when I told her I was engaged.." Mwu laughed at that, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Maybe she can come to the wedding?" Murrue blushed again at that, but nodded. "That...I'd like that.."
That evening, the couple sat together in the attic room, Mwu staring out at the view from the small window. Murrue was curled up beside him, her head nestled on his lap. The blonde man smiled, stroking the woman's dark hair. "You're sleepy already?" he asked, amused. "It's only 6pm, it's still light outside.." Murrue murmured happily, nuzzling closer. She opened her eyes a little to peer at the cast on his leg. "I've been really tired lately," she replied. "I think it's because I haven't slept that well the last few days..." Mwu nodded, still caressing her hair.
"So," he asked after a while, "when will we get married?" She didn't answer at first, and he thought she'd fallen asleep. Then she reached out to tap the cast on his leg. "When you're better..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
( There, look. He's okay :smile:
Please read and review! )