Victorique opened her eyes slowly. She rubbed her them idly, still heavy from all the crying. She sat up on her bed and looked around; he hadn't come for her after all. The moonlight shone through the window, lighting up the room. Full moon, she thought. She stared at it nostalgically, that night's events playing in her mind like a movie. She looked at the hand which she slapped his face and felt tears coming back again.
"It hurt me more than it hurt you…" – she whispered – "You didn't have to say that, Kujo…"
She lied down and tried to sleep once again, but she didn't succeed. Not only was she too restless but also something about her pillow was just not right.
"What the heck…" – she lifted the pillow and found the culprit of her discomfort: the moonstone. She took it in her hands and gazed at it accusingly. You, she whispered, you are supposed to bring luck! Not the opposite!
She threw it out of the window in anger and tried to sleep once again, but was even more uneasy than before. "Damn you, stupid moonstone stupid Kujo gave to me…" – and saying this she got up and went to search for a lantern. As she found one, she went outside to look for the moonstone.
It didn't take too long for her to find it. However, something about the stone was different…
"Navy blue?" – She wondered – "So this is what happens when you're exposed to the moonlight…Hmpf! People really can get easily impressed…!"
That color, someway, gave her an indescribable feeling of melancholy…
She looked up at the night sky, full of stars. "Mama…" – she whispered – "Why is this loneliness still stuck inside of me?"
She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to the voice of nature…
Open your eyes!
"What?" – Her eyes snapped open when she heard that and then…
"Ah!" – She cried out as she dropped the lantern. Her surroundings had completely changed; she was no longer at home. She took a few steps backwards but ended up stumbling and falling.
"What the…where am I?"
She looked around…full moon, trees, a river…
"River…? Could it be…?"
She stood up, picked the lantern up and walked toward the river, stopping and kneeling by its bank and placing the lantern down beside her. She could see her reflection in the water and with her small fingers she played with it, some fireflies joining her playing. She giggled, forgetting for a moment how she ended up in that place.
"What a young beautiful lady I have here…" – said a husky voice.
Victorique stood up in a flash, startled.
"Who's there?"
From the darkness of the forest that surrounded that area, a small figure showed up. He came near her slowly…
"Stop right there!" – Ordered the girl – "Don't come any closer!"
He stopped. She relaxed a bit when she noticed he was just an old man.
"I heard a howl, so I came to check it out…" – explained the old man calmly – "It's not usual to find wolves here. I'm surprised to see one!"
"What are you saying?" – She asked, afraid of his possible answer.
"Wolves go wild in full moon nights…" – he regarded her – "Gray wolves are not an exception, I believe…"
She stood petrified in shock. How does he know? Does he work for the Ministry of the Occult?
"I was waiting for you" – he said interrupting her thoughts – "I'm glad you came"
She gave him a suspicious look – "How did you know I'd…end up here?"
He smiled at her and pointed at the stone in her hand – "The moonstone, it brought you here"
"What?" – She asked – "That's impossible!"
"The impossible is just a point of view, dear" – said the elder.
"Ok…" – she said trying to calm herself down – "How do you know about me?"
"Oh, that…" – he giggled – "You know, moonstone is a very personal stone. It's a reflection of the person who owns it. Thus, since the moment you have it with you, I can see your soul…"
And he opened his eyes wide; his irises had the same color as the stone in her hands. She gulped.
"Wh-Who are you?"
"I am no one" – he presented himself in a formal tone, his eyes back to normal – "I was sent to look after mankind and was given this stone to accomplish my mission. That's all I know and it's way more than enough…!"
"I-I see…"
He tried to approach her once again and this time she didn't stop him. He stopped in front of her; they were almost of the same stature. She looked him in the eyes – "Why am I here?"
"Ah, I knew you'd get there…" – he smiled and continued – "Well, I met a young man the other day. He had a smile in his face…he had scars in his heart, though. Not only scars but also broken pieces! He held the stone in his hands, so for a moment I could feel what he had been feeling for years…"
She gave him a puzzled look – "What has this man to do with me?"
"There's a wall he tries to break down every single day. Within these four walls, there are scatters of a girl's incomplete heart. As the time passed by, he found out that those scatters were the ones missing in his own broken heart. So he tries and tries to break it down…but he can't succeed"
"Why can't he break it down?" – She asked timidly.
"The girl won't let him do that…"
"Why? If she has the missing pieces of his heart then this means they're soul mates, right?"
"Right, dear. He loves her and she loves him as well. He wants to mend their broken pieces so they can beat as one complete heart. But the girl is afraid of this feeling because she has never felt something so strong in her life of nothingness. The fear she carries is a chain to her past that keeps her inside the walls…"
And he turned to the river and made a gesture for her to look at it.
"Oh no…"
When she looked at it all she could see were frames from her own life. Her petite body started to shiver as she saw all the sad memories…her days locked in a tower, the day Kujo was deported, the days she spent under her father's control, her mom and Brian's deaths, the war…
She fell to her knees, dewy-eyed. The old man kneeled beside her and said – "Her heart aches because she lost those she loved. One was left safe, though. He aims to have her heart but she's afraid to give it to him, because an overwhelming feeling like that can be catastrophic…"
"I see" – she said trying to hold back her tears – "So, the man…the man…"
And she buried her face in her hands, crying. "Kujo is the man…" – she said between sobs. The old man patted her head gently. She tried to speak once more:
"I'm such a fool!"
"Why do you say that, dear?"
"Because I love him and it kills me inside! Do you know how hard is to be left alone for half a life?! Everything feels ephemeral for you! If I start loving him with all I've got I'll lose him, I-…"
"You're losing him already…each day gone by is a lost chance. If you keep thinking like this, your life will be fulfilled by nothing but emptiness"
She lowered her head, tears that she couldn't hide streaming down her face.
"Even if you say that, Kujo is not a bird trapped in a cage, he'll eventually fly away just like everyone else…and I'll be left behind with a bleeding heart"
She looked up at him, her face red from the pressure she made to hide it in her hands and uttered under her breath – "What hurts the most is to feel his touch and pretend I don't want it, pretend I don't love him…"
"As far as I've seen, the only bird flying away is you!"
"What do you expect me to do?!"
"My child" – he said as he placed his hands over her shoulders – "Don't stab the heart that beats to make you smile"
"It's not like I can love anyway…I don't know how to" – she said avoiding his eyes.
"Oh, dear…! Don't waste your words to reduce your precious dreams to lies! If you don't know then let him teach you!"
"What if he gets tired of me? Last night I told him to leave me and he said he'd do so…"
"The boy was upset; your words were not very kind too. Wasn't he the one who promised to always find you? This pendant on your neck is the proof. Your face is like the sunrise to him, he needs you. You're lucky to be in love with your best friend…"
His words lightened up her eyes and a faint smile formed in her lips. In the river, good memories started to reach the surface. As she looked at it, she felt incredibly relieved. All of the sweetest moments had a taste of him, that baby squirrel. Her tears ceased and she could finally smile – "It's time to face it…I want to be with him, feel his warmth…"
"Such enamored words…" – sighed the old man in relief as he wiped her last tear with his thumb and helped her to stand up. He told her – "Listen to what I say, dear: use your past as a rung of experience to the next level and not as a wall that prevents you from moving on"
"Do you think I still have a chance?" – She asked.
"I'm pretty sure!" – He replied – "If you tell him your feelings, you'll be loved undoubtedly!"
"Are you really sure? What if-…"
"No ifs! What happened in the past belongs there; your future is not written yet: you'll write it now. Cut the rope that ties you to the rock that drowns you and find your way back to the surface!"
"Wh-…?"
"Sun is just about to rise!" – He interrupted her – "You must go home"
"W-wait! Will we meet again?"
"Farewell, my child" – and that was all he said before pushing her into the river.
"Wha-…" – she cried out as she fell.
"Ah!"
She sat in her bed, panting. She looked at her trembling hands and then at the window; it was morning already. She felt a bit confused at first, trying to figure out what had happened at all.
"The moonstone…!" – She remembered – "where is it?"
She searched for it all around her room, only to find lying under her pillow, where she had placed it before falling asleep. She took it in her hands…it was back to its natural color.
Don't tell me, she wondered, it was just a dream?