He sat in a cave, staring into the blue fire before him. Biting wind and piercing rain slammed down from the brooding clouds outside. Heaven was upset. It was one of those days.
Pots crashed on the stones and the swing they'd rested on hung, broken. He dove to the ground, cushioning her fall.
He gazed out over the ocean, remembering when they'd gone looking for seashells together for the last time. She had needed help walking and he'd had to hold her while they stood, but he had never been happier. Her laugh still rang in his ears, so clear.
She gazed up at him, fear coloring her features. "I don't want to die. Dying would mean leaving you and Ringo."
He watched the human family from a distance, completely transfixed. A child played with a bug he'd found while the parents looked on with content smiles. The women held a little bundle in her arms—a baby.
Casshern hadn't met many humans, but he found them fascinating. And these humans looked so happy. They'd managed to find a sliver of happiness in such dark and hopeless times.
He searched her eyes. There was fear, sadness, and resignation. But there was a spark of rebellion. She knew that she was close to death, but it was truly not what she wanted.
Without thinking, he grabbed a shard of glass from the remains of the broken pots.
Her eyes closed as he sliced his palm.
He approached the cottage that he hadn't seen in so long. Ringo and Lyuze's garden now spanned a good chunk of the valley and the sea hummed happily.
His blood slipped past her lips, but she did not stir.
He stood in front of the door, unsure how to proceed. Should he knock or simply walk on in? What if she wasn't decent? What if she wasn't even there? What if she didn't want him to come back?
He had just raised his hand when the door opened.
Her eyes watered. A hand covered her mouth, muffling her gasp. "Casshern."
He let a small smile curve his lips. "Hey, Ringo."
…
He'd been staying with her for a week, but she was awfully excited today.
It was extremely strange to see her now as a young woman and not a little girl. She told him that she'd spent some time traveling and that there was a small town nearby where she had friends and traded flowers for supplies. Friender followed them around everywhere, never letting Casshern leave his sight. Casshern was glad to have his friend back—he hadn't realized how much he'd missed the dog.
But today, Ringo couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She kept humming under her breath as she worked in the garden.
"Why are you so happy today?" he finally asked when she started making a crown of flowers.
"Hm?" she glanced up and her smile seemed to widen. "Oh, I'm just expecting a visitor today. An old friend that I haven't seen in a while. She should be here any minute."
He nodded and continued his earlier task of watching the ocean from his perch on a boulder. Ringo was a few yards away, planting some new seeds.
He turned when she gasped. Her head whipped around from where she'd been looking to gaze at him. "She's here." Ringo looked back at the hill she'd been looking at before.
His blue eyes scanned the area, searching for this mystery person. A flash of pink caught his eye.
He was on his feet in a millisecond.
She was walking over the crest of the hill, looking better than ever. There wasn't a trace of the Ruin anywhere on her. The wind tossed her hair and she flicked at it impatiently. She hadn't spotted him yet.
He started running, Ringo completely forgotten.
She saw him, and matched his pace.
They stopped about two feet apart, eyes wide and voices gone.
She was here. She wasn't dead. She was here, alive, with him.
Suddenly, she smiled. It was brilliant. And then—
"You're a very hard person to find. I've been looking for a while."
He felt a strange pounding in his chest. His breath seemed easier to catch than it had in many years. "I—"
The words wouldn't come, so he strode forward and crushed her to him.
She sniffled and wrapped her arms around his torso. That was when he was sure that she was real.
He took a deep breath, trying wrap his mind around the situation.
She leaned back to look at him but didn't dare go too far.
His voice seemed to return. "I…I thought you were—"
"I very nearly was…" she said. "But then I woke up. And you were gone."
He stayed silent.
She frowned. "You did something, didn't you? To save me."
He nodded.
She smiled again. "I've been searching for you ever since." She leaned her forehead on his chest, right over the C. "Oh, how I've missed you."
He closed his eyes, smiling genuinely for the first time in a long time. "Not near as much as I've missed you."