"We see the truth of those we love in the way they decide to leave us."

He had drawn stars in her sky, as if it were a fairy tale, he was leaving marks that led her to his arms, there where her heart nestled, where she felt safe, with him she stopped being the warrior and became kind to the world and to herself.

Gilbert's resurrection was only one more test in the mission he had entrusted to her years ago, when her eyes still shone, when war still burned in her eyes. She woke up in the middle of the night sweating memories she thought she had left behind, but nearby on the other side of her room breathed the one who had been her longing for years.

So with her heart in a corner, with her feelings stolen, Violet wrote again and her words sailed the vast ocean, among whales, octopuses and mermaids; wishing those words on a simple piece of paper could bring Dietfried back and that what made her feel would return with even more strength and without the doubt that Gilbert's arrival planted in her garden.

...

"She was reason enough to start over."

She embraced the darkness with her hands full of blood, she looked at me and her eyes were the balm that brought back that spark to my heart again, and even if I had been selfish, even if I had left her alone, thinking of her kept me alive as far as today.

I don't think anyone in this world can understand the feelings I have for her, to see her again far from the war and without that pin I once gave her was the consequence of having left her for so long, it was the atonement for my sins.

Her eyes freezing in front of mine, dulled by shame, it was her telling me that I was already too late, that her journey to discover what love was, she had already found it without me.

I never looked at her, we never exchanged glances since my arrival, just imagining the blue pupil bathed in blood was still innocent and pure, I wished that her eyes would meet mine, what a selfish thought on my part.

...

The letters to the sea never reached Dietfried's hands, the war on the ocean was fiercer and more dangerous than on land and the communication even more complex. But perhaps it had been better that way, for knowing the captain's nature, with a heart entrenched by the news he would not have allowed him to gain the upper hand at sea as he did.

the harbor was filled with handkerchiefs and people welcoming the friendly fleet that had kept the port city safe all this time, from high above shone in white Captain bouganvillea with his hair in the wind, he looked with a flaming gaze for a certain person who kept his heart stirred, and their eyes then crossed and the hands of the clock stopped, the hands stopped waving handkerchiefs, the seagulls froze their flight, and the wind stopped blowing.

"No amount of guilt can change the past."

Dietfried stepped out of the ship, his dark boots glistened in the sun and the chest of his suit was brimming with medals, through the crowd he found violet and his pace quickened a little more, but as he got closer he was noticing violet's countenance, she was smiling, but her eyes told him something else, her gaze had changed.

To his right and among other people he found a familiar face, it was Gilbert; a shock of memories stopped his accelerated walking, as if he was underwater and the air became as heavy as being trapped by the waves. He felt as if his heart did not know what to feel, as if a new feeling came up that he did not know how to explain, he did not know if that sound inside him was his heart breaking like a crystal, but he forced himself as he turned his eyes to Violet, and by her eyes he knew that she felt as lost as he did at that moment.

He reached out to embrace his brother as his free hand slipped between Violet's hands and pressed them against his palm, letting her know the pain and joy he felt.

...

During the big welcome dinner Dietfried was watching Violet from the other side of the table, Gilbert was sitting next to her, always looking for her eyes, none of them could give enough attention to Violet and not go unnoticed by her. This is why violet felt very uncomfortable and nervous, her movements at the table became awkward, but Gilbert tried to help her and then their eyes finally met and she no longer knew what to feel, she turned her gaze to Dietfried, she turned her gaze to the guests and the family that had welcomed her, she felt embarrassed, she apologized and left the room looking for where she could breathe.

"I remember everything you forgot."