F1nn5ter: A thousand streams later

Chapter 2

Jude couldn't help but change his expression in a bittersweet smile, as he slowly wandered with his hands through the contents of the "Rose box": only his favorite outfits and accessories were kept, the others had been sold, gifted or thrown away, but Jude had made sure to preserve what was dearest to his heart, what held the most memories. The dress he wore when the girl month goal was once again reached, that silly costume fans begged him to try on, the outfits used in those special event streams, even the stuff by which Rose made her first appearances, and also those by which she made her last ones.

Among the pile of clothes, a pink metal lucid USB drive shined lightened by the above ceiling lamp, almost as if it begged for attention: Jude quickly recalled what it contained, a collection of various medias regarding Rose, such as photos, images, videos, fanfictions, fanarts and entire streams. This was due to the fact that after Rose disappeared, Jude decided to take down and delete every trace of her.

Throughout humanity, funereal ceremonies were held consistently, not only to honor the dead, but most importantly to give peace to those who were still alive, for one needs to say goodbye, in order to move on. Jude would have never had the chance to say goodbye to Rose; it was already difficult on its own, but having to continuously see images and references to her meant just torment to his grieving spirit.

What many didn't realize, and neither did Jude himself until a certain point, was that Rose had become something more than an alter-ego, a mask to put on during a show, rather, she represented a different life, one in which Jude had unconsciously poured all of his dreams and hopes, so that Rose could make them come true, and she definitely did. Losing Rose felt to Jude like waking up from a beautiful dream: it was all the same, nothing had changed, and yet all around it felt very different. To him, colors had lost their brightness, foods were almost tasteless, and the atmosphere overwhelmed with a suffocating feel. After a couple of weeks spent in such state, Jude took the decision to get rid of Rose for good; although he perfectly knew how disappointed his whole community of fans would have been, it was for his own wellbeing.

Still, we bring flowers to our deceased loved ones, we hold them dear in our hearts and visit their graves from time to time to feel their presence; Jude was no different, that's why he assigned Rose that white rectangular grave, a tomb filled with the dead's belongings, like the ancient ones. This way, Rose was given a resting place, where Jude could remember her without it haunting him. During the years he had visited her grave many times, and although with time his visits became more and more rare, he still valued every single time he stopped by to reconnect with Rose, even for just a brief moment.