I Need To Remember

Finale 🤩🤩

He almost didn't believe it.

...Is she really here with me?

As the dump of information flooded his head,, he was suddenly faced with the image of his mother's dead body. It was abruptly banished- If Riftan ever did think of his terrible childhood, it was with severe disdain, to say the least.

But then his mind might wander to her, and perhaps he would smile, thinking of his only comfort during those unbearable years. Her simple practice of playing with smooth, pretty stones...petting an animal if given the chance, or making a flower crown.

He knew now that this was not the first she'd given him. How could he have forgotten what she meant to him, how deeply ingrained she was in every part of him? He couldn't lose her like that ever again.

But was it real? He did not currently trust his judgment. A painful doubt spurred within him.

Every breath he took was a reminder of his intense yearning. If she really was a figment of his imagination, if his mind had betrayed him in this way, Riftan didn't know what he'd do. A sense of panic slowly but surely rose up in his chest, and he exhaled heavily from where he lay.

He hadn't been this scared in a long time. Scared to be alone again.

"Hey, c-c'mon..." But on hearing Maxi's voice again, flooding into the paranoid thoughts, his eyes slowly drifted open; even his cynical nature could not ruin the hope he felt then. She was blurry where her visage should have been clear, and far away even as the ends of her long hair brushed his cheeks.

He only realized why when she used her soft, nimble fingers to wipe away the gathered moisture underneath his eyes. Then she pressed a hand to his forehead.

"Are you o-okay?" Her wavering, worried voice nearly brought him to the brink of destruction. Riftan never thought someone would really care about him like that, but she did. He only dreamed that she wouldn't hate him in the beginning, that she would tolerate a man under her station- but now, he had seen her true devotion.

All that time where he was more vulnerable than he'd been in years, she'd taken care of him, defended him, cried for him...his heart, overwhelmed with even more affection if possible, could hardly believe it. He didn't know how she hadn't completely lost patience with him and given up, yet Maxi's actions were unmistakable.

Sometimes, he was sure she was too lovely to be real. That was why, as she pulled her cool hand back and leaned in to further survey his face, he stopped trying to hold in instinct and crushed his arms around her.

Even the sqeak of surprise she made was endearing to him. Just hearing her voice again in the slightest had brought all of his emotion to the forefront. As he silently cried, holding in his tremors, Riftan buried his face in her soft hair and tightened his hold once again, all the time caressing her back as if to remind himself that Maxi was still there. Dear God, how was it possible for one person to make you feel so deeply satisfied?

"W-We're squishing the...flowers!" Her voice cracked when he flipped them over, just soaking in the sight of Maxi. While she was partially shadowed by him, Riftan had no problem seeing her eyes. Like a clear, icy lake, a shimmering mirror, or perhaps a brand new silver coin...her eyes were pure artwork; when you looked into them, there would always be something new, a color or shade, a depth to her he had not seen yet. Still, the way he felt captured by them never changed, never wavered for even a moment.

She had been tearing up, that was clear to see, and still- there she was, as soon as he had awaken looking after his wellbeing.

Having met leagues of self-centered, narcissistic people, Maxi was nothing short of an angel to him.