𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐃 • 𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

❥︎ 02 • hope ;

02 . hope ;

" i have come to realise that running away cannot solve the past. so instead, i'll move forward to the future- holding onto hope.. despite all the chances of failure. "

~♡︎•♡︎•♡︎~

aether laid there on his bed. staring at the ceiling with a hand over his beating heart, telling him that everything he saw and heard was indeed not another dream or nightmare.

the same eyes, same smile, same everything. except she was full of life, full of joy and happiness...

aether suddenly felt scared. 'am i going to ruin it?' he thought anxiously. whenever the two of them met, whether it was in her original life or a different form- something went wrong. always.

although it was always the work of an omnipresent being, why must they always interfere in their relationship- friendship that he's relentlessly tried to rekindle, only to be shut down and scorned by an invisible factor that even he himself is unaware of.

a knock on the door distracted the blond twin for a brief moment. yet aether still paid no attention to whomever was knocking, sounds ringing into the emptiness. there's a small pause, and it's either a) they decided to leave him be, or b) they're giving a moment so aether can answer.

"come in.." he begrudgingly said seeing as how the knocking didn't stop after the paise, as he covered his eyes with his other arm.

"hi aether, it's nahida." the soft-spoken voice belonging to child-formed dendro archon. she enters the room before she closed the door as she sat at the end of his bed.

there's a moment of awkward silence, and aether doesn't bother to mention it. in all honesty, he isn't close with the archons- perhaps zhongli, and then second would be nahida but even they never spoke much. only comfortable enough to ever talk about controversial topics between mortals nowadays.

like that one debate about whether there were more doors or wheels in the world.

the dendro archon breaks the silence, "uhm, lumine told me what happened.. you okay? she's still very worried about you along with the rest of us." nahida asked, slightly worried as he wasn't moving a single bit.

a sigh was heard from the blond. "no, yes? i don't know.." he contemplated, his voice- coarsed.

"i thought i was over it, but then i saw her- and i got really scared.." aether sat up, exhausted from today. he rants, "i know that she isn't, (name) but everything that happened rushed into my head all at once and i-" aether sucked in a breath as he stared at his hands.

"aether, no one can blame you for how you feel. things like this doesn't fade away that easily, even if centuries pass.." nahida said, pity in her eyes almost as if she relived those darker memories of sumeru.

"then, when will they go away?" aether asked, yet as expected of the dendro archon she did not give a straight answer.

"... that's something only you can find out."

aether let out a sigh as he chuckled slightly, "hah.. you still don't give a straight answer even after all this time huh nahida?" he says, his hands fidgeting.

nahida smiled as she managed to talk to him without complications, "perhaps. anyways, i need to go back down and help zhongli with organising classes for this year." she said, getting off the bed and heading for the door.

her hand hovered the doorknob, "just, don't think about it too much. okay?" she looked back with soft green eyes, aether could only nod in response. in other words, she meant, "i'm sorry i couldn't help."

the door closed shut once she left. aether staring out the window of his bedroom. he leaned against the window sill, closing his eyes as he began to recall his dream from the day prior.

it's time, to reconcile silly.

that same voice spoke. it was familiar, yet he couldn't place a finger on it. it's different, but nostalgic.

"to reconcile huh?" aether whispered to himself. opening his eyes as he noticed the sky growing darker, seeing how time managed to pass within a blink of an eye.

his dream. did it have some sort of meaning after all? the word reconcile kept repeating in his head.

but it was just a dream derived from the burden in his heart. it most likely held no meaning, and even if it did what could it have possibly meant? there was nobody he could reconcile with, after all- people from the past cannot come back, even whether they reincarnate or not.

so in all the fairness of the world, why must he be so afraid of someone that he just met? whether she looks like her or not, aether is only stranger to her and nothing more. she does not carry the actions of her previous form, nor does she harbour the remanents of love for him.

so what will you do?

have you decided your actions for the future?

he was glad that his room was blessed with silence, a determind spark in his eyes. "i have made my decision."

aether said, as he glanced over at the calendar on his wall. two weeks. two weeks until the start of school, till he can see her again.

yet the glow of a distant star in the sky caught his eye. a shooting star at that, as a childish thought came to his mind.
aether clasped his hands together, his legs criss-crossed as he took a deep breath. he leaned his forehead against his hands,

"(y/n).. i wish-" aether spoke, yet he hesitantly stopped, catching the sight of the star flickering. grey clouds moved slowly to cover the flickering light.

not all wishes live on long enough to come true. some may not even become reality- so instead,

"-i hope we can be friends in this lifetime." aether whispered as he closed his eyes.

hope.

something that has always been held on to from one life to another.

something that was always hidden in the deepest depth of the tiniest cracks in his heart.

the light dimmed as the grey clouds protected it from the rest of the world.

a content smile of relief appeared on his face. his tensed body relaxed, whilst a yawn came from his mouth.

"i might as well just sleep again." aether spoke tiredly as he laid down in his bed to get some shut-eye.

as the faded starlight peaked through his window.

~♡︎•♡︎•♡︎~

( prewritten ; january, friday the thirteenth 2023 :000 )
( revised ; august, 22, 2023 )
( published ; )