I'll Wait as Long as I can

Part 1

A girl sings beautifully while kicking her feet, sitting on the edge of a wall and skipping stones into a lake in front of her. A boy around the same age comes up to her, carrying a wheelbarrow full of sunsettias.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine~"

"That's beautiful." The boy, leaving behind his wheelbarrow, climbs up the wall to sit next to her and also starts skipping stones.

"Thanks! My parents always used to sing me that song when I was younger. It was like a lullaby." She smiles brightly at him and he starts to blush.

"So what's your high score?"

"High score? For what?"

"Skipping stones, duh! My dad and I used to do this all the time when I was younger and, not to brag, my score is pretty high. Want to know what it is..? Of course you do. Drumroll please.."

She gives him a drumroll.

"Seven!"

"Woah!"

"I know, right? Guess that's what you get, being a pro lifelong skipper. So what's your high score, young grasshopper?"

"A thirteen I think?"

"You've got to be kidding!"

The two spent the afternoon talking and laughing until evening came. Together, they watched the sunset. It felt like time had stopped and as though nothing else in the world mattered.

"So what are you doing here, anyway? Where are your parents now?"

The girl wasn't sure what he would think if she told him the truth about where she came from, so she decided to lie."

"They're.. Uh.. Sick? Yeah, they're sick and the house is kinda stuffy so I came here to collect my thoughts. What about you? It's rude to be all judgy when you're also out here all alone."

"Hehe.. Sorry. I'm delivering these sunsettias for my dad. He's an herbalist and needs them for some kind of weird new experiment. I don't get it but he seems to love what he does so I'm happy for him!"

Soon, only the stones hitting the water keep the scene noisy, neither knowing what to talk about anymore. Despite what seems to be awkward silence, the two actually find it comfortable, like they don't have to say anything and can just be.

"I'm sorry about your parents."

"Don't be. I guess I've just learned to live with it."

Now all the girl can think about is her real parents. They've been gone for as long as she can remember and for all she knows, they could be dead. The only thing she remembers about them are the songs they used to sing to her every night before bed. She's been perfectly fine living only with her brother for company, but now he's gone, too.

"Hey, maybe my dad can heal your parents! I don't know what kind of sickness they have but I'll try my best to help if I can."

She starts getting nervous and blurts out:

"It's actually not curable! Yeah, the least curable disease in all of Teyvat! They're practically goners if you ask me."

"We can at least try, right? I've been feeling sad today and you've totally helped me out. If I can even do a little for your parents, I'll feel much better. How about you come with me to deliver these sunsettias and we'll talk to my dad about them?"

"Sounds great."

Hearing those words made the girl's heart flutter. Despite the lies she's thrown at him, the boy's kindness and smile has the girl falling head over heels. At this point, she doesn't care what it takes to see him again, even if it means lying millions of times. Seeing him happy melts away all her worries. She'll eventually have to tell him everything, probably right when they get to his house, but if that means she can keep seeing him, does it really matter?

She smiles at him as if he's the only other person in the world.

"What?"

"You're cute, you know that?"

The boy stutters, his face burning up. He tries to get words out but ends up just looking silly.

"I can tell that you're a really caring person. Are you planning to become an herbalist like your dad?"

He finally clears his throat and prepares himself to answer her question.

"As much as my dad wants me to, I've always been better at killing things than keeping them alive. So actually, no. As soon as I can, I'm going to try to become a royal guard. I've already been training since forever!"

"That's so cool! I wish I knew what I want to be."

"Don't worry about it, you have all the time in the world to decide."

She giggles.

"I guess you're right."

The two finally decide to head to the boy's place. Hand in hand and totally forgetting to bring the sunsettias, the boy and the girl walk together and don't stop smiling until they fall asleep that very night.

"So.. What's your name?"