Reincarnation

Rebirth, Part 4

Silence.

Nothing but the deepest silence.

The tranquil and quiet tint of nighttime echoed in the hospital room.

The two merely stared at each other; taking in each other's features with an unerring gaze. Neither dared to move first, and it took them a minute, maybe more, to fully grasp the other's presence.

The boy spoke first. "Wishing you well in your recovery," he said.

She nodded in gratitude, despite finding it weird that he just barged in and sat down without even introducing himself. The girl gave him a small, neutral smile—one reserved for new acquaintances. "Y-Yeah... okay. Thank you. But... you still haven't told me your name."

Try as she might, she couldn't recall a face like his. She was certain he wasn't an acquaintance from school, nor had he been part of her life at any point. No, this was their first meeting.

That being said, despite not having known him before, she felt an unconscious sense of safety in his presence, as though her own body and mind were reassuring her not to be suspicious of this boy—even though he was acting so oddly.

"...Who am I?" He spoke in a wistful manner.

It was a strange query. Normally, when two people meet, they introduce themselves. So why was this boy asking such an unorthodox question? The worst part was, he didn't seem to be joking. Beneath his blank expression lay a certain... uneasiness. Did he truly have no idea?

"You tell me," Estella remarked, squinting to see the boy's features more clearly in the moonlight.

He looked strikingly beautiful, almost as if he were an art piece brought to life. It reminded her of a certain trope in those shows that she always used to watch: the 2D male lead getting transported to another world, springing forth from a book or a television...

But well, she was getting sidetracked. She knew that wouldn't really happen in real life. "Why would you ask me about your name, anyway?"

"...You don't know either?" he replied absentmindedly. His blank expression cracked slightly, revealing a hint of worry. "To tell you the truth, I don't know my own name... nor do I know yours." He etched out a small smile. "How about this: I'll try to think of a name on the spot. Want one for you too?"

She shook her head softly in response. "No thanks, I know my own name."

The boy stood up and put his hands behind his head, beginning to walk around the room freely. It seemed as though he wanted to distract himself, even just for a little while. Soft hums escaped his lips, a familiar nursery rhyme popular in Vallena.

He began with small, awkward steps, gradually transitioning into large, dance-like strides. His footsteps echoed clearly across the room as he galloped through every corner.

"Luke...? No..." He sighed. "Lou? Yikes, that sounds like the name of a courier's baby," he added. It was his own version of a dilemma—small, perhaps, but a dilemma nonetheless.

He paused for a bit and grinned. Estella could have sworn that she saw a light bulb lighting up above his head as he smiled.

"Lucius...! Lucius... Valeheart. Yeah, that sounds nice. Amazing. No, downright perfect." He clapped softly as he reached the end of his mind game of thinking of names.

She smiled back at him and clapped as well. "Added a surname too, did you?"

"It would feel incomplete without one."

"True. But then again, that's not your real name."

"Hey, it's the thought that counts."

The small, awkward banter between them slowly evolved into a sincere conversation between two newly-made friends. The boy, now (unofficially) baptized as Lucius, sat back down on the chair beside her bed and gave her a small smirk.

"That's the end of our conundrum, isn't it? So yeah, feel free to call me Lucius," he said.

She sighed. "We still have another."

"And what's that?"

Estella looked upwards at the off-white ceiling of the room. The hum of the air-conditioning unit mellowed out in the distance as he waited for her to respond.

"Why are you even here?" she muttered softly.

He scratched his head and took a small, exaggerated breath. "...I don't know. All I know is that I was supposed to visit someone here. I didn't even know who!" The boy put his hands in his pockets solemnly, looking as lost and confused as ever. "No matter how many times I tried to recall anything, my memory just kept drawing a blank. But, one thing is for sure..." He added.

"What is it?" she asked.

He beamed at her. "You feel it too, right? That connection. It's unmistakable. I went to the right room." The boy extended his hand firmly.

She clasped his hand with hers. "...Well, you have a point," she said, returning his smile. The feeling that had been bothering her since he arrived—this sense of safety and a subtle bond—persisted. "My name is Estella. Estella Adventia. Does it ring a bell?" She watched to see if he would remember anything related to her or her name.

"Oh, so your name is Estella," he said, shaking her hand. Lucius stared right into her eyes, and she felt a tingling sensation as his azure gaze locked with hers for quite a while. She felt herself getting lost in his eyes; they were the most beautiful shade of blue, reminiscent of the ocean's surface on a midsummer day.

As they released each other's hands, he showed a hint of wistful acceptance, as if he were reminiscing about a past memory. His brows furrowed, and his lips quivered. He sighed repeatedly and clicked his tongue in frustration. "Estella, huh? Yeah, it doesn't ring a bell, unfortunately... but that's okay."

That weight behind his visage seemed to have disappeared, as though something had finally made sense to him. He flashed another grin at her. "Here's to our friendship, Estella!"

She earnestly gave him another nod.

"Nice to meet you, Lucius."