少女レイ/shoujo rei

Her

The sunset shines strongly, vivid colors surrounding the sky in a gradient of pink and orange. Birds softly chirp in a lulling melody, being the only sign of life in this place.

This flooring is one she can remember well, the cracked cement flooring, the old stains of multicolored ink. It was impossible to forget it. The wind blows gently on her face and traces a path to what stands behind her.

She turns, seeking an answer, and finds it sitting on the border of the roof. A silhouette bathing in the sun, clueless to anything but the view of buildings and mountains at distance.

There is no need to face her to know who it is, the fuschia tentacles, the dark blue sweatshirt, her lively brown skin.

And that lovely laugh.

"Are you here to look at the sunset or to look at me?" She turns around to face her, with the sunlight radiating much brighter on her than anything else.

There is hesitation to reply, the feelings are scuttering around her mind, an urge to cry and to reach out and hug her, to do something that would show her just how much she…

Ah, screw it. Neither of them were ever good at this.

“Not you, obviously.” Meggy sarcastically chuckles, and receives the response she expected.

“Oh, then let me just jump off this cliff. Wouldn't want to ruin the sight.” Desti exclaims, gesturing her dramatic death with her arm.

Then comes a pause in Meggy's voice, hesitation, once again. All of this feels surreal, too surreal, and yet, so perfect.

This silent Meggy is something the octoling quickly takes notice of, she stands up and draws closer.

“You're not gonna say anything, aren't you?” Desti asks her, traces of smugness in her tone.

Meggy doesn't respond, rather, she breaks eye contact and begins tracing imaginary figures with her hands.

“God, I have to do everything around here.” She snickers, now sprinting towards Meggy.

The next thing Meggy knows, she's pushed onto the floor, and around her, Desti wrapping her between her arms. A firm hold that isn't suffocating, that somehow weakens her entire body.

She feels her heart beat, she feels the way she breathes, she feels her warmth. Everything is so lively, everything is okay.

She is alive.

The feelings of joy overwhelm her, and all she manages to do is tear up, reciprocating the embrace. A smile makes way into her face, and through sobbing, she tries to speak.

“Desti, I missed you so… so much.” Meggy stutters, trying to draw her face closer to Desti.

Desti does not respond, but that doesn't matter to her.

“I'm sorry, I just… I…” The tears keep flowing, and the urge to let out her most hidden feelings comes out.

Her words are interrupted, something rings, the sound reverberates cleanly but is heard slightly distant. Nothing in the roof seemed to have caused the sound, but it couldn't have been something in the sky.

A chime?

In the blink of an eye, everything vanishes, the tender grasp of Desti's arms wrapped around her, the surrounding soothing warmth, that feeling of safety that kept her so calm. There is not a trace of that serenity anywhere, simply being replaced by the monotonous sight of white wallpaper—her room. She was cold, and her undone hair itched on the back of her neck.

"So that's what it was." Meggy sighed under her breath, lazily setting aside the annoying itching strands of her hair as she tried to regain her composure.