Binary Star

Epilogue: Wish

Epilogue: Wish

When Jinnai, Berenice, Chi, and I were sent back to Earth, I expected to discover that days had passed, when in fact, only less than twelve hours had gone by. We had returned in the exact same spot we had been taken. It was as though time had frozen for that entire period. Jinnai remarked that we had been dropped back on Earth just in time for Christmas Day. He had told me that on Christmas, people exchanged gifts to the ones they loved. But although neither of us got any material presents, this was the best gift I could have ever received.

As time passed, we slowly settled back into a normal routine. In the weeks after New Year's Eve, things finally seemed to be looking up. By the good graces of Queen Vega Lyrae, I was allowed to stay with Jinnai Kobayashi as long as I wished. From now on, I was no longer a Scout, but a Royal Emissary of Lillius. Royal Emissaries, as declared by the queen, were former Scouts that had grown a close attachment to their Earthian partners and chose to reside alongside them permanently.

After that declaration, things began to change. Humans and Lilliputians slowly grew closer to one another, and with stronger ties of friendship, more settlements began being developed and colonized. Scouts still patrolled the wilds of Earth, but many of them chose to become Emissaries after having developed such strong bonds with their partners. For the first time, our societies started opening up to one another in bigger and more profound ways.

Life was changing, for both of our species. It was more than merely sharing the same planet, it was a mutual realization and respect for each other as living beings. After everything that had transpired in the past two years since the S.S. Lillium had arrived on Earth, it was a breath of relief to see that my kind finally had hope again. That all of our sacrifices and struggles had not been in vain. Of course, that wouldn't mean it was going to be easy. Earth was still stalked by dangerous native animals, and surviving all the hazards nature entailed would be no simple feat. There still remained Lilliputians like Antares Scorpius who believed that humans could not be trusted, and vice versa.

But I still had hope. I chose to believe that one day, we could both learn to coexist in relative peace. As for myself, I had at least achieved a semblance of that peace in my own mind.

I stood perched at the balcony of my dollhouse, gazing out upon the intermittent piles of melting snow dotting the perpetually bustling city landscape of Tokyo. A bit of chilly wind nipped at me through the draft in the window, but I didn't care. I tilted my head and allowed it to gently ruffle my short, sugar-pink hair.

As an Emissary, I had been granted a new uniform, a thigh-high navy-blue dress trimmed in gold and studded with silver fastenings. Even my knee-high boots had sharp gold fittings. I wore a little blue hat decorated with a golden star-shaped emblem. Honestly, I thought the outfit was a bit extravagant, but I was a Royal Emissary now, and Commander Hydrae demanded that I look the part.

Growing tired of the view from my balcony, I headed out of the dollhouse and stepped out onto the fringe of the windowsill. Jinnai looked bored, as usual, curled up at the corner of his bed with his nose buried in a copy of the latest manga. I supposed some things never changed.

Rintarou Natsuki had visited at my sister's request to see Chi, who lived with Jinnai and I full-time, so now Berenice was busy struggling to introduce her to Rintarou just as I had struggled to introduce my baby sister to my own gigantic partner. She was clad in the same gold-trimmed, silver-studded Emissary uniform I wore, except that hers was a bright, brilliant pink. I contemplated intervening to help calm Chi's nerves, but once Rintarou patted her tiny head, and she began to smile, I knew everything would be alright.

Even Hanako Suguwara was there, gently petting Chi's back. It seemed she had recovered from the incident with Antares. Even though Hanako was far bigger than him, she was an emotionally fragile woman, and apparently Antares had done many terrible things to her, such as pinching her body until she was covered in bruises and even threatening her into illicit relations, just he had done to me. She was too afraid to tell anyone what was happening until Scorpius left and everything was settled with the queen. After that, it took a few weeks for her to open up again, but now, she seemed to be okay.

My gaze drifted away from Rintarou and my sisters to Jinnai. I dropped down from the windowsill and climbed up onto his belly. I rested my chin in my palms and peeked up at him. The bright, cheerful eyes of an anime girl affixed to the cover of his book stared at me. I gently poked him. "Jin-kun...you seem uninterested. Why is that?"

Jinnai lowered his manga, revealing his face. "You think I'm uninterested? I'll have you know, I'm very interested in what I'm doing right now. I kinda go into a meditative state when the latest volume of Sweet Sinful Honey comes out. And can you please stop calling me Jin-kun? Your little sister calls me that, and it's weird." I cocked an eyebrow. "Why is it weird? I think it suits you. It is a very cute name, don't you agree?"

He pulled on a lopsided grin. "I'm not the kinda guy who wants to be called cute..."

I slowly and teasingly crawled up onto his chest, never taking my eyes off of him for even a second. "Oh? Would you like to be called something different, then? Perhaps a harsher-sounding name would better fit a majestic, powerful beast such as yourself."

Jinnai chuckled lowly. "Okay, I see where this is going. But if you want to have your fun with me, you're gonna have to wait until everyone else leaves. For now, you should just lie down and take a nap." He pressed his index finger on my back and pushed me down onto my stomach. "Hmmm...okay then," I mused. "I'm sure I'll have very sweet dreams, my precious giant..."

I rolled over on my side and nuzzled into his shirt. As I rested upon his great chest, the diligent, metronome-like thump of his heartbeat lulled me to sleep. Looking back on everything that had transpired over the past month and a half, it was hard to believe that Jinnai and I had actually been at odds once. Back then, I would have given anything to be away from him. Now, I'd give anything to be closer to him. During that time, I wanted so badly to have a different partner, but today, it would be unthinkable to have been paired up with anyone else. I did not know what the future awaited for the two of us, but I did know that we loved each other, and that simple fact was all I needed. So to the old primordial gods of Lillius, I prayed.

'I pray that the one I love isn't sad. I pray that the one I love is happy. I pray that the one I love is smiling...'

The End...

December 21st, 2017.

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Copyright (C) Alexandria Francetic 2017