Selenophilia

Thirty Four

Elise's eyes widened when golden eyes, one that she had come to love over the time,  turned glassy.

"Why are you suddenly crying, you weirdo?" Elise demanded as she reached out to caress his cheeks as the first few tears fell down of his cheeks.

After saying that, memories that weren't her own played inside her mind like a little play. Memories of a young but bright boy with a beautiful large family with a couple of nice friends hanging around out in a field of flowers as the sunset played in the background, a young boy who'd been bullied because of the beautiful golden color of his eyes but had grown even more stronger due to that, a boy with a nice smile, a boy with a playful attitude, a boy with lovely manners, a boy known as the gentle kid in town, a boy who would tell stories to children younger than him. A boy who'd been smiling while waiting patiently for...

For me?

"Yes." Elise was snapped out of her train of thoughts when Cleo answered her internal question.

Elise looks at him in disbelief, her heart was suddenly pounding wildly against her chest for no apparent reason. It felt as though she was scared of something. Was she nervous about the bond? This was different from the familial bond she currently have with her family but there's no reason to be scared, right? Why was she so scared?

"Y-You answered me.. A-And I saw..."

"It's the bond. You saw me." Cleo gave a garbled chuckle, looking so relieved as he looked at her with this fond and relief look that made Elise feel it deep within her. It seeped through her bones and it was as if the fondness and relief was coursing through her veins in this messy way that made it feel like adrenaline.

She felt relieved all of a sudden but she knew that it wasn't hers. No, she wasn't feeling fondness or relief. That would be one of the last few emotions she would feel. No, she was feeling fear, it clutched her heart in ways that the relief couldn't reach.

Therefore, she knew that the relief wasn't her emotion to feel.

It was Cleo's

But then the said boy frowned as if he remembered something awful, it pulled all different kinds of pain in Elise's heart. It was as if she couldn't stand the look on the boy's face.

Sadness flooded her senses instead of the previous emotion. Just feeling the sudden emotional shift made her tired.

"A-And I saw yours and..."

Elise grimaced all of a sudden. Of course he'd see it. She had seen his. He probably know her deepest and darkest secrets now.

Goddess, how could she corrupt an innocent boy? A boy who'd never experienced pain before. A boy who probably never wanted this burden. A boy who had a family, friends and townspeople loving him due to his kindness and devotion towards them. How could she live with herself knowing that she had unknowingly tied him down with this new bond?

'Don't talk to yourself like that!' Someone, Cleo's voice, she noted, shouted in her head, causing her to flinch. 'Don't make choices for me! I chose you. I will always choose you! Don't pull yourself down like this! How could you talk to yourself like that? How do you keep making excuses to pull yourself down? Don't. It hurts me to hear you say things like that. You are worth so much.'

'I'm not worth anything.'

'I've waited for you. You are worth waiting for and therefore you are worth more.'

Elise scowled at Cleo. "Don't talk as if I'm your world."

"You're my universe." Cleo corrected while seething angrily at her. "This bond is just a bond. I've watched you from afar and I chose to protect you. I want to protect you. I want to be your companion, your friend, and your protector. I devote myself to you."