Graveyard: My character will visit your character’s grave.
for adxnauseam
An abundance of beautiful Japanese Gentian flowers were wrapped in a exquisitely neat, white bow. Grasped loosely and gently between the edges of her slender fingers, she solemnly looked down at the flowers in her possession. Flowers often signified beginnings or happiness but today was no reason to celebrate but to mourn over the loss of a person that she had started to grow used to. An empty shell she was but that was expected of Snow. Unfortunately, today didn’t feel like her usual days especially when Lindou’s presence was no longer around.
It shouldn’t have been you that died on that day. It should have been me..
Walking alone on a lifeless path that seemed endless to her, she recalled the events of the day when Lindou took her last breath and Snow witnessed it all. The inhabitants of the past had all suffered on that day, death attacking them one by one after an attack had been initiated on Clan by several human hunters. On that day, Snow had been with Lindou in the library when the ambush occurred. She remembered the way Lindou grasped her hand as they both made an escape, books on fire all around them and shelves falling to the ground while they desperately tried to escape the hunters. They made it as far as the gardens when Snow had fallen to the ground and slowed them down.
The gunshots still rang loudly in her ears till this very day but the shots that were meant for her never hit her. Instead, she felt a presence lingering over her fallen body. She was forced to watch Lindou endure every single bullet, life slowly dissipating from her eyes. The former prefect told her to run and to not look back while she tried to use the last of her energy to hold back the humans. Snow was left speechless, unsure of why the other would sacrifice herself until she remembered their conversation from earlier that morning and the words that Lindou had to say.
‘It would be terrible if False lost you compared to someone like me.’
Lindou continued to urge her to run but Snow was frozen in her spot, unable to accept any of it and despite being scared, she had tried her best to get revenge. Alas, it was not enough to save the girl who had become a dying, wilted flower in the gardens on that cruel day. That day was one of the worst days Snow had come to experience in her life. There was still confusion because Lindou and her weren’t the best to get along but their days had recently gotten better with one another. Why save Snow? Why not finally let Snow die so that Lindou could obtain some sort of happiness for the past? But perhaps that’s where Snow believed Lindou had grown slightly different than in the past.
Arriving to the place where Lindou’s father had been buried, Snow’s eyes glanced over at the grave next to his. The only survivors of the disaster had been Snow and False and they agreed to bury Lindou right beside her father for many purposes. They did this for the rest of the inhabitants affected as well, keeping their best interests in mind and what they could have possibly wanted. Surely, it was a difficult time but out of everyone that Snow wanted to visit on this day, it was going to be Lindou.
Setting down the beautiful flowers upon the edge of the grave, she got down on her knees and folded her hands together. Shutting her eyes, she spoke a small prayer in her mind, wishing Lindou nothing but the best up in the stars and for all the protection in the world. Opening her lifeless eyes, she stared down at the gravestone where the former prefect’s name was engraved. It didn’t seem real at all but there was a type of remorse growing in Snow’s heart that nobody would understand. And maybe this is where Snow had learned to grow as a person, different from the person she was in the past.
‘In loving memory of a beautiful flower, Lindou.’
Snow’s head lowered, mind giving her flashbacks to Lindou’s last moments after the humans were driven away by False who had finally caught up to the two. The cold beauty didn’t abandon her side like most believed she would do. The beauty held Lindou in her arms, trying so hard to suppress the blood and save Lindou all together but her skin was severely cold and dark at this point. She remembered her last words and how those words would stick to her through the rest of her days with False.
Even now, Snow wondered why she would thank her after all they had been through together. They were polar opposites with different mindsets, ambitions, and dreams. There was an air of mystery that Lindou left behind with her death and it made Snow continuously think about her. In a way, she was keeping the memory of Lindou alive in this world and so long as Snow would live, Lindou would achieve eternity in some retrospect. “Lindou...” she muttered, gently caressing the gravestone before leaning back to linger in her thoughts once more. Lowering her head, Snow couldn’t bear to shed any emotion as if she were a lifeless shell. No, not even emotions could help at this point. For hours, she remained in this position on this cold, wintry day.
The atlas... I’ll visit every place that you’ve always wanted to go to. It’s the least I can do for you at this point. Surely, you’re at peace now. Reunited with Silane and your family with no more worries in this world. I still question why you saved me on that day but that day also became the day I could learn to respect you. I know that we never got along like friends but if there is one thing I want you to hear from the stars then it would be...
On that day, Lindou could bloom and stay pure forever again within Snow’s memories.
For Lindou was truly a beautiful creation.
