☓ ---- | He had watched the moon dip into the ocean far too many times ;witnessed the changing in seasons as the once brush of green aged into shades of auburn.Yet time did not permit him the passage of peace. Her words constantly rang in his ears, haunting his already shattered disposition. He tried desperately to keep it all at bay; to become one with the shadows once more. It should’ve been as simple as it was before; when Anna shot him and left him behind. The stark difference was this time; the light of her benevolence would not permit him to slither back into the corners of the twilight. The illumination behind her forgiveness was far too blinding; overwhelming his eyes and soul with exhaustion.
Perhaps that is why he found himself following the sound of her laughter while she was with friends. Maybe that is why their shadows seemed to closely intertwine as he stalked close behind. Nina has once again moved on, finding the strength he couldn’t muster. The second bullet along with the humanitarianism left behind in the wake of the Dr’s choice had put to rest the Nameless Monster within. But what was left behind was an inexplicable emptiness that nothing could fill.
Despite it all, once again Johan was still searching for his value through her as a displaced shadow that no longer had a master. The days, in which he spent watching over his dear sister, he tried to come to know who she became in the last few years he was in a coma. Or even the last 6 months since he awoke. He witnessed her smile – saw the fakeness within it all. The scars he left were not fading; not even a little bit. Was she suffering like him? What right did he have to impede on her life once again? That rainy night, she had given him the gift of humanity – choosing forgiveness over the bullet. It was a pill he could not swallow and in that moment, he refused.
Not because he thought it was too late for her to correct what she perceived as a mistake; but because he knew he did not deserve it. But now that there was life in his lungs; Johan could not easily forget her actions – in fact it was eating him alive. There was nothing rational about him waiting for her in her apartment, in the dark – standing with his hands behind his back as he stared out the window waiting for her to arrive. Once the sound of the door unlocking entered his ears, there was a wake of emotions chasing down his skin. Yet on the outside, he was like an unmovable stone pillar. The creaking of the wood behind him alerted him that she was near.
“Welcome home.., Nina.” He spoke airily, a mechanical smile curving along his features. Gingerly, as the lights were flickered on, he turned and rested his eyes gently on her.
