12 Gone

Her words were real, they were pure and genuine. It wasn't a simple thanks. It was painful as I began to kindle to her embrace, free from my immobilization, I hugged her back. This place had made us suffer more than ever before. She was me, and I was her... but all good things end. Just as her arms had quickly tightened around me, holding me in a comforting embrace... her grip lessened. Her arms which had granted me temporary alleviation fell to her sides...

The connection we had built over the months of isolation, the fear we shared, I had grown very attached to this other-self. For all I did, I did miss those who I left behind. Damn, even the ancient English teacher. Everything was easier and simpler back then, yet through all that had changed. The only thing that had been a constant was this other-self. She had suffered with me. We had relished together. We had slowly become one...

My eyes met hers, my thoughts lingering in my mind, without her mouth opening, I heard her last words to me, in a booming voice which filled the very air around it, "Eden for the place that bore you. Eve for that which was beautiful with all its branches, for which fire could not consume. A name for the ancestors, a name for the newly born, a name for something new... A name of fire."

The words drained her of whatever had been pushing her forward, whatever had been tying her to me. The eye's which had now caught my own dropped. The faltering of her gaze continued along her body, her human shell began to wilt as it slowly flaked away. Piece by piece, part by part, she disintegrated into a series of bits, an impossible wind carried away whatever she had been, whoever she had been.

She was gone...

In her absence, I felt cold... before I knew it, I was once again lying on the makeshift mattress. The pantheon of stars outside the cave dazzling in a vibrant display. The stars knew, they were delighted. Oblivious to the star's parade, only a single word rested precariously on my mind, "Eve".

--=o-o=--

I stayed on the ground for a few hours, the drive which had pushed me forward... had disappeared. She had disappeared.

With the break of dawn and the glittering of the glossy cave walls, I stood up. I wouldn't let myself end here. I had to carry on. If I had to go through hell, I'd make it back. I won't die here...

I don't want to disappear!

I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!!!

Who am I, without myself?!..

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I guess that's just me...