See you soon

Chapter 22.- Regret

In his mind, the body of water was still. Peaceful.

A familiar scent filled his lungs as the first glimpse of consciousness grazed his mind. In the fading instant where he had not yet opened his eyes, time stood still. A place where his senses wandered before any realization came to be.

The distant sound of crackling fire reached his ears as the flames consumed the wood. The wind softly brushing against the arch of the glass windows. The soothing smell of wet soil mixed in with the freshest of gardenias. Her breath softly caressing her lips, in and out. All of it, a song engraved in his memory. The most peaceful of them all. Home. He was home.

He knew he was lying beside his beloved Camille. For only the nights in her presence were restful. The only nights he could be at peace. Away from Anne's curse, away from his uncle's hatred, away from his own imminent path to madness.

These peaceful nights, though very few, were the ones he cherished most. He only wished that the path that he now walked on, wouldn't take him out of her reach.

An unexplainable feeling enveloped itself around his chest. If he had to describe it, he would say it was like rainfall after years of drought.
As if he had been waiting a long, long time for this. How strange...

"My love" He turned towards her warmth that called for him "My head hurts" He rubbed at his temples with care trying to soothe the throbbing ache as he started to sit up "I had the craziest dream... That we somehow never met and- and you went back to France and I never saw you again" His fingertips continued massaging the soft tissue connecting his skull, he kept his eyes closed as he continued "But then you came back, and we were both competing against each other in the Triwizard tournament. Can you believe that?!" He hummed a low laugh before a soft smile reached his lips "Do you want to know the craziest part?" He didn't wait for an answer before he replied with a hushed softened voice "That I fell in love with you... all over again."

He opened his eyes, searching for her soft features, her comforting laugh, her reassuring gaze. Instead, he found the eyes he most treasured and relished in, drowned in tears and guilt. Reality downed on him, crushing his bones like a curse. His blood turned to ice and then to flames in an instant. And then he knew.

He hadn't woken up in 5th year like he thought.
It wasn't a dream. It was all real.

Her lips moved. But he couldn't hear anything. He just stood there, frozen. It was as if time had truly stopped, and him with it.

It was her. It truly was her.

He slowly took her in. Carefully studying all and every detail of what had changed. Her silk rosy hair hung longer than before, the ends reaching just below her shoulders. As if she hadn't trimmed it in a long time.
Her jawline became more visible as her cheeks left behind their roundish, more youthful appearance. The shape of her eyes seemed to darken with sadness, carrying the weight of revelation and years of regret.
Still, he thought she looked beautiful beyond words he could ever possess to describe.

He reached towards her. Reached for her, but for the first time, ever, he hesitated. His trembling open hand stopped mid reach, closing into a fist and retreating back as awareness stroke him.

Was it possible to have one's heart completely shattered... But for it to still love with the intensity as if it were complete?

Could a glimpse of relief and happiness fit into a moment of grief?

She was here. She was alive. She was well. She came back.

She came back.

The air filling his lungs couldn't put out the flames inside his chest. Neither could the tears that now rolled down his face.