Astral Odyssey: Dying Ember

World 5.15: Eva

Eva like felt like she cried for a very long while before she finally calmed down. Her nose was completely blocked, her eyes felt puffy and sore, and she felt completely drained. She really cried with everything she had. 

Damn it... I must look unsightly now... She leaned back slightly while keeping her face angled down and saw the mess on Austin's shirt that she was responsible for. Oh god.

She kept her head hanging low in embarrassment while she wiped whatever was remaining on her face with her long sleeves.

Austin looked down and could only see the back of her head. Realising that she would not look up at him anytime soon, he lightly rested his head against hers. He did not remember exactly how or when but some time while they were crying in each other's arms, they shifted into a more comfortable position. He was now sitting with his legs apart and bent while Eva sat between his legs with her forehead lightly touching his shoulder.

"Earlier... You asked me why I was treating you nicely... I honestly don't know. What I'm about to say may sound crazy but... When I first met you, I felt like I recognised you from somewhere. I know it's weird, because I'm sure I've never met you before. Overtime, there was just something about you that drew me to you. A strange curiosity about who you are and how you're like. It just felt so right each time I got closer to you. To think that there'd be such a relation between our families... Ever since I found out about your true identity, I could not stop thinking like I was doing something wrong. Like I was letting my parents down. Like I was supposed to avert my eyes away from you. I was ready to let you go, you know?"

He then laughed lightly. "Then I had a weird dream that scared me witless. You were dying... Then there were voices. It felt like I was reminding myself of some promise or vow that I made. If I had to make a wild guess, perhaps we somehow knew each other in our past lives... Or something like that?"

Eva's still puffy eyes grew wider in surprise and her breathing almost came to a standstill.

"How odd, huh?" He smiled awkwardly.

They continued to sit together in silence while Eva contemplated. Perhaps it was because he broached the subject, perhaps it was because they were just being them right now and nobody else, perhaps it was because they were sharing a very vulnerable moment with each other, Eva opened up. She pulled away from him, took the notebook, then started writing.

"I had a dream too. I lived a very fortunate life in that dream. I was part of a warm and loving family. Although it was not easy because they do not pamper me and my siblings were really great people while I was just an average joe, they were the best family I could ever ask for."

Austin could understand what she meant to a some extent. He may not have siblings, but it reminded him of his parents and the way they brought him up strictly but filled with love.

"I yearned to be with them after I woke up. That was when I started to live a lie. I shut my eyes and plugged my ears. I lied to myself and hurt all who cared about me in the process of it. In the end, I'm just a dumb delusional idiot who should learn to face reality."

"I guess I'm not the only one then."

Eva looked at him and cocked her head.

His lips quirked up a little. "Aren't I the same? Behaving weirdly and influenced by my dream. But we've both gotten our wake up call, huh? This is our world and reality now, and we''ll live as such from this moment on."

Eva had a doubtful expression on her face that showed she still felt unconvinced about something.

"You still think you deserve to be punished for all that happened?"