- Win's POV -
Bright told me everything that had happened.
Apparently, I was gone for three weeks. There's really no concept of time in the 'in-between' where I came from with my boss.
It felt like I only spent a few minutes there.
He told me he looked for me everywhere, even in some places he knows I don't visit ever. He admitted that it was absurd, but I guess he was that desperate to look for me.
I saw it, you know? I saw it in his eyes when we met again.
For the first time in my life, that was the only time I ever saw him cry. That was the only time I ever saw an Azrali cry.
And I know that I should start being kind to Bright now, but I can't help but tease him about it!
"Hey, crybaby!" I call him as I extend my hand towards him to take the ice cream I asked him to buy.
Right now, I am seated on a bench here in Lumphini Park, where I received the card of Thitipoom and Neen, the defective one. Bright just tagged along. It's okay. I'll make him my slave for the day.
Bright just rolls his eyes but gives me the ice cream anyway, "Seriously, when are you going to drop it?"
"Until you get tired of it and leave me!" I joke as I laugh, waiting for Bright to laugh, too, or return a snide remark, but instead, all I get is a small lopsided smile on his lips.
Why? Why is he being like this?
"Bright—"
"Win," he turns to me and gives me a wide smile, that instead of making me feel happy, I'm feeling scared instead, "Today, you're the boss. Let's go wherever you want to. I don't have cards with me. Plus, Tawan and Thitipoom are pretty much progressing without the help of their cupid. For the first time, we've had what humans call a rest day. Let's go wherever you want. Let's do whatever you want. What do you say?"
I look at him, feeling conflicted about all this. A part of me thinks that something isn't right. A part of me says he just missed me. That's why he's saying this.
But seeing Bright take the initiative to spend a joyful day instead of a dull one, I couldn't help but agree to the latter.
I jump on my feet and hold out my right hand to him, "Come on, then!" There's no harm in skipping a day's work, I guess? I mean, I've done worse things than that.
Yeah. he just missed me.
And truthfully speaking, I missed him, too.
***
I told Bright I wanted to do all the mundane things that I've always wanted to do. Being on a job 24/7, I only get to look at humans do all these things and feel jealous.
Right now, we're in line to ride the highest roller coaster in the amusement park.
"Win."
I look at Bright and almost burst into laughter because he's so pale and his body is trembling! Really? Of all the gory things this man has witnessed, this is what he's afraid of?!
"Win, le-let's go somewhere else," he tries to walk away, but I pull him by his collar.
"Nope! You said I'm the boss today so I will be the boss and the boss says ride here!" I point at the towering ride as I show him a big, bunny smile.
"But there are lots of rides here! Maybe if you experience them, you won't want to ride on this anymore!" Bright coerces but no, Sir! No. Can. Do.
You might be wondering why I am so adamant about trying this ride.
As you may have known ever since this story started, I am a sucker for humans, and all they do and have.
Watching them happy excites me.
There's this favorite place in this city of Bangkok where I always want to hang out. It's been there for years, and business has passed from generation to generation.
It's an appliance store. It started out by selling radios to televisions and now, to different kinds of appliances.
There's a park across it, and when I sit at one of the swings, I get to watch different movies and series in their displays through the glass window. Sometimes, Bright joins me even for a brief moment.
Now, what's the connection of this to my wanting to ride the roller coaster?
I've noticed that a lot of romantic movies and series have scenes where the protagonists ride a roller coaster. It's meant to be funny, but I find it endearing. Because you get to see your partner in his or her weak state, but instead of getting turned off, you fall in love even more. It also becomes a turning point in their story because that's when the protagonist starts to break down his or her walls and let down his or her guards.
That's why I have always been curious about the magic this ride has that humans patronize it. I just never got the chance to ride it until now.
Seeing Bright get scared like this makes me giddy. These past few months, I have been seeing a lot of his sides, and I plan to uncover more.
"Come on, come on, come on!" I shout as I hold the handles attached to the chair.
Bright is here beside me silent while his eyes are closed.
"Hey, it's fine. You're safe. You're with me."
He then opens his eyes and looks at me.
The ride starts to ascend slowly. It makes me excited. It makes him nervous.
When we reach the top, the ride pauses for a second.
"Here we goooooo!" I shout as the ride descended in a split second.
***
"Hey," I call Bright.
He looks like he's devoid of a soul, like an empty vessel, looking ahead while sitting stiffly.
"Sorry," I tell him even though I'm really not. I just saw various expressions on his ever-stoic face! That's something I will never be sorry for.
"It's fine," Bright responds after a few seconds.
"Hmm, come on," I lay out my hand for him to hold, but he only looked at me terrified, "I promise this won't be like that ride! Promise!"
He squints his eyes for a second yet takes my hand anyway.
I look at our intertwined hands, and I can't help but admire just how it looks perfect together.
Makes me think if this hand was sculpted for me to hold.
Tch. What am I thinking? As if that's possible.
But whatever. It may not be possible, but the thought brings a smile to my face.
We walk hand-in-hand until we reach the carousel.
"Here?" Bright asks.
"Yeah," I give the tickets to the operator and lead him inside.
"But isn't this too... childish?" he says as he rides the mini pony. He whines, yet he does what he's told. Adorable.
"We've never had a childhood, Bright. We've never been a child. We don't count!"
The ride starts, rotating slowly while the fake horses go up and down.
I look at Bright, who's at peace now, with a small smile on his face as he watches the children greet their parents every time they pass on them as the ride rotates.
I then observe the other people in the amusement park. It's a weekend, and a lot of families and couples are in there.
I wonder how it would feel to be happily married. To be in a happy relationship. I am a cupid, working the human love affairs, yet I can't say that I can truly understand how it feels.
I look at Bright again as I lean at the pole in front of me, which holds the fake pony.
I wonder how it would be if we were humans.
Will we meet?
Will we be born at the same time? Same generation?
Will we be friends?
Will we be more than friends?
I smile at the thought of Bright holding my hand while inside his car, driving downtown at midnight, singing at the song playing on the radio. I drive while he looks out the window, admiring the city's night view.
Yeah. What a beautiful thought.
But it's impossible to happen.
We're immortals.
We cannot die.
We cannot be reincarnated.
We will never be.
***
I sigh as I sit at one of the swings at the park across the appliance store. It's already almost midnight, so the streets are almost empty now.
"It was a looong day," I say as I stretch my limbs while Bright takes the other swing.
I look up and see a sky full of stars. The moon is on its full phase right now.
Today, I can say that everything's been perfect. I did everything that I've wanted to do, and I did it with the creature I treasured the most.
I look at Bright and smile, and he does the same.
Aah. How I wish I could stop time right now.
Even just for a moment.
Even just at this second.
"Win."
"Hmm?"
Bright takes a deep breath. He looks up for a few seconds before he returns his gaze on me.
"What is it, Bright? Tell me."
He gulps. But then he chuckles.
"It's funny. The first time I saw you, I wanted you to leave me alone. Now, I'm the one leaving you alone and I don't like it. I don't like it at all."
I feel my heart drop.
"Wh-what... Bright, what are you—"
"I'm being exiled. Indefinitely," he whispers.
No. No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening.
I stand up and pace myself.
"Win," he turns my body around and faces him, and right at this second, my tears start to pool in my eyes.
"Bright... No! You can't! You can't leave me! Why all of a sudden? Is it because of me? Are you being punished because of me? They should punish me! Not you!"
I'm crying hard right now, and I don't think it's stopping soon.
My chest aches at the thought of facing tomorrow without him.
"Don't blame yourself, Win. You have no fault to this."
"But this is because of me, right?! Because I forced you to use your powers to help me?!"
"You didn't force me! I did it because I want to! I did it because I love you!"
What?
What???
My tears still stream down my face, but my sobs have paused, "Bright."
"I mean, I don't know... if this is really love, like how humans feel. I honestly have no idea. But I look at you, and all I want to do is give you the world, Win. And I know I can't so I'm sorry for that. And it's better that I'm the one being exiled. I don't even know where they're sending me. You love this place, Win. You deserve to stay."
And there goes my heavy sobs again.
He just confessed.
An Azrali, who has no idea how love even feels like, just told me that he loves me.
An Azrali, who was built with cold skin and cold stares, just told me he loves me.
An Azrali, who thought that he's meant to be alone for the rest of his existence, just told me he loves me.
An Azrali just admitted that he loves an Amos like me.
Me.
Me, who isn't even sure how I really feel.
Me, who's a cupid yet, isn't built to have a love of his own.
Me, whose heart broke at the thought of not being able to do anything to stop Bright from leaving.
"Bright... I don't want you to go... Please."
Bright pulls me into a hug, and I cry myself out to his shoulders.
I can't. I don't want to.
"But Win, you have to let me go. I have to go," he mumbles.
I know every word I say, and everything I do will not matter.
There's no escaping this time.
Maybe that's why he wanted me to have a perfect day. He wanted it to be the last memory engraved in our minds as we part ways.
"At the end, you're still thinking of me. You wanted to make me happy."
"If it's the last thing I do, then I will do it gladly. I'm glad to have made you happy, Win, even when you almost killed me when you forced me onto that roller coaster ride."
I push him away and chuckle as I wipe my tears.
I look at him for a few seconds, trying to engrave his every feature in my mind.
Just when I thought I had more time with him, he's being taken away.
I look inside my coat and take out a red string.
"Give me your hand," I ask him, and he obliges.
He extends his right to me, and I tie the end of a red string on his index finger.
"I don't have the power to teleport. Nor do I have the power to run fast like that comic character Flash. But," I pause as I lock the knot, "This will always bind you to me, Bright. And I to you. It means that wherever you are, I will find you. This is not the end for us. I refuse to believe so. We've defied the laws governing us before. We can do it again."
I take the other end of the string, "Help me with this."
He ties the knot on my right index finger.
"There," I look up and smile at him.
"I'll see you again, my Cupid," he cups my jaws and kisses me in the forehead, lingering there for a few seconds.
I touch his hands on my face, breathing in his scent as I feel his cold skin against my warm one.
"See you again... my Grim Reaper."
---
A/N
Two updates to goooo 😭