Characters:
- Macrocosmic Flame (Dreamcatcher Cookie)
- Regretful Moth (Nebula Affogato Cookie)
~~~~~~~~~~
Rumors spread at Parfaedia Institute, all about the incident regarding the disappearance of two young students and their two teachers. No one really knows what happened to them. All except one. The social butterfly of the school has been reduced to nothing but a silent moth. Many students have noted how gloomy she was after the incident.
"I heard that one of the students was her close friend." "I hope she feels better soon..." "It's a shame, really..." "It can't be helped..."
Her heart tightens as she hears the rumors. The poor Cookie, Nebula Affogato Cookie, keeps her head low as she walks down the hallways. She felt ashamed, for she was on that trip that led to the disappearance of those students and teachers.
She could've saved them, yet she didn't, for she was too cowardly to.
The classes were more gloomy than usual. The nights were even worse. As graduation comes near, Nebula Affogato Cookie is tormented by her own dreams. Vestiges of her deceased friend is all she sees. She would always try to avoid them, failing every time. Yet, every time she does, her friend is never upset.
The night before graduation is no different. Nebula Affogato Cookie wakes up on a puffy cloud, with her friend standing over her. It's a face she can never forget. The face of Dreamcatcher Cookie.
"Nebula Affogato Cookie...? Welcome back, my friend..."
Nebula Affogato Cookie can feel the guilt rise in her once more. But this time, she lets her frustration and guilt control her.
"Dreamcatcher Cookie... Why? Why do you come to haunt me every night?"
The vestige is silent. She could have never predicted such a question.
"Haunt you? How so?"
"You know exactly what you're doing! You... You haunt my dreams every night...! It's like... It's like I am forced to relive the incident over and over! Why?! Why must you do this to me, Dreamcatcher Cookie?! I... It's not because you're angry that I left you, is it...?"
The poor moth collapses to her knees, her luminescent wings dulling in color. Heavy, warm tears begin to fill her eyes. Dreamcatcher Cookie just stands there, dumbfounded.
"Angry? Never... Never am I angry with you, my friend."
Nebula Affogato Cookie looks up at her, stunned. How could she not be so angry?
"Never...? How? How are you not—"
"I had known it would happen."
Nebula Affogato Cookie's eyes widened. Her heart felt heavy...
"You knew...? Then— Then why didn't you stop it? Why did you accept it...?"
The sparkling flame grew tense for a moment, but only for a moment. A frown had grown on her face as she responded.
"It was inevitable. The trip, the ambush, your leave... I knew it would happen. Nothing could've stopped it."
She knelt down to the weeping moth, putting a hand to her face and wiping her tears away.
"I'm glad you escaped, mariposa... I would've been devastated if you had joined me. At least... you are still here to tell the story to all that must hear it."
The sparkling flame stood up, taking the moth's hand and pulling her up to her feet.
"We only have so much time until your graduation time, mariposa... I don't have that much time myself... How about we waste it all and dance until dawn?"
Dreamcatcher Cookie held her other hand out for her. Nebula Affogato Cookie's tears fell at the thought of never seeing her again. But, she knew their time was limited.
"Of course, starlight..."
The two danced in the world of dreams, their movements graceful until the break of dawn. As the sun's first rays beamed through the clouds, Dreamcatcher Cookie leans closer, whispering into Nebula Affogato Cookie's ear as sparkling tears roll down her cheeks.
"Forgive me, mariposa... For our time is up."
"Wake up."
The morning's rays dawn upon the moth. As she adjusts to the morning, she notices something off about her staff. A singular pink string tied to the tip of it, two feathers glistening in the sunlight.
Nebula Affogato Cookie wondered if the Cookie in her dreams was really just an illusion, or if she was really there...