|
It was the wife,
Leyla, she was wearing a red color kimono with golden scale-like
designs on them.
Ron's apartment had dissolved away, the walls were bare now,
cold concrete with a few cracks on them, the only decorations
being the light reflecting on the waves of the pool water near
them. The floor was made of bare concrete too, cold and
lifeless, like the rest of the room.
She stared at him as he looked around with panic.
"Where... Who..." Eiji started to speak.
And that's when he saw Ron.
Ron was kneeled on the other side, his eyes closed, peacefully.
"What's wrong with him." Words slipped out of Eiji's lips.
"He's still in the song, like you were." Leyla replied, in a
voice that was softer than the one Eiji remembered.
"The song?"
"He has decided to remain in the world the song has given him,
unlike you."
"What did you do to him? Wake him up!"
"Would you take happiness away from a man who desires them?"
Eiji looked at her quietly. She was the same as before, except
for the kimono.
"Where am I?" He asked. "Did you kidnap me?"
"You came here on your own."
"What are you talking about?"
"You followed the song."
"I don't remember that."
"Do you remember dying then?"
Eiji wanted to reply, but he didn't know what to say.
"What are you talking about?" He asked after a moment of
silence.
"You jumped and drowned yourself in the seas, remember?"
...drowning in a sea of blue, surrounded by darkness and
light...
"No..." Eiji replied
in disbelief, yet something was stirring in his mind, the
feelings that the heart couldn't forget, the sadness of it all.
"No..."
The memories of losing her, the memories of crying at night, the
memories of wanting to die.
All these popped up in Eiji's mind, little bursts, little scenes
that reminded him that he was there, somewhere, lamenting his
existence.
"This isn't true." Tears started welling up in his eyes,
something uncontrollable was stirring inside.
The dream of a boy submerged in a clear blue sea returned into
his memories again, the boy giving up everything for the waters
surrounding him, except that he saw the face clearly this time.
It was his own.
"You came here after you died," She spoke in the same tone of
voice. "Following the song that you wanted to live."
"That's not true, that can't be true at all."
"But that's all that we mermaids can do." She paused. "To sing
and give those who wants to hear the songs their dreams."
"I didn't choose anything at all!"
"Why else are you here then, Eiji?"
For the hopes of seeing her again...
"For the hopes of
seeing her again." The words trickled out of his mouth.
His hands raised up to stop the falling of his tears, yet it was
too late, his eyes were already wet by the time his hands
reached them, and all that he could do was try to wipe them dry.
And in a dream, he would choose to give her up again.
And in a dream, he would choose to look for somewhere else
again.
And in a dream, he would choose to lose himself again.
But for now, with all his memories surrounding him, all he could
do was cry, for that's all that his body would allow him to do.
The mermaid sang on and on, for those who would follow it to
become its audience.
-End- |
