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“Ne, (Y/n), look what I made!”
“It’s so pretty! These flowers are more beautiful than the ones from my time.”
“Dia taught me how to make them into a crown. For you, uh, if you want?”
“Of course, how could I resist? You made it for me!”
“Since we’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t we sit in the fields for a while?”
“Let’s go. There’s so much we have to talk about!”
I remember that time. That was when (Y/n) kept talking about home. They said they missed it, but being with me made it easier for them. How strange. It felt strange to be wanted by someone.
“Phos! Slow down! I can’t keep up with you!”
“Heh, maybe all those snails are starting to drag you down!”
“Meanie. I thought you cared for me!”
“Of course I do. But~”
“Oh no.”
“Tickle fight!”
“Stop! Phos! Heh, s-s-stop! I don’t wanna hurt you!”
“Huh? Why would you hurt me?”
“I wouldn’t. You just uh…”
“O-oh…yeah…shattering…it’s fine, Rutile will patch me up again.”
“But I’d feel awful if you broke because of me.”
“You worry too much. Seriously, this is Rutile’s job, he’ll do it.”
“If you say so…”
Right…this was after I lost my legs…I chased (Y/n) around all the time. They always tried to run by my side, even though they were no where near as fast as me. It was fun running through the fields with them. We’d catch butterflies and just talk. They cried once because they thought they broke me. Even if they did, I wouldn’t mind, it was just nice to be with them.
“You’re up for the winter?”
“Of course. Where else would I be?”
“Uh…hibernating?”
“Humans don’t do that Phos, only some animals.”
“Huh…strange…then how do you live with low levels of sunlight?”
“I dunno. We don’t need it that much, we get energy from other things. Don’t be surprised if I’m tired and mopey all the time though!”
“So then, what do you do for winter?”
“A lot. We can go ice-skating, or sledding, or make snowmen and snow angels. Tons of things!”
“What are those things?”
“I’ll show you okay? Wait, even better! We can celebrate Christmas together!”
“Christmas?”
“It’s a holiday where friends and family get together and exchange gifts. We sit next to a warm fire and have dinner together, and then in the morning, we open the gifts Santa left us from that night.”
“S-Santa?”
I still don’t understand what Christmas is. They gave me a red hat with cotton on the end and said it was a “Santa hat”. Still don’t know what that is either. My gift was a book about how much they loved and cared for me. They felt awful they couldn’t get me anything, but I loved it. I kept it in my room. They helped me when Antarcticite was taken. They helped me when my arms became gold. My brothers were scared of me, but (Y/n) never stopped loving me. I felt better knowing that I could be by their side.
“Phosphophyllite, you do know the dangers you are putting yourself in by getting attached to them, right?”
“What are you talking about, Sensei? They’ve helped me and I don’t think I could be where I am without them.”
“It’s much more complicated than you’d ever understand. Tell me, what would happen if they suddenly left?”
“I’d go find them.”
“What if they were to wither and break slowly?”
“Then I’d fix them, like they did for me.”
“Phos…you have much to learn. They’re not pleasant things to learn. Humans are different from gems. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.”
“But we can always put them back together! Rutile will fix them!”
“No, Phos, you cannot put back together a human body and soul. Death is a foreign concept to all of you, but you will learn the painful truth about life. Not everything can be brought back, and not everything can last. Some things are gone in a blink of an eye.”
I wanted to argue with him, I wanted to say how I’d never let (Y/n) get hurt. How I didn’t care how bad I was injured, I’d rather they lived. Words cannot describe how wonderful they’ve been to me.
“S-sorry, Phos…my body isn’t as young as it once was.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure a little nap will fix that.”
“Maybe…let’s sit under the sun again…”
I noticed they always were tired and slow. They were becoming weaker and couldn’t keep up with me as much. They complained their back and their knees were hurting, but that they were fine. “Growing pains” they laughed. If they weren’t seriously injured, then I didn’t mind. (Y/n) was strong. I know that.
Yet…it’s strange…sometimes I hear them saying my name…talking to me… I want to say something back, but my voice never leaves me. And then one day, it stopped. It must have been my imagination.
“Phos. Phos. Phos.”
The sensation is new. I don’t understand what happened. Cairn is in front of me, a bewildered expression on his face.
“You’re finally awake.”
“I guess so…” This isn’t my head. I can feel it.
Lapis.
I looked around the room before looking back at Cairngorm.
“I feel like I was supposed to see someone. Their name is on the tip of my tongue…it’s…it’s…”
“(Y/n).”
“Ah, yes, that’s it! Where’s (Y/n)?” I want to see them again and ask more about Santa. I want to to sit in the sun once more.
“Uh…about that…” Cairn doesn’t face me.
“What’s wrong? Why are you so sad?”
“P-Phos?” I turn around and assumed it was (Y/n), but it didn’t sound like them. Diamond and Bort were at the door, staring at me in surprise.
“It’s been over a hundred years! We thought you’d never wake up.” Diamond says before he embraces me.
“Heh, well, I’m here. Do you know where (Y/n) is?” Diamond and Bort nod before they make me follow them.
I feel giddy all over at the thought of seeing them. One hundred years without them has been quite boring, but I’d wait more for them.
“Hey, we’ve been walking for a while now. Where are you taking me?” I ask impatiently.
Bort shakes his head before we stop in the open meadow. I don’t see (Y/n) anywhere.
“Are they going to surprise me again?” I didn’t understand what was going on.
“No. They’re right here.” Bort stated, pointing at a stone on the ground.
“So funny, Bort. Come on, where are they?”
“Phos, they’re right here. They died. Years ago.” Dia states a bit too casually for my taste. It was almost like it was a joke to them.
“W-what? Dead? But it’s only been a hundred years, I’m not understanding wha-”
“Phos.” Sensei steps forward and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Remember what we discussed a long time ago? Humans are much more different than you. They are gone quicker than you’ll ever realize.”
“B-but…can’t we- can’t we put them back together?” I feel tears in my eyes. Why am I shaking so much?
Sensei shakes his head.
“Humans rot. They cannot be replaced. Their body does not exist anymore, all that’s left is bone.”
“When did this…” I can hardly muster out the courage to ask. I’ve been gone for how long? How long had (Y/n) been dead while I was resting?
“Over eighty years ago. They barely reached one hundred years of life.”
Barely a hundred? Was that even living?
“So…so…they really are gone?” I huddle over the stone on the ground. This was the last remainder of (Y/n) I’d get.
A horrid thought came into my mind. What if I forgot about (Y/n)? What if all our days together just disappeared?
I can’t hear anything. I can’t feel anything. It’s just a horrible choking feeling, as if I was drowning. I don’t remember what happened next. Sensei had to pull me away from the stone and tried to hold me back. The other gems were screaming for me to stop. There’s some dirt on my hands and knees, but I can hardly even think about that.
(Y/n) was gone.
A hundred years is nothing. I remembered the phrase Sensei used to describe humans.
“They’re gone in a blink of an eye.”