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He made his way around the familiar abandoned building, reliving memories of a childhood that nowadays felt more like a blurred dream, those of which you could only piece out certain fragments while others vanished into the dark parts of his mind, those that were suppressed in order to focus on what was to be initiated before him.
“You are late.” She says.
He inhales deeply, the air coming in and out soundlessly out of him in a sight as his eyes close for a second.
Echoes of past laughter ring in his ears.
His eyes open to look at Jinx, she has a single white flower in one of her hands, her weapons behind her on a old shelf. They locked eyes for a moment, a flash of the face from a young blue haired girl, the owner of the echoey laugh that he could not suppress as the rest of his thoughts.
He looked at her changed features, those that had transformed into something he could still not bring himself to name, taking another deep breath he stepped closer.
Yes, indeed he was late.
“Did you bring the candle at least?” He heard her ask.
He nodded his head as his eyes caught an injury on the side of her leg.
Noticing, she moved, quickly taking away the candle from his hand, avoiding his eye, she turned towards the wall and bent over a bit and lit it up. “Jin-“
“I brought you food.” She interrupted, blowing on the match, she picked up a small compartment from her bag and offered it to him. “And no, its not poisoned just in case.”
He took it without hesitation, he knew she was joking, she knew it as well, she always joked with what was obvious, she had always been ironic like that.
She also knew he would trust her, because he knew she wasn't a monster.
But did she know, she wasn't one?
He sat down next to her and split the food with her, a comforting silence surrounding them as always.
The violence being kept outside of their bubble as they later shared stories from the past, an unconscious tradition that had started the day they had bumped into each other on the only place from the past that still remained on its feet, the only thing in their lives they had in common that didn't change.
Like the both of them had done. Whether that was a good thing or not, they didn’t know, but for that one day of the year, they were happy it existed.
Time was up before they had realized and once again they had to return to their worlds before it could collide with them.
And as promised, neither, as tempting as it may or may not be, talked about the current situation.
This was their safe place to hold on to their childhood, to have a taste of what had been lost, to share the heaviness of those thoughts they carried with them.
For just like this building, they were the only ones from the past still on their feet.
They stood in front of the candle, the fire dancing as soft wind graced it.
Jinx heard her name being called again as he spoke softly, the next sentence barely a whisper as Ekko tentatively risked seeing her again, for one of the conditions for these nights was to not bring up anything from the outside world into their bubble.
She didn't respond to his question, he knew the answer year after year.
She closed her eyes, they were standing so close, the back of her hand brushing against his own, the touch so light you could barely feel it, but close enough to feel it’s warmth.
It was a perfect example.
“At least, think about it, okay?” He would always say after her silence.
"If you say anything in relation to Silko or anything else, I will stop coming."
But she never did, and neither did he.
Years passed, the question still unanswered.
And as the routine followed, she watched him go as her arms circled around herself.
A sad smile came to her as she hugged her need to shout away, she watched him fade away into the dark night, yet still…
She took a step forward, her heart beating hammering against her chest but she stopped in her tracks as the light from his board shined bright.
Ah yes, a bright light , she thought. That’s exactly how she would describe him.
And who was she to want to go and destroy that too.
She turned to pick up her stuff, nonchalant tears cascading down her face as she walked back to the place she had grown to call home.
“I can't go with you.” She answered to no one.
The door to the building finally closed behind them, awaiting to be reopened once again on another rare night of the year.