Chapter Text
Caelus, a boy with broken dreams. Dreams of a loving family had stuck ever since he was little, only for his father to abandon him at a young age, and ever since then his mother has held disdain for him.
Does he know why? It's because he looks just like the man who left her to die and took everything they had.
Caelus has been taking on the endeavor of supporting himself and his mother his entire life, and even with that, his mother can't help but hate him.
He's been working his entire life to make his mother want him, to love him, to care for him. He thinks with a diploma and a job, she can finally look at him with a smile.
He strives to make his only dream come true, especially after the shattered glass from the others do nothing but stab him.
...
Raindrops fall upon the sidewalk Caelus finds himself walking upon, the dead trees of winter dotting his path.
His once bright and lively amber eyes, now dull and dead look forward.
He looks up, toward the distant city skyline, high-rise towers dotting the sky.
He's not far from the burial.
A roaring airplane cannot remove the expressionless look from his face, his eyes landing on the aircraft, but only for a moment.
His sister used to say that his heart was like a star in a solar system, the light that kept everything together.
He always wondered why, he never found himself to be that remarkable or interesting, he always thought that his sister was just pitying him, but the thought of her bright smile, her face filled with life, sometimes made him think otherwise.
His train of thought was interrupted when he realized he had reached his destination, a gravesite he had come to call his second home.
He had brought sunflowers, his sister's favorite flower.
Today was her birthday, specifically her 22nd birthday.
He walked past the rows of tombstones implanted into the ground and found himself standing in front of a still relatively untouched one.
His eyes moved to the water-filled glass vase beside her tomb that lay on the grass and squat down to place the flowers he brought inside, making sure to be gentle with them.
He stood up and found himself simply staring at her name engraved into the smooth marble, feeling his blank expression beginning to falter.
His lips began to curve downward, his eyes watered and his nose began to run.
...
He still remembers that night, not too long ago. He found himself lying down on his bed reading a book his roommate had recommended to him then, said roommate sleeping across the room.
His eyes focused on the collection of words that were printed onto the page he was on, left to right, left to right.
His reading was only halted when he felt his phone vibrating, garnering his attention.
Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he looked at the screen and found his eyes rested upon his sister's contact.
He pressed the accept button and put the phone to his ear, expecting her usual sweet, almost like honey voice, but was surprised when he was met with a tired, almost lifeless voice.
"Hello? Caelus?"
His sister's faint voice called out from the other end, causing Caelus to find himself in a state of confusion.
"Stelle? Are you okay? You sound really tired."
He voiced his concerns, only to hear a sniffle and cough come from the other end before she spoke.
"I'm okay, I just wanted to talk to you before my surgery tonight, remember?"
Her voice sounded quieter than before, but he could hear a small chuckle come after she spoke, which brought a smile to his face.
"Oh, well, I hope things all go well, I've been worried about you, Stelle."
He said, before taking a moment to think about his next words,
"I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you in a while, I-"
Before he could finish apologizing, Stelle cut him off.
"Don't apologize for anything, Cae, It's fine. I know how it can be sometimes."
He noticed her use of the nickname she gave him when they were still little and chuckled at that.
"Sorry, sorry. I just can't help it, but anyway, do you think the operation will go smoothly? What did the doctors there tell you?"
He said, holding the phone with two hands to his ear.
A moment of silence followed before he could hear her sigh.
"I don't know Cae, the doctors told me the surgery might fail, and I could die."
She paused for a moment, sniffling before speaking again,
"I just wish you were here with me, mom hasn't visited me at all, and you haven't in a while. Nobody has, maybe they've forgotten."
He could hear the sadness in her voice and immediately tried to comfort her.
"Do you want me to visit you tomorrow? I can clear up my schedule for you."
He could hear her chuckle weakly from the other end.
"I'd tell you to not do that for me, but I really want to see you, Cae, even if that's selfish of me."
He let out a small sigh, followed by a laugh of his own.
"Don't say that, that's not selfish, you're the most selfless person I know."
Silence followed before he could hear a door open and a muffled voice from the other end.
"Stelle?"
He called out to her before she quickly responded.
"Sorry, Cae, I've got to go, see you tomorrow?"
He sighed, before nodding, even if she couldn't see him.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."
He moved the phone to his lap and looked at his wallpaper for a moment.
A picture of him and his sister before she contracted cancer, they were at a fair, a colorful Ferris wheel featured in the background.
Stelle's expression was a small smile, featured by her holding up a peace sign, something she did in almost all of their photos together.
His was a small smile as well, and he too held up a peace sign, just to match his sister.
He smiled, memories of the time he'd spent with his sister flooding his mind before he placed his phone on his nightstand and lay down.
A soft smile crept onto his lips with the thought of the promise he had made to see her once again tomorrow.
...
A tear fell onto the concrete base of her tombstone, and another, and another.
He moved his hands to wipe his tears away, to wipe away the snot, but to no avail.
He was crying, and he was alone.
Longing for love, whether it be platonic or romantic, the latter he had never experienced before.
He wiped his tears and composed himself once more, taking a deep breath and taking another look at his sister's gravestone.
A reminder of his failure to see her just one more time. He regrets not being able to visit her earlier, though he doesn't blame himself for it, he's mature enough to know that's something only a fool would do, despite his grief.
He rememebers how his mother reacted to his sisters death, she didn't seem affected at all, she showed up to her funeral, speaking a few words at the altar before quickly dismissing herself.
He hadn't seen her since then, he wondered how she was doing now.
Maybe he should visit her too soon, who knows, maybe in time that would be the last time he sees her.
He doesn't want to make that same mistake twice.