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“I got your letter, I came as fast as I could.” Venti says, his sandals crunching the fallen Sakura petals.
“Venti… I’m sorry.” Lumine looks down and squeezes her hand.
“What, why?”
“Just, just tell me you love me! And if you don’t then lie!” She sobs and clings to him.
He notices her distress and holds her, desperately trying to gauge what’s wrong. “I love you Lumi… what’s wrong?”
She remains silent and keeps sobbing, he holds her even tighter in response. Her body now trembling, she cries even harder the more he holds her. Something is seriously wrong.
Eventually, she stops crying and leans into him. “I'm being married off to a rich man. He’s making us move to Tokyo. I won’t see you again.”
“What…” he pauses, shocked and feeling tears form in his own eyes. “Married off…”
“Because I won’t see you again…” her tears start up again. “We'll have to break off our relationship, the one we worked so hard to keep under wraps for 6 years.”
He holds her eye tighter, not wanting to let her go. “But this can’t be the end!”
“It sadly has to be!” She clings even harder to him as she can no longer hold back her tears.
“And before I leave… I need to tell you things that I haven’t gotten too before… and I can’t later.”
The two sit on a bench, the same bench the two inscribed with their names and the year of it. Painted with a red hue and blanketed in sakura blossoms, it stood as a testament to their love. Now, it can only be a harsh reminder of the relationship that was forced to end far too early.
“I’ve told you before how I love you, but I never got to tell you the depths of it.” She tightens hold on her kimono and steals his hand to hold so she wouldn’t ruin her kimono.
“It felt like I was constantly blanketed in warmth and adoration. It was one of the first times I felt like I could be well… me. It was freeing and comforting. I always loved the way your voice sounded, no matter what, and you always looked extremely cute, no matter the expression you wore.”
The more she goes on, the more pained her smile becomes. “I loved the way your face looked when you would stuff as much mochi as you could into it, or the way your eyes reflected the stars and reminded me of an emerald. I love everything and anything about you, and I’m glad I got to spend these years together.”
“But alas, all good things must end. And as such, so does this relationship.” She turns to him and faces him.
“I love you from the bottom of my heart and always will. I just wish fate was much kinder to us.”
Venti wipes the tears from his eyes, hearing just how much she loved him already would have made him emotional, but knowing this is the last time they’re meeting, it’s a punch in the gut.
“I feel much of the same. Your eyes were always an iridescent topaz and sparked so much when you were happy. Your smile brightened up even the darkest of days for me, and the face you would make when you were angry or trying to be intimidating is still the most precious thing to me. I can go on but the sun is starting to set.”
The two watch the sunset, the breeze making the moment even more magical. Making the two of them never want the moment to end.
“It’s beautiful…” Lumine says as she squeezes Venti’s hand.
“Just like you.” He squeezes back and leans closer to her.
“I’m going to miss this when I move to Tokyo. You can’t find a view like this in the big city.”
Oh right. She’s being married off. He had forgotten about that, maybe the moment caused him to forget. Maybe it was a desperate attempt to keep him from falling apart in front of her. Whatever it is, he knows she’ll be gone by the time the sun sets.
The final moments of the sky’s beautiful orange and red display play out and Lumine stands up.
“I have to head home… I was told to finish all affairs and be home by nightfall.” She sighs.
“Your vocabulary changed…” it was jarring for him to see such a formal side of her.
“Alas it has to, such casual language that I prefer to use is considered uncouth. So I must purge it from my vocabulary.” She turns to leave their cliff side meeting spot with a sorrowful expression.
“I’ll walk you home.” He calls out, desperate to get even a minute more with her.
“Tragically, I must return alone. My parents demand it and sadly… I must oblige.” She stopped moving, yet she didn’t face him.
“Then before you go.” Venti reaches into his pocket and pulls out a photo and a sakura flower preserved in a bookmark.
Lumine takes it and smiles a little at the gesture. It was a sweet farewell gift, but the sight of it makes her want to cry. “A farewell gift? How very kind of you.”
She smiles and tilts her head. “Thank you for everything, and please take care of yourself.”
She steps forward and kisses him, one last time. Savoring the kiss, the two hold each other tightly and kiss deeply. Wanting the final one to end with a bang.
After the kiss ends they stare at each other. “I’ll miss you when you're gone you know?”
“I’m well aware.”
Lumine slowly backs away and with tears in her eyes, and her voice breaking, she utters a phrase one final time. “I love you Venti.”
“I love you too, Lumine.” He reciprocates with a broken voice.
As she turns away to leave, she turns back one final time. Flashing him a smile before slowly turning back around and walking away. The gifts he had for her placed into a small satchel held around her wrist.
Once her figure disappears from the distance, he lets himself fall to his knees. Crying and breaking inside, he sobs relentlessly. He turns back to the bench the two made years ago and notices a small wrapped gift on top of it.
Venti stands up and walks over to it. He picks it up and carefully unwraps it. He gasps as he sees a little note and a picture frame of the two of them together. He opens the note and reads it.
“Dearest Venti,
I’ll be married off soon, so I can’t see you ever again, as I’m moving to Tokyo. So I left you this as a farewell gift. I’ll never forget the love we had for each other and always remember; even if I’m not here to say it, I love you and will always support you from afar.
Good luck with your career as a musician and I pray one day we can reunite and be together once again.
I love you to the moon and back, and I’ll always think of you!
Lumine”
He stares at the framed photo with a sense of longing and pain. The photo acting as a reminder of the love that was stripped from him. Curiously, there’s some writing hidden on the bottom.
Venti fully unfolds the letter and reads the extra bit at the end.
“Ps: I left a gift at your bedroom window. The one I climbed into to escape my assailants when we first met. I hope you love it.”
He runs home and bursts into his bedroom, looking at the windowsill with a gasp of surprise. It was a plush recreation of her, a very cute one at that.
He places the other gifts on his bedside table and grabs the plush. It’s soft to the touch and stuffed in a way it can act as a pillow. The doll sports a white and sky blue kimono with a foreign flower hair clip in its hair. The doll had a smiling expression and elongated ovals for eyes.
It melted his heart, and provided some comfort to his broken heart. He lies down on his bed, clinging to the doll like a lifeline. Hoping it’ll soften the blow of never seeing the real Lumine again.
Whispering some small words of comfort to himself, he soothes himself to sleep. Knowing this day will be one of the most painful days he’s ever had in his life.
Knowing he’ll have to go on without his soulmate.