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Imogen smiles at me.
I wish she… wouldn't.
That’s mean. I know that. I want her to be happy, obviously, but–
God, I’m going to miss her.
It’s just my luck, isn’t it? First person I get attached to and she’s getting shot into space. Literally. Shot into the sky as far away as any person has ever been.
And I’ll be alone. Again. As always.
“Hi,” she smiles, still. Her green eyes shine, and– is she crying? I think it upsets me more that I can’t tell.
“Hi.” I don’t think to say anything else.
I wish she would blow up at me. Just… snap and leave me. Then, maybe, we could be happy knowing that it was good while it lasted– but wouldn't have worked out.
I wish I thought it wouldn't work out.
I wish I didn’t love her. I hate that.
I love her more than I should.
“Um, I–” she chuckles, soft and nervous, then passes me something. It’s a bag, with two boxes inside– they seem like jewellery, though I don’t know enough about jewellery to be able to tell. She doesn’t say anything, just nods for me to open them.
The look she gives me when I go to open the brown one first makes me open the blue (mint?) one instead.
It’s a bracelet.
It’s made of stone beads, pink, and gray, and sort of white. It doesn’t actually say what stone it is. There’s a brand name, and a title and a description. “Pink Matrix. Joy and dedication. The strongest souls shine after the hardest storms.”
It’s… incredibly sweet. Cheesy, but I do get emotional over it. It fits perfectly, and I try not to shiver as I realize the stones are actually freezing cold.
Wait, if she wanted me to open this first, what must be in the other box?
“It looks nice on you.” She smiles, again. There are still tears in her eyes. (She gets like that far too often for someone so undeserving of it. I wonder if she was like that before all this happened. I try not to wonder that again.) “But, I realised it–” she rubs her neck, “I, um. I don’t know. It didn’t feel… special enough, I guess? So…”
I open the other box.
There are two things in this one. Both jewellery, which means I have no way of judging their quality – nothing to compare them against. Though they both look notably older than the other one.
One is a bracelet. Well, more like three bracelets bound together by a charm. If there’s a word for that I don’t know it. One is a string of hearts, one is a string of red beads, one is a string of longer gold beads. The charm is an intricate heart, with three gems in the middle. It resembles a locket, though clearly doesn't open.
I put it on. It’s heavy; the weight of the charm drags down on my wrist, but it fits.
The other is a necklace.
It’s similar, with a gold–silver colour, and a heart theme. Again, it has intricate detail and a heart charm.
I can’t figure out how to get it on.
… I look stupid.
She laughs.
I’m happy that she’s happy. I laugh back.
Imogen takes the necklace from me, and shows me how to unlock it.
The bottom of one side of the chain is a heart outline shape. The bottom of the other is a cupid's arrow.
Once they unclick, the necklace resembles a long chain. It looks a little like an old pocket watch, now.
I smile as she puts the necklace on me. Her hand brushes the back of my neck, and I shiver.
She laughs again.
Once it’s on, the ‘lock’ part is a love–arrow pierced heart.
She looks at the bracelet again, and we somehow end up holding hands.
“I’ve had them since I was a kid, and–” she frowns, but the low sun reflects off her hair and makes her look even more redheaded – she’s beautiful. Even sad, she’s beautiful. “I don’t know. Something to remember me by?”
“Please,” my expression softens, “Like I could ever forget you.”