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Vodyanitsa smoothed her long ivory dress as she sat on the familiar patch of grass. She laid down the bouquet of flowers in her hand, setting the daisies back into a neat and orderly fashion. Hugging her hands around her knees, a barely visible smile formed on her face. "Heya."
The young man next to her took notice of her arrival, his body immediately relaxing as he recognized his new companion. In response, he gave an equally small smile. His amethyst eyes gave her a quick glance, admiring the flowing white dress she wore. It was simple yet elegant, befitting the image of a perfect lady. The skirt gathered in layers around her legs, its fabric caught the faint light of the overcast sky. "Heya back."
The wind blew through her long teal hair before she caught it with her hands. She began, "I brought daisies. They were our favorite flower. I remember you gave me daisies as an apology for not listening to my singing... I thought you were such a jerk back then. But receiving those flowers made me feel a lot better." Vodyanitsa scrunched her face into a pout.
He let out a chuckle at the memory, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. "Sorry, sorry. Of course I remember our first date like it was yesterday. We talked the day away, about our work, our hobbies, things we did in our spare time, our friends. I remember it all. I remember every moment. I've always cherished every moment that we spent together. Every note you sang, every performance. I've kept them all close to my heart."
It didn't take long for her bright smile to return. She lifted her face towards the sky. "I gave every performance my all because I knew you would sneak out and watch every single one. It made me so anxious seeing you in the crowd. It made me feel like I had to be perfect. No, not just perfect, but better than perfect. And because of that, I was always proud of myself and could feel myself improving each time."
"Miss Prima Donna, the twin star of the Korolevskiy Troupe--always perfect, yet unimaginably adorable," he teased.
Vodyanitsa perked up as something crossed her mind. "Ah! That reminds me. Odette's new protégé will be taking the stage soon. I once went to one of their practice sessions to watch. She puts that poor girl through hell and back! She's always strict with her students, but manages to still be kind. I could never have her level of patience." She let out a soft sigh.
"Odette... I haven't seen her in a while. I wonder how she's doing. Her dances never fail to get me emotionally invested in them. Maybe a little too much, heh," he closed his eyes, preparing for another scolding from his belle, but it never came. He opened them and glanced at his side, only to find her sitting with her head down, her expression somber.
The pair stayed quiet for a while before Vodyanitsa broke the silence. "Odette..."
She shook her head, "A-Anyway! The theater staff doesn't know about this, but I've been taking care of a cat in secret. I first noticed it wandering around the building a few months ago. Out of the goodness of my heart, I started feeding it and bringing it to my room without the theater staff knowing."
He let out a low hum as he thought about her words. "Considering how much time you spend together, shouldn't Odette know about a cat living under the same roof as her? She's not the biggest fan of cats, from what I recall."
Vodyanitsa grabbed the hem of the dress tightly. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she looked forward with a neutral expression. She continued, "Odette is aware, of course. Well, she didn't take too kindly to it when she first saw it. But she gradually warmed up to it. The cat was never aggressive or anything. A bit skittish, yeah, totally normal for stray cats. Actually, I caught her feeding it herself a few times.
"After that, Alyosha came by with his dog. The cat was a little cautious, but didn't end up running away. It was actually kind of sweet to watch. Odette, Alyosha, and I just chatted while those two had their little staring session." She paused, slightly twisting her skirt. "It feels like time flies by so fast... This was two months ago."
The man listened intently. "Two months? You're really keeping track of these things, huh? What happened next?"
"We found its body frozen in the snow outside yesterday. It had been waiting for us to let it inside." Her voice trembled. "I was away from the theater practicing, while Odette was out getting her medication. No one else knew about it, so by the time we found out, it was... already too late."
She tried to hold back her tears, but a few slipped free and stained the ivory fabric of her dress.
"Vodya... you couldn't have known," he reassured her. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault."
The rusalka laughed weakly through her tears. "I know I'm being silly. It's just a random stray cat. It didn't even have a name--the three of us couldn't decide on one. But I liked that cat. Its fur was light, almost the same color as your hair." Something inside her finally broke. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, and she hurriedly wiped at them with her trembling hands. "I guess that's why I liked it so much."
He scooted closer to her petite frame and wrapped his arms around her. One hand gently patted her back as he listened to her sobs, offering the silent comfort she always found in his embrace. "Then it must have been a good cat," he said.
"I had a strange dream about cats last night. There was a mother with her kittens, but she was so feral and furious. She kept lashing out at them..." She shuddered. "Like a mother who had no love for her kittens. I woke up drenched in sweat."
He remained quiet, opting to gently caress her back instead. The silence between them was comforting. It reminded her of all the times she had sought him out after a difficult performance or a particularly bad day, when words failed her and simply having him by her side was all she needed.
Like a blazing bonfire amidst the cold tundra, he had always been her beacon of warmth.
Despite of the rocky start to their relationship, she had found herself gradually drawn to his presence. At first, it was his outgoing kindness. Then it was the way he would listen to her ramblings, just as she listened to him going on about whatever new scientific project he had been assigned.
No matter how busy he was, he always made time for only her and her alone. No matter how stressful work became, he would hide it behind an endearing smile and still remember the smallest details of her performances. No matter what happened, he always found his way back to her side.
Looking back, she wondered when exactly she had fallen in love with him.
"Sounds like a pretty awful dream."
Vodyanitsa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand then tucked a few stray hair strands behind her ear. "But I've been through worse. That night in the theater, when you walked out into the snowstorm--when we sent you to die--I really thought you were gone forever. That we had killed you with our own hands."
Her voice grew quieter, barely more than a squeak.
"In that moment, I don't know why... I don't know why I couldn't bring myself to stop you. It was as if some part of me wanted you to be the culprit, just so that the whole nightmare could finally be over. And I'd hoped that the requiem I sang would reach you, wherever you went."
He nodded. "And it did. It was only because of you that I was able to come back. How we all survived... Your singing saved us all."
"We were still new to each other back then, but I already considered you my friend. I was so scared of losing you."
She lowered her gaze, a sad smile touching her lips.
"But time took you from me all the same."
There was no response.
She continued, "Regrets are burdens that we carry for as long as we live. I want to cherish every passing moment and never come to regret them. I believe that accepting our mistakes and living with them is the essence of living. How can we step forward if we stay chained to our past?
"I won't forget all the happy moments. Or the sad. I don't want to. All the performances that went well, and all the ones that didn't. All the times Odette and Alyosha listened to me prattle on about nothing, and all the advice they gave me on things that seemed so important at the time. The times they stayed beside me when I needed someone.
"All of it matters. The good and the bad. Those memories are what shaped me into who I am."
Her fingers gingerly brushed over the daisies in front of her.
"I've come to realize that to love is to let go. There will be days that I miss you terribly. Days when I wish I could hear your voice, feel your skin in my palms, or have you sitting beside me again. But I'll carry you with me. I'll carry everything we had together in my heart."
She looked toward the empty space beside her.
"If I stay here forever, trapped in what I've lost, then I'm not really living. So... this is our farewell."
Her eyes closed.
"I hope that wherever you are now, you'll wait patiently for me."
Smiling through her tears, she carefully gathered the hem of her dress and stood.
"Goodbye, Mitya."
A soft requiem rang through the royal graveyard, carried by the cold winter wind. Her voice uncharacteristically trembled at first, but soon grew steadier. One by one, the notes rose through the cold air toward the sunlight breaking through the clouds.
When the song ended, Vodyanitsa remained silent for a moment. She looked down at the daisies resting in the snow. Then she turned away and walked home.