Her lips curved into a small frown, her eyes were locked onto a boy, sitting on the ground below her. His russet eyes were dull, their usual brightness not present. They were red and puffy, clearly showing that tears had been pouring from them moments ago. His lips formed a shattered frown and his dark spiky hair was more messy than usual. The girl then turned her attention to the boy’s arms. In them he rocked a lifeless body. The tears that had threatened to escape earlier now ran down her cheeks as she gazed upon the slim body of the teenage girl, its fragile features, its soft fiery red hair. Her hair. She sobbed, forcing her eyes to move from the face of the dead girl, her face. Her eyes came to rest upon a small bloody penknife protruding from the body’s chest. She breathed deeply, trying to stay calm and composed, not wanting to breakdown like she had before.
“I hate you,” she said to her reflection. “I hate you!” this time she screamed, her hoarse voice echoing through the dense forest. She could take no more, no more hatred, no more pain. She took a deep breath and looked to the sky once more. With her arms shaking she held the small penknife in front of her heart, and gathering all the strength she could muster, she plunged the small knife into her heart. She was still sobbing as she hit the ground.
The girl blinked twice, pulling herself from the nightmare, her final moments of life. She had tried to forget the past, the past was not needed anymore. Now was the present and forever was the future. What happened in the past didn’t matter now because it was too late to change anything. The girl wrapped her feathered wings around herself, forcing her gaze from her lifeless body and the boy that she had loved with all her heart. That she still loved. She pulled her knees to her chest as the tears came faster now, not bothering to wipe them away, she just sat and thought, trying to make sense of the final moments of her life. She knew that she had drifted down too far into despair, just the idea of losing Ash, the thought of it, made her miserable. But it had happened. The one thing she was trying to prevent had happened and now she would have to live without it for eternity. The one she loved hadn’t loved her back, and she couldn’t live with that, without him, her other half.
She turned slowly to take another glance at the boy below her. Fresh tears were flowing down his face. His hands caressing her cheek softly. He was in a state of despair, calling for help, begging her to wake up. Oh how she regretted her actions. But all it took was a moment of weakness to trigger the hate that had been locked away inside of her. The hate that Ash had kept away with his boyish smile and his boisterous laughter. One moment without him and she had cracked, that’s all it took to ruin a life, from the looks of things, more than one life. Misty kept her gaze fixed on the boys’ face, not being able to bear the pain he was going through. The torment that she had caused him. She hadn’t thought about anyone except herself.
She could still remember the moment of pain, the moment her heart broke in two, the moment she had known she would never hear his laugh again, never feel his arms around her, never be able to share her secrets with him. That was all it took for her to give up her life, because she knew she couldn’t go on without him. But wasn’t that what she had just done? More tears trickled down her ashen face as she realised that she’d now have to life without, not so much live, but exist without, all the things she couldn’t have from Ash in the first place. Even though she gave up her life she still would never feel his warm touch ever again. And an eternity is much longer than a lifetime. Her body jerked with each sob.
All she wanted was a second chance. A chance to tell Ash how much he meant to her, how he was the reason she got up in the morning, but surely he knew that now. She wanted to apologise and to feel his warm touch one more time before she would have to exist without him forever. She sighed deeply. The moon shone brightly from behind the mountains in the east. Slowly Ash lifted his pallid face to the moon, letting it calm him. Letting him forget, for one moment, the tragic events of that night.
Misty couldn’t take it anymore. She had to be down there with him. She couldn’t stay up here by herself, but mainly she couldn’t leave Ash down on Earth by himself, believing that everything was his fault. She spread her milky wings and soared gracefully down to Earth, focusing on Ash and the way he cared for her body. If only she had known sooner that he returned the feelings she had for him. If only she hadn’t acted so recklessly. But the time was gone for the “if”s now. There was no way she could change the past. But maybe she could change the future.
Misty landed gently on the hard ground. If she could feel pain she would have felt the sharp rocks on the ground dig into her feet, but angels didn’t suffer. Misty stood quietly in front of Ash. Pausing in front of him and looking into his russet eyes. He looked up for a moment, seeming to sense her there. She knew that he couldn’t. Angels were only visible to other angels and the great gods themselves. Misty looked into his russet eyes, as he seemed to be looking back into hers. She felt a smile form on her lips as she peered into the deep brown orbs that she loved so much. The feature that intrigued her. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she knew it wasn’t possible. Her hand would slip straight through his. If only she could touch him one more time. Her heart beat fast as she moved to sit next to Ash. Her heart felt like it would burst with love for the boy, and knowing that she could never speak to him again made her devastated. She looked up to the great gods as the stars twinkled in the sky and slowly she prayed that for just one moment, she could share the love that she felt for Ash. A small star shot across the sky as she made her wish. She looked lovingly at Ash, nursing her lifeless body. She wanted so much to touch him, to feel his warm skin. She shyly rested her head upon his shoulder. Surprisingly she did not slip through him. She could feel his soft jacket under her skin, damp from the tears he had shed. She gasped. How could she feel him? Could her wish possibly have come true? She turned to face Ash and found that he was staring directly at her. His eyes seemed to be searching, knowing that she was there.
“Misty” a very hoarse whisper left his lips, his eyes wide with fright and astonishment. At once she looked deep into his eyes, concentrating on him and only him, thinking of all the memories they shared, the remnants of her life she would keep with her forever.
“Ash.” Misty whispered back, trying not to cry once more. She bit her lip to stop the tears. Ash’s body jerked. He shut his eyes and opened them again, still staring at her, this time with a frightened expression on his face.
“Misty? Misty?” he said again, not believing that he had heard her voice call to him. Misty suddenly felt a surge of power rush through her. She looked down, her body was glowing. She was unsure of what was happening. Suddenly she stopped glowing. She looked down once more, this time she nearly choked. She could see through herself, she was like a translucent image. Before she could make sense of the situation Ash jumped to his feet beside her. A frightened expression on his face.
“M- Misty?” he said startled, his words garbled in his throat. He stared at her, through her. Was it possible that he could actually see her?
“Ash. Please, please don’t be afraid.” Misty said quietly as Ash backed away from her ghostly form. “Ash it’s me.” She continued, trying to get through to him.
“Misty.” He said slowly. “Misty? What…what are you? What’s happening to me? Am I going crazy?” he fell to the ground, shaking his head. His eyes full of terror. Misty felt so bad for him. She didn’t want to frighten him.
“Ash, it’s me, Misty. I’ve come down to see you, to be with you…” her words caught in her throat. “one last time…” she sobbed. At the mention of those words Ash seemed to finally be over his fear. He walked slowly towards the ghostly girl and reached out a hand. Surprisingly she was warm. He then noticed the wings on her back.
“You’re…you’re an a- angel…” he stuttered in disbelief. Calming himself enough to sit next to her. “Misty? Is it really you?” he asked again, not believing his eyes.
“Yes Ash it’s me. I don’t know how this happened. I was watching you and longing so much to speak to you one more time…and I guess my wish was granted.” At this she smiled gratefully. She didn’t know how long she had, but any time with Ash was better than none.
“Misty!” Ash cried, tears now rolling down his cheeks as he pulled her into a tight embrace. “Oh Misty. I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry for what I did to you.” He sobbed into her shoulder.
“Oh no Ash, please. I can’t let you feel responsible for this. It was all my fault. You can’t ruin your life because of this.” Misty replied, allowing her hands to run through Ash’s hair, something she’d always wanted to do. “You have so much potential. You can do so much with your life.”
“But it is my fault. If I knew how I felt then none of this would have happened.” He said back, not being able to look into Misty’s eyes. “Look what I did to you – ” The tears poured down quicker now as he turned to look at Misty’s lifeless body. “Look what I did.” He repeated to himself. “I’m so sorry Mist.” Misty felt her heart go out to him. She looked down on Ash, wondering hopelessly why she’d wrecked his life. She couldn’t let him face this alone. She couldn’t let him take the blame.
“Ash, please listen to me.” Misty said, pulling away from Ash to look into his russet eyes. “This is not your fault. Please Ash. I never wanted you to feel responsible. I’m here now. And I just want to let you know how much I care about you.” She said gently, allowing her eyes to melt into his. Ash just sobbed and looked into her eyes. Misty felt the tears threaten to fall again, she bit down on her lip again, but to no avail. The tears silently poured down her face. Ash smiled lovingly at her. He brought his hand up slowly to her cheek and wiped the tears away. She grabbed his hand and gently pulled him toward her. She held him close, realising that what she had to do had been done. She had taken the blame from Ash. But knowing Ash the way she did, she knew that he would always feel responsible, he would always blame himself for what had happened, and sadly she knew in her heart that she couldn’t do a thing about it. Ash would live with it for the rest of his life, but she would exist with the guilt of Ash’s blame for the rest of eternity.
Suddenly she felt her body lighten, and begin to glow again. She realised that she didn’t have much time left to be with Ash. It seemed that Ash had sensed this too, he stood up and she did the same. Misty allowed her hand to caress his face.
“Before I go, there’s something I need to tell you.” Misty said slowly, looking into the eyes she loved. “I love you Ash, I’ve always loved you, and I always will.” She turned her gaze to the heavens above. “Even though we’ll be apart, I’ll never forget you. I’ll watch over you and protect you from all that I can, but most of all I’ll love you.” She stopped, the tears pricking her eyes again as she ran into him and felt his arms wrap around her.
“I love you too Mist. I love you too.” He said quietly. Misty felt her heart skip a beat at those four words. The four words she had longed to hear from him since she had met him, that fateful day, over five years ago. “I’ll never forget you Misty.” Ash promised. “I’ll never stop loving you. I’m so sorry this had to happen, but I’ll always love you. And when we meet again we can be together.” The thought brought a smile to his face, that boyish smile she always loved.
“Thanks Ash. Thanks for everything.” Misty said, feeling her body get lighter every second. The two slowly parted. The angel and the boy, their eyes locked together. Slowly they moved forwards, allowing their lips to touch for the first time. They held the kiss, all the while Misty could feel her body getting lighter. When they eventually parted, Ash watched sadly as Misty’s form got dimmer before his eyes. She pulled him into a hug, longing to feel the warmth of his body for the last time.
“I’ll be waiting for you.” She whispered into his ear as she felt herself drift away. Ash held her tightly in his arms, believing that somehow, if he held her close enough she wouldn’t have to leave him. He pulled her close, his eyes shut blissfully. He could feel her slipping away, slowly, until he could feel her no more, he was holding only air. He felt he could feel a presence though, he could still feel Misty’s spirit hugging him, but this time he couldn’t feel her with his arms. This time it was with his heart. He slowly released the spirit and felt something oddly like a kiss on his cheek. He smiled when he realised Misty was still with him.
“I love you Misty. Wait for me!” he called out to her spirit, not expecting a reply.
“I love you too Ash. I’ll be waiting.” He heard her angelic voice drift to him. A smile formed on his lips. Even though he couldn’t stand to be parted from her, he knew that this had to happen. He took comfort in the fact that they would meet again, that one day they would be together. He smiled as he felt her go, until he could no longer feel her presence. He slowly lay upon the ground next to her lifeless body. He now felt his aching limbs, his eyelids felt heavy, as he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Misty watched down on her soul mate once again from her place above the clouds. She took great comfort in the fact that Ash was at peace with his conscious. She was willing, more than willing, to keep her promise to him. She knew that she would wait an eternity for him, if that’s how long it would take. She would wait forever, as long as she could always be near him, watching over him. A smile played across her lips. And for the time being she could find him in her dreams, always in her dreams.
Ash woke early. The last few stars were still in the sky, even though the sun was slowly lifting its weary head behind the mountains to the east. Ash smiled to himself, remembering the events of that night. First the terrible ones, the ones that had nearly torn him apart. And then the later ones, where Misty had come back to him. Had promised to wait for him forever and to watch over him from the heavens. He sat up quickly then, realising that it was probably a dream, a wonderful dream where Misty had returned to him. He sighed sadly. It was then that he felt something in his clenched fist. He hadn’t even realised he’d been holding anything. He slowly opened his fist and stared in disbelief at the sight that was before him. A small, perfect feather was in his hand. It was pure white and sparkled mysteriously, even in the dim light. He clutched it to his heart, realising at last that he hadn’t dreamt Misty’s return. She had been here. He looked up to the heavens above him. One last star was still visible in the sky. Slowly it moved across the heavens. Another shooting star. He remembered the shooting star he’d seen earlier that night. It had appeared just before Misty had. He knew it was a sign. It was then that he could have swore he felt someone kiss him softly on the cheek.
“Good morning Misty.” He whispered slowly, feeling her presence in his heart.
“Good morning Ash.” He heard the reply, he couldn’t tell if he’d imagined it or not. Still clutching Misty’s feather in his hand he stood up to greet the day.
The spirit girl floated back up to heaven after greeting Ash that morning. She couldn’t resist floating back down to earth to be with him when he woke up. She now looked down at him again, glad that he had found the feather that she had left for him. She planned to keep her promise. She watched down on Ash at every waking moment, in her dreams she talked to him, and sometimes she talked to him out of her dreams. She knew he could hear her whisper sometimes, and sense her spirit.
Waiting forever isn’t hard, when you love the one you’re waiting for as much as Misty loves Ash.
{End}