Sunset Talk

Phie was sitting on the edge of the building's rooftop, kicking her feet back and forth as she stared into the sunset. A star that lit the city ablaze in its warm glow. The orange sun similar to that of a large, ripe pumpkin you would save for a particular autumn holiday with the family, or a juicy orange from the orchard just ripe and sweet enough for your friends to enjoy.

Another mage would fly in. A member of the same organization and a friend of hers, gracefully resting her legs right beside her colleague. Phie was still transfixed by the aura that hugged the city, only acknowledging her presence with a statement.

"D'you know, before all of this, I dreamed about continuing my family's business?"

"Oh? And what's this all of a sudden?" she said, or maybe it was something else.

"I-... Do you ever think about being out of touch with the new mages?" Phie said, looking for something in her friend's eyes.

"This isn't about what happened earlier, was it?" You could almost see her smirk turn into a grin from ear to ear. "I didn't think the 'Shinigami' herself could become a Sinthru sympathizer." she said while wrapping an arm around Sophie, causing them to precariously rock back and forth on the edge.

"You were the one who thought of that name to begin with." You could almost feel Sophie begin to smile back, maybe. "I still can't believe that name stuck around."

"Isn't it great?"

"No!"

Despite Sophie's response, they were both laughing at the silly little names they used to give each other. It was a small bit of respite between missions for the IDPA. A bit childish for the mage-hunting agency, but it was nothing compared to their bonds with each other. Still, the laughing had to stop eventually.

"I just- y'know, think I'm not as good as I used to be." Sophie said as she looked away. Towards the concrete behemoth that still held glowed with the livelihoods of mundane men. Hundreds, possibly thousands of people living their day-to-day lives under the protection of such mages.

"That isn't true at all."

"It is."

"It's not."

"It's been more than a thousand years! Mages nowadays are running circles around what I could do at their age!"

There was a minute or so of silence before she replied. "I know you're not the type to be jealous. What's really going on?"

Sophie sighed. One of defeat, or maybe one of relief. "I-I wanna be with them again." Sophie could never face her whenever she made this type of confession. "It's been eating up my mind for a while. It only feels like yesterday, but it's been so long..."

Hours? Maybe it was just minutes? All you could remember was that Sophie took in another deep breath. "I-it's selfish, I know, but I think I should retire before I let this risk the lives of so many others."

"Are you serious about this?" Her hands now on each of Sophie's shoulders, and Sophie couldn't help but avoid any eye contact. "I can't stop you if this is what you really want. But I'll miss you, we all will."

Sophie sighed again. This time, it might've been full of regret, but not enough to avoid her eyes. "I don't want them to wait any longer, but I can't let others suffer because of this."

They both stared up at the horizons. The once orange hue now a bleaker red landscape that came with the end of an era. Sophie hated feeling this way. Perhaps it would've been better to accept this selfishness, to let oblivion wrap around her as she sunk deep into memories of a final goodbye, rather than let any other mage rip away a peaceful end. It was a temptation many other mages were presented with, but were many other mages gifted with the powers she had? Was she ever allowed to squander this potential just for the sake of some sort of temporary happiness?

"I plan on being reborn completely." Sophie was trembling, but hopeful. Defiantly standing on the edge of precipice as the once bright sun hid away to reveal a starless, black sky.

As sad as it was, it was reassuring to see Sophie return to her typically optimistic self. "You're not even gonna keep any memories of us?" she said, teasing her a bit.

Sophie shook her head in response. "I think it would be better to wipe the slate clean for once. I'm sure there'll plenty of wonderful mages in the future"

This time, it was she who couldn't look Sophie in the eyes "Can I at least visit, then?" Her face was a blur. Featureless, and stuck in the past.

"Always, @#$%." Phie said, yet she couldn't even remember her name.



Phoebe shuffled out of her sleeping bag and unzipped the door of her tent, wiping her eyes just before she exited. Many other tents just like hers scattered about the clearing. Some still had lit bonfires, others the late night gossip and catch up stories echoing under the silhouettes of electric lamps. Phie looked up away from it all, and, unlike the sky in her memories, it was clear enough to see the stars, but her vision had gone blurry again. She knew deep down that her life was not worth more than the thousand others that didn’t have the blessings she was given. It was her hope that, with her sacrifice, Drysdea was right.

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Pub: 30 Apr 2024 22:11 UTC
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