Event Private Closure For Five

Boni had slunk by when he heard that this bonfire had the possibility to show the souls of lost loved ones. He was disappointed, initially, until he managed to get his hands on one of the river stones. Bury it and come face to face with the person you have least closure with. Boni knew that if Maria was dead, he would’ve seen her. But otherwise, there was only one person Boni had known that could appear.

He had wandered into the forest quite a ways away from anyone before he gently buried the stone. He suddenly felt self aware of how he was dressed, his tattoos, his hair. He hadn’t felt conscious of how he looked in years. Anxiety gnawed away at him. Anxiety? He hadn’t really felt that in years either. Probably stopped after the first 5 years since he lost his sense of pain.

He held his breath when someone emerged from the ground. Pale skin, beautiful golden eyes, long black hair. She looked like what Boni’s own daughter could look like when she got into her mid 20s. There was a reason for that.

Boni stared at his wife. It had been centuries, and he hadn’t even realised how much he forgot how she looked. He opened and closed his mouth for a few times until she smiled at him. “Hello Boniface, it’s been a while.” Her voice was soft, but confident. Boni could feel himself almost cry. He hadn’t seen his wife for over a thousand years, and now he was here.

He attempted to hold her, but his arms passed through. He clenched his hands at his sides and looked down. “I’m... I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for you to die... I didn’t want you to die. Maria suffered so much because of me, and I made stupid fucking decisions because I was angry.” He swallowed back tears. Boni just felt so angry, distraught, and lonely.

He felt the lightest of touches on his cheek, and looked up to her resting her hand against it. He raised a hand to hold it over hers, or at least the illusion of. It was then Boni cried for the first time in years. “I... I just miss you so fucking much. I’m trying so hard to be with you, but I’m also scared of you thinking less of me.” His hand dropped back to his side.

She looked at him, seemingly surprised for a moment, but then smiled. That was something Boni loved about her. Boni wasn’t always the best with words, or understanding them. But she always knew what he meant, and almost spoke to him on a level no one else could without saying a word. “...I understand.” He shakily sighed. He attempted to hold her in his arms again, almost awkwardly since he was pretty much hugging air. But he did. He closed his eyes, wishing he could sob into her shoulder. When he opened them, she was gone. Although the encounter pained him, he felt he had closure for a thousand years of guilt. He felt drive to rid himself of his curses.

Eli walked into a clearing in the forest. He pulled the jacket tighter around himself as he shivered. He couldn’t know what he shivered from. The cold or fear. He had managed to acquire a stone that would grant Eli the chance to speak with someone he didn’t have closure with. The question was with who.

There was Eli’s parents. His mother who he has caused the death of, but so dearly loved. His father who had shot him, and in the end Eli shot dead to silence him. There was also his biological father, a fact that Eli had come to terms with having. He had no idea if his biological father was dead or alive. His sister. Eli cherished and adored his sister. They were close, always had been. But he had no idea what she thought of him. She was dead long before he had decided to return to his hometown. Her death was also his fault. Then there was his good friend, the one who had essentially raised Eli, the one who saved him. Taught him everything he knew. But he died peacefully, and Eli never felt much unrest with his friend after his passing.

A part of him wanted to abandon the rock, say that he came this far but didn’t need to know the end. But the thought of that made him feel sick. He had already ran from so many problems... he wouldn’t run from this. Slowly, he buried the rock. It left his hands dirty, but that was the least of his concerns. His hair had changed, his clothing. Most importantly his eyes. No longer white, but instead black surrounding a blue iris. How could he explain it?

Just as slow as it took for him to bury a stone, someone rose. Eli felt confused. He didn’t recognise the woman. She looked older than himself, with greying blonde hair tied into a bun. It was the eyes that made him hold his breath. A deep brown, just like his father’s. It didn’t make sense though. His younger sister died before she even reached 25, yet he looked at a woman certainly in her 50s, her face weathered by age. Perhaps Eli had forgotten what his mother actually looked like, and now he was looking at his mother. But this was not the case.

They stared at each other for a while, then she gasped and covered her mouth. She started to cry. “Eli... Eli it’s been so long.” The woman moved forward and embraced Eli. He couldn’t help but notice he didn’t truly feel any touch from her. “I can’t believe I’m seeing my stupid older brother...” She dryly laughed as she attempted to hide a sniffle.

It was with that Eli realised this truly was his sister. He asked how this was possible, and she explained. An illness that apparently caused her death... was fake. Mostly. She moved to a city, no longer able to bear being around their parents after Eli fled. She had a life, a family. She died peacefully, but always held regret about her brother.

In a strange way, Eli felt relief. She still cared about him. The look on his face must’ve given it away. “Why do you look so surprised?” She shook her head. She looked Eli up and down carefully, and Eli could see the questions about to be formed from her lips.

He sighed. “A long story.” He looked down. “But... I guess the short version would be that we’re not fully related.” Eli felt afraid about how she would react. To his sister, it would be obvious what he was. What his words meant. Although it would hurt, he would feel just as much closure if she turned around and hated him. At least he got to see her.

She remained silent, thoughtful. Then... “It looks good.” Eli blinked then stared at her. “You were average height for our time, right? But this new height... isn’t bad. The eyes are a little unsettling but I recognise them still. Still the same blue in there. Sure your hair or clothes are different, sure everything is pretty different, but things change. Eli, I’m happy you’ve changed. Honestly you looked happier, I guess in a weird way. Maybe happier isn’t the right word but... yourself. You’re yourself.” She spoke with a gentle, and occasionally joking, tone. Eli released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding, his shoulders slumped for what felt like the first time in years.

She accepted him. When Eli had trouble to even accept himself, to deal with what he had become and who he was, she accepted right away. She didn’t know the full story, and had every right to hate him. But she didn’t. For her, she was happy her brother was himself. “Thank you...” Eli murmured. It felt like a breath of fresh air

Their time together was doomed to be short. They both knew that. She smiled and brushed her hand against his forehead. “It’s time for me to go. Goodbye Eli... and please. Just keep being yourself, you tall idiot.” Even as she spoke, she had started to fade away.

By the time he found the words to speak, she was gone. “Goodbye...” He whispered, and stared at the spot she once stood.

Liun held a rock in his hands, his fingers tapped against it. His right hand gripped it tightly, terrified of losing it, while the other shook slightly. He wanted to bury it as quickly as he could, but he also wanted to throw it as far as he could. For now, he did neither.

He knew exactly who he would see. His fiancee. His daughter was... so young at the time she died, but he still felt an immense amount of regret with his family that he had caused the deaths of. He hadn't gotten over it, just learned to live with it on a daily basis. But deep down he knew it still wasn't resolved. There was still closure he needed to truly move on. Especially seeing how he was currently seeing Arthesia...

Eventually, he buried the stone and waited. After a while he harshly sighed. "Knew it was dumb to get my hopes up." Liun turned to walk away but then froze. Something felt different, and he tried to sniff the air to figure out what... but he couldn't place it.

"Hey asshole." It was a female voice, her voice raised and confident. Liun slowly turned around, and came face to face with her. He couldn't help but slump his shoulders a bit as his jaw dropped. The woman was shorter than Liun, but well built, with short light brown hair. Her arms crossed and she had an irritated look on her face. "Get back here right now, or I'll have to beat your scaly ass." She sounded so overconfident, but her face had changed into a soft smile towards the end.

Liun quickly rushed back over and attempted to hug her. He was already prepared to not be able to actually touch her, so instead he held the space that she occupied. The closest that he actually could get to holding her. Before either of them could even speak, Liun started to cry. "I'm so sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I should have been there. I should have been there to protect you and the baby. I should've just called someone like you'd suggested instead of trying to mess with it myself. It's my fault you died and you shouldn't have died... I'm... sorry..." He wanted to hug her tighter, bring her as close to him as he could. He wanted to say how sorry he was for causing her death. Their daughter's death. But he couldn't. She wasn't truly there, and he didn't have the time.

After he cried silently for a while, she... laughed. "You've always been such a moron. I know you're sorry, you never stopped saying you were the last time we saw each other." She had humour but then her face shifted to a more serious one. She knew that Liun had been gnawed by guilt ever since it happened, and she also wanted to bring him the closure he wanted... he needed. "Liun, you didn't know it was gonna happen. No one knew. As unfortunate as it is... it just did happen. I don't want you to blame yourself for it. I want you to live. You promised me that, right?" She looked up at Liun's eyes and smiled.

He remembered that promise, but couldn't help but feel guilty living by it. A part of him felt like he shouldn't have walked away from that life when he was the one responsible for the end of it. But as a dragon, as a Rukt'In, and as a person, Liun couldn't break a promise. "...Right. I just... I miss you." He muttered.

"I know, I miss you as well. Now, tell me about what you've been doing. You promised me you'd live, and I want to hear about it." She smiled at him, an almost radiant look. She always matched Liun's confidence, his humour, but also knew how to deal with him when he didn't act laid back.

For a while, they spoke. Liun talked about how he went on to become a firefighter, worked the job in a few countries actually. He talked about how he moved to the island, and reunited with his clan for the first time since he had left. Talked about how opened up about some events in his life, including the fire. Eventually he brought up Arthesia. She didn't get angry or upset, she just smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. Well, not physically but close enough.

He spoke for a while, about every detail. Mostly because she encouraged him to. He didn't even realise she had faded away until he looked again. He felt sadness, and knew he wouldn't be able to completely rid himself of guilt. But the feeling was bittersweet, and he couldn't help but feel happy that he saw his fiancee at least one more time.