POV: Nernia
She didn't know his name yesterday.
And yet somehow, she woke this morning hearing it in her dream.
Kaelen.
It wasn't the name that clung to her — it was the ache in the syllables. Like a farewell. Like a storm just passed.
Nernia sat on the rocky shore, letting the tide nibble at her ankles, her hands sketching meaningless patterns into the sand. A week had passed since the stranger with the storm-colored eyes took her hand and smiled like she used to mean the world.
He came every day now. Always from a distance. Always careful not to overwhelm her.
He never pushed.
He never reminded.
He simply waited.
She should have been suspicious. Afraid even. But she wasn't. There was something about him — the way his voice softened around her, the way he always paused before saying her name, as if swallowing a memory.
Today, he sat beside her.
Silence was their companion, warm and soft.
Then:
"Do you dream?" he asked.
She hesitated. "Sometimes."
"What do you see?"
Nernia traced her fingertip along the wet pebbles. "A forest. A lantern. Blood. A promise made under stars. And a kiss… that broke my heart." Her voice cracked on the last word.
Kaelen flinched. Barely. But she saw it.
She looked at him sideways. "Why do you look at me like that? Like I'm someone you lost?"
He swallowed. "Because you are."
Nernia's heart squeezed. "And why didn't you stop me from forgetting?"
His jaw tensed, eyes glistening. "Because it was the only way to save you."
She looked down at her hands. "Was it worth it?"
He turned to her then — fully, entirely, like the sky itself shifted around her.
"Yes," he said. "You're alive. Even if you never remember me, even if we never… become who we were again — I would make the same choice a thousand times over. You were always worth the fall."
Tears stung her lashes. She didn't know why.
She didn't know him.
But the pain in her chest felt older than her own breath.
"I hear music sometimes," she whispered. "A lullaby I can't place."
Kaelen reached into his coat and pulled out a small silver flute, worn and scarred. "May I?"
She nodded.
He played softly — the melody rising like mist over morning waters.
And her hands trembled.
Her heart cracked.
Her soul screamed.
Because the moment the first note hit the air, her lips whispered the words without even knowing them—
"Light the lantern, love, don't cry... if we break, we'll rise again, you and I..."
Kaelen's hands faltered.
Nernia clutched her chest. "I—I don't know how I know that…"
He didn't speak. He just looked at her like she'd given him the stars back.
"Will I ever remember?" she asked, voice trembling.
He didn't lie. "I don't know."
"But you'll stay?" she whispered.
Kaelen nodded once. "Always. Even if we have to fall in love across a thousand lifetimes… I'll wait for every version of you."
And this time, it was Nernia who reached for his hand.