As they walked, the city seemed to fade away, and all that mattered was the two of them. They found a small park, tucked away in a quiet corner, and sat down on a bench, watching the sun set behind the buildings. Ekaterina leaned into Trouble, her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. They sat there in silence, watching the world go by, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Ekaterina decided to shift her gaze from the sunset and looked up at Trouble. She took a deep breath and decided to break the ice. "What happened to you? You vanished without a trace, it's been four years since I last saw you." She smacked him with gentle fists before hugging him and telling him, "Do you know how much I missed you? Every night I'd go to sleep, I'd pray that at least one day I could see you again."
Trouble's tears couldn't help but fall again as he looked at her, right beside him was the girl he always loved and still loved, yet he only recalled a fragment of the time they spent together. As he tried hard to recall the memories, perhaps he might have lost, Ekaterina spoke up again. "Since that day you saved me from falling off the waterfall, I've been blaming myself. If only I hadn't been careless that day, all this couldn't have happened."
Before she could utter another word, she was cut short by Trouble's sudden tight hug. She hugged him even tighter, sobbing on his shoulder as he showed signs that he wasn't letting go. He hardly tried to calm himself and whispered, "It was never your fault. To be honest, I was also happy because that moment when I was falling, I managed to gather the confidence knowing that it might be my last time ever seeing you again."
He paused for a quick breath before continuing, "Luckily, before I was out of sight, I told you how I truly felt about you. I love you." He paused again, his voice trembling with emotion. "After those words left my lips, I felt relieved and sad. I was relieved that I finally told you how I felt about you, and I was sad because I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to see you again."
Ekaterina leaned in and gave him a peck on his cheeks, a beautiful, irresistible smile appearing on her face. She then said, "Let's leave everything behind. The important thing is that we are together, and that's what only matters. From now on, we'll be together till our last breaths."
As those words left her lips, they got absorbed in their warm embrace for about twenty minutes. Before Ekaterina let go and told Trouble, "I've been wanting to give you something." She then whispered in his ear, "Close your eyes."
After closing his eyes, he felt a gentle, warm touch across his neck that made his spine feel cold. "All done, now you can open your eyes," she said.
The moment his eyes snapped open, he was greeted by the sight of a beautiful necklace with a crystal-clear gem shaped like a tear, and inside it, his name and hers were inscribed. The mere sight of the necklace made him start to tear up again. He gave her another hug and praised the necklace that he had been given, promising her, "I'll never take it off, no matter what, even if it means I'll have to die, then let it be."
As Trouble was in her embrace, something unpleasant disturbed his blissful moment. Ding! Ding! Ding! There were ten minutes remaining; failure to complete his mission would result in his body permanently fading, and he'd be obliterated from existence.
He shouted out of the blue, "Clap! Why now, out of all times?" He inhaled and exhaled deeply and whispered to himself, "Panicking won't solve anything." He then started chanting, "What to do, what to do."
However, his sudden outburst caught Ekaterina completely off guard. "Is something wrong?" she asked.
Not sure of what to say to her, he decided to wonder before saying anything. After a few seconds of wondering, he finally responded, "I don't know how to say this... You have to kill me now."
Before saying anything, she launched herself at Trouble and began to cry, saying, "Please don't joke around. I can never kill you, even if my life were to be on the line."
He parted her hair in assurance and told her, "I believe you, you can never do that, even if your life was threatened. However, it's the only way I can survive."
Before he could speak any further, Ekaterina shut him up by placing her hands on his lips. "How are you going to survive when I kill you?" she asked, and as she leaned further and noticed something strange, she asked, "Trouble, why can't I feel your legs?"
He slowly whispered, "That's the reason you have to kill me before I completely fade away. I promise I'll be resurrected once I die, and when I'm resurrected, I'll explain everything."
She clenched her fist and wondered, "Why does life have to be this cruel to me? After finding him, I have to let go again." Suddenly, a gentle hand held her clenched fist, and he said, "Don't blame yourself, trust me."
She tried hard to cool herself down and said, "You have to come back safe, or I'll never forgive you."
He heaved a faint sigh, thinking, "At least she has finally agreed." However, he began to think, "What is she going to use to kill me?"
Out of nowhere, a beautiful red rose knife appeared in his hand grasp. He felt relieved; he then gave her the knife, like he wasn't going to die.
She slowly took it, tears starting to well up in her eyes as she hesitated to stab him.
Behind them, a man was being chased by thugs. One of the thugs managed to snatch the briefcase, and the man struggled, but to no avail. The thug threw a powerful kick on his chest, sending him flying, unfortunately landing in the direction of Trouble and Ekaterina, and bumping into Ekaterina, who fell on Trouble.
By the moment she realized she was on top of him, she instantly backed off, but it was too late. The knife had deeply stabbed him in the heart.
She quickly got back to him and held him tight, as if the very world was coming to an end.
Before he took his last breath, he held her cheek and told her, "Don't cry. I'll be back, and I'll never leave you again."
The moment those words left his lips, he stopped breathing. He was gone.
Ekaterina was on the verge of breaking down, hugging him even tighter, tears falling like raindrops. The weather suddenly became windy, and the sky began to darken. Thunder sounds could be heard everywhere, oblivious to what's happening. Ekaterina kept crying while hugging Trouble tightly.
A devastating lightning started to form in the sky. Boom! It struck Trouble and Ekaterina, engulfing them in lightning, and their bodies began to ascend into the air. A strong, beautiful rainbow light appeared, covering a large area.
As the light faded, Trouble's body began to glow, and he slowly started to levitate above the ground. Ekaterina, still holding onto him, felt herself being lifted off the ground, her eyes fixed on Trouble's face.
And then, everything went black.
To be continued...