Eternal Love
The phrase sounded… unfamiliar. Two words, ones I'd never bothered to hope to hear from someone, or anyone for that matter.
But the way she said it, the quiet inevitability in her eyes, seemed to say otherwise.
For a long moment, I just stared at the small box resting on the table.
A small laugh slipped from my lips.
"Eternal Love… huh…" I murmured, glancing at the silver ring glinting on my finger.
"Isn't that just ironic…"
I inhaled sharply and leaned back, shaking my head.
"Sorry if I sound a bit dramatic," I said quietly.
"But six months ago… I was actually trying not to get attached—"
"I know," Anathasia cut in gently, her expression softening. "Of course I know. I've been watching over you for years, remember?"
My eyes widened for a moment, then softened as her words settled in.
"That's true…" I chuckled, glancing back at her. "I was kind of an idiot back then, wasn't I?"
Her brows furrowed instead.
"Maybe," she said, "but give yourself some credit. You tried."
She leaned forward slightly.
"Even when your instincts told you not to care too much—you still did. You still let yourself be vulnerable, even though you were scared of losing me."
She paused.
"That fear doesn't disappear easily. Not when you've spent so long afraid of losing people… or of people you care about losing you."
My gaze dropped to the table as my hands slowly relaxed.
"You've said it from the start," she continued softly. "'What we have is something we earned. Something we built together.'"
She smiled.
"So cut yourself some slack, okay?"
Slowly, I lifted my head, just in time to feel her hand rest on my hair.
"You've been carrying things for a long time," she said. "Just like I did. You rarely cried… and still, you let me be myself around you."
Her fingers lingered, gentle.
"You gave me a place to lean on."
A brief pause.
"So for now…" she whispered, moving closer, until I felt her warmth even through the fabric of our clothes.
"Just let yourself rest."
Her body pressed lightly against mine.
My vision blurred. A faint sting crept behind my eyes.
And then—
Everything went dark.
—
When I regained consciousness, I felt something… no, someone stroking my hair. Slow. Gentle.
As I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was her.
Anathasia.
Her expression was soft, unguarded. She glanced down at me and smiled.
"Good morning," she said quietly. "Or… good afternoon?"
Looking at her like this, and remembering everything she'd said earlier, I couldn't help but smile back. She reached out and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. One that never quite fell.
"How long was I out?" I murmured, glancing toward the glass doors. Outside, the light had faded into a deep orange.
"Four hours," she replied, fingers gliding through my hair. "You looked really peaceful… I almost stole a kiss while you were asleep."
She smirked, then poked my cheek with her other hand.
"…I just woke up," I sighed. This time, I didn't lift my head from her lap. Staring at the ceiling, then at her profile as she wore that calm, unguarded expression.
She… really is beautiful, no matter how I look at her.
"Oh, by the way," she suddenly added, tugging lightly on my cheek. "You were getting tons of friend request notifications earlier."
"Friend request notifications?" I raised an eyebrow. "You checked my phone?"
She nodded, still tugging at my cheek.
Honestly, I didn't mind. She already played games on it whenever her own phone died.
"Let me guess…" I trailed off, glancing up at her.
"Girls?"
"Guess you saw that coming, huh?" She stopped tugging on my cheek and started idly playing with my hair instead.
"I kinda did…" I rubbed at my eye. "But I bet Robert has more."
She paused for a moment, then casually reached for my phone on the table before handing it back to me.
"That's why I locked my profile beforehand," she said with a shrug, fingers still threading through my hair. "No unnecessary friend requests. It's annoying."
I hummed in agreement.
"Yeah…"
I scrolled through my phone, only to find a dozen message requests from people I didn't recognize.
Without thinking much about it, I dumped them straight into the spam folder, then locked my account too.
"…How the hell did they even find my socials?"
"By looking up your name?" Anathasia chimed in, braiding my hair for some reason.
I went quiet for a second.
"…Fair," I muttered, glancing back down at my phone.
She let out a soft chuckle as she worked.
"Looks like they really tried their chances," she said, shaking her head. "Even now… I can still hear some girls deluding themselves into thinking they can break us up."
My eyes widened just a fraction, then slowly flattened.
"You're not listening in on their conversations right now, are you?"
"Not at all." Her smile turned faintly wry. "I am reading their minds, though."
My expression deadpanned completely.
"…Isn't that worse?"
She finished braiding one side of my hair and moved to the other, unfazed.
"I mean, it is," she admitted. "I just think it's funny how sure they are about themselves."
A hairbrush manifested in her hand, and she began gently brushing my hair instead.
"And the part where they don't have even an ounce of respect for other people's relationships."
Her eyes met mine for a brief moment. She smiled, then looked back down, continuing to brush.
"Like the Leah situation," she added quietly. "Except she was worse. You were related."
"Yeah…" I trailed off, a faint chill crawling up my spine. "Just remembering it gives me the creeps. She was literally my mom's niece…"
She didn't respond, just kept brushing, letting my hair fan out over the couch.
After a moment—
"Oh, right." Anathasia's hand paused mid-stroke. "The sports festival lasts for a week, right? Until early October?"
I raised an eyebrow, glancing at her.
"Yeah?"
"I just thought it was necessary to warn you," she said calmly. "People might try to stir up some drama when we go back."
I dragged a hand down my face, sighing.
"Of course… I did notice some nasty looks earlier, when we left the track."
I let out a breath.
"I guess I gave them too much credit, thinking they wouldn't pull something petty."
Anathasia chuckled softly. She stared at the brush for a second, casually picking out a few loose strands caught in the bristles.
"I don't really blame you," she said. "You do try your best to believe in people."
Her tone was gentle.
"Even when you know you're basically making a risky wager every time."
"I mean…" I sighed, glancing to the side as the light outside slowly dimmed. "Not everyone is that terrible. A few people's behavior doesn't really speak for an entire group."
"Or in this case," I added quietly, "an entire race."
Before I knew it, she had already finished braiding one side of my hair and moved on to the other.
"Mhm," she hummed, brushing through it before weaving it together. "I get what you mean. I've been trying not to lump everyone together over the actions of a minority."
"Different environments shape people too," she continued. "Their perceptions don't come from nowhere."
When she finally finished, she handed me a mirror.
For some reason, a red ribbon was tied neatly at the side, holding the braid together.
…Now I look exactly like a girl.
I slowly sat up, brushing my bangs aside as I stared at my reflection.
"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm just glad you still haven't decided to end this planet, to be honest."
Then I glanced at her.
"Also—why a red ribbon? I look like some typical high school girl now."
She shrugged and leaned back on the couch, watching me fix my hair.
"I don't really see the point," she said, reaching out to adjust a loose strand. "Sure, I could end this world. Or even this entire reality."
She paused.
"But then what? Just because you have the power to do something doesn't mean you should."
"You can mix chocolate and tomato sauce," she added calmly. "But you never do. Why?"
"I mean…" I started, then stopped. "That'd be horrible. And there's no reason to—"
She nodded once.
"Exactly."
"So…" I looked at her again. "Why the ribbon?"
A small smile curved on her lips.
"Because it looks cute," she said simply.
"You're cute."