Serena's Goodbye

Prologue

Serena sat quietly, her hand on the book she had just finished.

"He doesn't love me anymore, I guess. He wants to be with A-ko, his goddess. Not me."

She starts to cry in silence, her tears soaking the pages of his journal, the last one he'd left her before he'd flown off to be with A-ko, his ex- and future wife. She laughed at herself softly through her tears, remembering how young she was and how long she'd been by herself.

"I guess....they were meant to be together. He wasn't meant for me, no matter how much I love him, even now. He was too good for my childish behaviors and attitudes."

Her fingers trailed over the book, the soft velvety cover comforting her even as she cried. He loved soft things, no matter how he had tried to hide it. The soft fabrics of her clothes, when she touched his face with one sweater-covered hand to tease his sense of touch. The gentle run of her fingers over his skin. Everything he had shared with her, even the end....she knew he had always loved that part of her. Perhaps he always would. But it wasn't enough in the end, to outweigh her fits, and her attempts to compensate for what she felt was wrong with her. She loved him, and she knew she had to let him go. He deserved better.

Chapter one

"He's gone, Kayle. He won't be back, either."

Serena wiped her face off, finishing her story with a noncommital shrug and a sad smile. Kayle always knew how to help her, but this time was different. He'd taken away her heart when he left her, and even Kayle was lost as to how to get everything back to normal.

"Come now, Reena. He loves you. He will come back someday, I know it." She was trying to sound convincing, but it just didn't seem to be working.

Serena softly laughed

"Do you remember when we first met him? Not the day I met him, but the day he came and saved us from the SUITs? I think that is when I fell for the flesh-and-blood Darien, not just the picture in the books. He saved us all, and he knew it would be the downfall of his plan, and his solitude, but he still did it. For all of us."

Kayle laughed softly at the memory, thinking back to how she and Caedmon had thrown fits at Darien before they knew who he was and why he was there. Serena cried softly as she saw Kayle's thoughts, wishing that she could go back to those times and do it all differently. She'd treat him as he deserved. But hindsight was always 20/20, and she'd never have those happy days of her youth back. She'd given him all she could, and now all she had was her tears and the memories of all the times she had wronged him.

Chapter two

"Darien!!! Come on, and dance with me!!!" Serena was running to Darien again, she didn't know why. He turned around, and vanished as her arms twined around him. She woke screaming and shaking, and she could hardly even remember what had happened in her dream. All she knew was that she was alone again, and her angel would never be back to save her again. She began to cry and soon Kayle was back, just as she'd always been, sitting by her without a word. Serena hugged her in thanks and began to sob louder, half-relieved to have someone to share her burden. Kayle sat and held her as she sobbed out the details of her dream before falling into a restless sleep, shaking with fear and cold and loneliness.

When she woke, Kayle had left the room, and Serena listlessly wandered to the gardens, tracing her fingers over the delicate petals of the flowers and wondering what she could do next to make herself feel alive again, because nothing seemed to be working anymore.

"Alone for a while, I've been searching through the dark,

for traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart" She began to sing, collapsing into tears again among the flowers and trees. Ever since he left, she couldn't even eat. Seven pounds had already melted from her tiny frame, making her appear even more sickly. Her long ebony hair was uncombed, and had been for at least three days, perhaps more. She couldn't even accomplish the simplest things without becoming weary, and it took its toll on her looks and attitudes in general.

Chapter Three

Serena sat, staring at the wall as her friend Kira plaited her hair. She had been in her room, ungroomed, for a week, and her frame was going from somewhat busty and healthy to bony, a drastic change. The light had faded from her eyes, and no matter what happened, it didn't seem to come back. Her hands manipulated her Playstation 2 controller, watching as Cassandra again beat Nightmare, with a subdued sense of fascination at her skill, even when she was barely looking at the TV. She knew these moves too well....Darien had taught her the easiest way to win, and she still admired his technique, even though with all the practice she was getting, she might be able to hold her own against him now. She could take Nightmare with her eyes closed, and she was able to win most matches with her life untouched. It didn't matter anymore, she was just going through the motions of days to make her friends happy. Kira, Ryann, and Kayle were worried that she didn't eat, but when she did, invariably she would become violently ill, making her even more unwilling to touch food. She just wanted to fade away, but her being immortal, she knew she could never escape the pain she felt, even if she ran a million galaxies away.

Chapter Four

Weeks faded, and Serena slowly faded with them, becoming a shadow of what she had been before. Her youth seemed to fade away, streaks of white showing themselves throughout her normally raven-black hair. She lost interest in her friends, her schoolwork, and her games. The young happy girl she once was had left, abandoning a shell behind her. Slowly, Serena realized what was happening. Like the fairy stories she had known as a child, she would fade unless she found someone to make her believe in herself again. She didn't know what to do, and she didn't seem to care anymore. Without her fallen angel by her side, she truly believed she was nothing, and she could not get that thought out of her head, no matter what she did. She sat with his journal in her hands, the pages worn and tearstained from all the days she had spent reading over the events of the last year of her life. Her friends didn't give up, but she would not respond with anything more than "He said he loved me" and an outburst of tears, flowing as if they would never stop.

Epilogue

I do not know how Serena's story ends. She continues to fade, waiting endlessly for him to return to her. She does not know if he ever will, but she has an eternity to wait, knowing that she will live until the end of time just waiting for him to come back, never knowing if he loves her or if he will return one day to take her in his strong arms and kiss away the hurt of her lost years, telling her he loves her once again.