Day Two: Evening

[Zangya]

…He had left her, all on her own.

In the rain, the pavement shines like silver. She reached back to her wanderings in the city—he had always been there, rain or shine, to guide her along her path. She had allowed herself to get close to him, to trust him, to love him, and even through his disappearance, those feelings lingered. All the lights are misty in the river. She looked down at the ocean which crashed violently on the rocky shores—it was the closest thing they had to a river, and the moon bore no clear reflection. Perhaps she could be baptized in this water, cleared of any sins she had done to her friends throughout this brutal competition?

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight. Her mind went back to the walks they’d had in the forest, and Aero’s misguided directions—Aero… And all I see is him and me forever and forever. She looked up, and saw him. Gokua. He stood there, looking down at her, a solemn look upon his face. “I cannot stay.” These simply words were killer to her, and her expression asked why, because her lips were unable to form words. “They have only allowed me so much time with you, Zangya. I must leave. I must go back to the afterlife.” And I know, it’s only in my mind, that I’m talking to myself and not to him. But could he have really been there? She was beginning to believe fantasies that she had never known.

And although, I know that he is blind—still I say there’s a way for us. I love him, but when the night is over, he’s gone; the river’s just a river. Without him, the world around me changes. The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers. I love him, but every day I’m lonely. All my life, I’ve only been pretending! Without me, his world will go on turning. The world if full of happiness that I have never known…

“You have to trust me,” he said, beginning his parting words, “I love you. But I’m not allowed to be here with you for long.” He held her in his embrace, and she collapsed to her knees, pouring tears into his feet. “The Kaios, my Zangya—they’re keeping me in check. I have five more minutes.” Zangya’s face looked to him in wonder, and he could tell what she wanted to ask. “There are others here… others you can look to for guidance. I don’t have time to explain. You’re going to have to figure it out for yourself, I’m afraid.”

He left, and Zangya took off in the opposite direction, in a tearful run.

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“And rest assured, eventually… they will kill you.”

A fearful Zangya darted off through the plains, escaping as fast as she could from them. Kirano’s kindness had given her back her life, even when she was not exactly sure that was what she wanted… did she want life or death? Did she want kindness, or forgiveness? Perhaps, in that moment, in that short moment when he spared her, Kirano had given her both.

“Kill them both.” Aero’s words cut through her like a sharpened knife, and they killed her on the inside. She had trusted him, and just like that, he had gone back against his word. Sure, she had killed Bojack, and for what—an emotional reason, perhaps. If Aero so understood women’s problems, perhaps he would have spared the child-carrying Zangya.

Shotgun shots had rung off from the other side of the field, and Zangya could tell that Uno had fought back. He wasn’t going down without a fight. But she feared for her comrades’ lives, for Aero’s, and Celipa’s—and then her mind reverted back to herself, to her love that had abandoned her shortly before the time she needed him the most. “You’re going to have to figure that out on your own.” Then, she remembered what he was talking about.

“I trust him,” Gokua had told her, “And so should you.”

Aero.

OOC: Once again, lyrics = "On My Own" from Les Miz.