You never thought he knew ~ by Nicole
She sang her long for anyone who would listen;
to anyone who would care to hear her plea mixed in with the words of the song.
To anyone who would have time to just stop and lend an ear to the sad melody
that was issued forth from her lips that were tinted pink and curved downwards
in a sad frown. But she was alone. No one was near to hear her sing the gloomy
hymn. She was alone on a rocky precipice that over looked the ancient lands of
the dragon, the layline. Nothing was here. Nothing grew here. The land was
barren. Yet her sad aria filled the warm air sweeter than any fragrance the
world as ever known. Her voice was pure and her message true. She wanted to
learn the truth about her existence that only the spirit of the past knew.
Was she asking too much to learn why she was created? Melfina didn’t
know. Would the spirit of the dragon still refuse her? There was nothing that
this empty land could offer her. Nothing in the age-old temple could offer any
reason why she was brought into this world of pirates and swift ships. And she
had been so hopeful-hopeful that they would discover her past and her destiny.
But they found nothing and she couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened.
Melfina paused in her song. The tears she had been trying to avoid were coming again and this time she allowed them to fall from her black lashes. There was no around to hide them from. It hurt so much to be disappointed in this land. Had she wished for too much? Maybe this was her punishment in trying to figure out the layline, the spot already protected by the ancient dragon. Melfina stood numbly on the edge of the cliff, her watery eyes wondering over the ugly brown land that stretched on for miles before her. She had no idea how long it had been since she first stood there.
Would
the others worry? Would he worry? She doubted that. Gene didn’t care for her. But still
her heart leaped into her throat every time she thought of him. Did she love
him? She felt the miserable pain of sorrow and loneliness but could she love?
No. Constructs can’t love. But
that was a lie-a nasty lie that would protect her heart from further abuse. Gene
had been so cold to her recently. Had she done something wrong? Melfina didn’t
have the courage to ask him directly so she wallowed in her desolation while
Gene had no idea how his nonchalant manner hurt her. Would he ever know? She did
even know herself.
As
the moments dragged by, Melfina still stood while the tears continued to fall.
The tears of sleepless night. The tears of silent pain and tribulation. The
tears of a delicate soul caught in the barbwire of love, life, and duty. Did she
have love? Many might think so with so many friends surrounding her-Gelium,
Ashia, Sasuka, Jim, Gene. Did she have a life? Maybe. Could constructs live a
life like a normal human? Did she have a duty? Yes. To fly the Outlaw Star. Was
that all she was good for? She could cook a little but she wasn’t that great
and no one thanked her after they had eaten their meals. But she was use to
that.
Finally
Melfina wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath that was meant to calm her,
to allay her high-strung emotions. She thought that she ought to go back to the
group even though they would not have been worried about her disappearance. It
was safe her. Nothing could hurt her. Still it would be a little uplifting if
someone did worry about her. It would be real nice to have Gene be concerned
about her. But that was asking for too much, wasn’t it. Immediately Melfina
put that thought away. There was no use in making a fairytale of her
relationship with Gene. There was no love, only a sense that he had to protect
her because if he didn’t she would fall into the hands of the hateful
McDouglle Brothers.
Harry…
He
had promised to make her happy.
To
cherish her, to look after her.
Melfina
shivered a little and crossed her arms over her chest. She found it odd to think
about Harry McDouglle, like she shouldn’t even be doing it. Gene had said that
it was good to hate the two brothers but she didn’t hate him though, even
after he had attacked her. But she did pity him unlike Gene. Some times she
never wanted to see the brothers but it was so hard to think about that, knowing
that Harry could possibly be connected to her. He was a construct after all.
Did
he love her? No because he hit her. Yes, because he reached into her soul and
told her the truth about their existence. Melfina didn’t know which answer to
pick. If she picked no her soft heart would cry for pity, not hate. If she
picked yes, she would feel like she had betrayed Gene.
Did he understand her in a way that Gene didn’t? Yes because he knew
what it was like to live as a construct. No, because he didn’t know her
personality. Did he know her favorite color? Her favorite flower? The color of
her eyes when she was sad, or when she was angry? The candy she liked to most?
Did he know that she wanted a dress? That she wanted to be as carefree as Ashia
or as beautiful as Sasuka? Did anyone know this? No because they did not listen
to her.
Gene stared down in disbelief at Melfina’s cold body lying like a piece
of marble on the bed. She was so white. She didn’t breath at all. As a
construct she had been turned off temporally. He cold have killed that man that
did this to her. The man who had shut down her entire system and forced her mind
into a deep coma that was utterly unreachable. He was still in shock. Who could
he have done that to Melfina?
“Melfina…”Gene pleaded. There were tears in his eyes. He moved
closer to her cold body and reached out for her icy hand. There was no one in
the room so he could talk to her like he had always wanted to. Alone and
heartfelt, just the two of them with no one to disturb them. “Melfina…” he
murmured again, a solitary tear falling from his eyes. He didn’t care if she
didn’t hear him now. He had to tell her no matter what. It had been so long
since the last time he had actually spoke to her. He couldn’t continue on like
this.
A
pulled a stool close to the bed and sat down, slowly caressing her hand, wishing
to give his life to her that very moment so that she could wake up. Will she
ever wake up? That thought chilled him to the bone. She had to wake up. If she
didn’t Gene didn’t know what else to do. He cared for Melfina so much.
“Melfina, I know that I have been at a distance for a while,” he
began, his voice soft. “I’m sorry for that. I just couldn’t face you and
tell you the truth. I know it is something you want to hear but regret having
heard if when you have heard it. So I avoided you, trying not to let you get to
me. I couldn’t lie to you either. But… You are a construct-build for one
purpose. See? Something I don’t wish to tell you. That is why I kept my
distance. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
A moment of silence. Gene stared down at her pale face. He smiled a
little, a brief smile brought on by amusement. “It’s funny, Melfina,” he
said, “Even when I close my eyes I know your entire face, every detail is
burnt into my skull. I know your eye color-brown, but a dark hazel when you are
sad then a rich crimson when you are angry. I know you tend to look down when
you are shy. She smile and laugh when he your nervous. You never frown. You have
a gentle air about you like a mother when you see something that is precious in
your eyes….”
Another
smile. “Your favorite color is blue. And you want a blue dress. You always
look in the windows of the dress shops she I bet you can gaze at those gowns for
hours. Melfina, when you wake up I promise to buy you a dress. You have wanted
one for so long. I think you deserve it. Also remind me to get you some of those
sugar drops. I know how much you like but you rarely get one. So I’ll get you
some of those too plus a bunch of lavender. You like lavender, don’t you.
Remember that day you stayed in the city garden just looking at those purple
blossoms. When you came home that evening you filled the flat with the
fragrance…”
“Melfina,
you are the most loving and beautiful woman I have ever met. You are caring and
sweet and I don’t know what we would do without you. What I would if I lost
you. Please, Melfina, wake up, come back to us, so that I can tell you I love
you.”
To be Continued…..