Submitted (last-minute) as an entry to the 2019 Yuri Garden Writing Contest Ending is rushed; read at your own risk A longer and more complete version will (probably) be linked in the future unless I forget or become too lazy to do it If it seems confusing or choppy, that's because it is Any questions will hopefully be answered in the extended (and edited) version Lastly, please don't quote the OP; if you want my attention, just tag me Spoiler: Oneshot Frail, trembling hands reached out to cup her weathered face. There were creases beside her eyes and her beautiful raven hair had been washed grey with time, but those bright golden eyes looked just the same as the first time they met; vibrant and full of life. Slowly, ever so slowly, she pulled her closer. Soft lips gently met her own and she once again tasted her intoxicatingly sweet flavor that had now been engraved into her very soul. When she was about to sit back up again, she was pulled back into the other person’s embrace, her head resting on the frail shoulder. She tried to pull away so as not to crush her, but those pair of hands contained a surprising amount of strength, and they held her close as though afraid to let go. “Promise me” she said, her soft breath brushing against her ear. “Promise me we’ll meet again.” Panic welled up within her, as though she knew what was coming, as though she had experienced the same thing countless times. “No, please! Please don’t leave me!” She reached out and touched her face, as though trying to confirm that she was still there; still beside her. “Be good” she said, gently stroking her head as if she was coaxing a young girl. “You have to promise me. Promise that you’ll find me again the next time.” Big drops of tears fell from her eyes and onto the pale blues hospital gown. She looked into those tranquil golden eyes and the boundless love held within them gave her strength. “I-” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her stammering voice. When she opened them again, those dark eyes held a strong determination. “I’ll find you. I’ll definitely find you, I promise.” “Good.” A warm smile spread over her face, warmer than the afternoon sun. “I’ll be waiting.” Her tired eyes fell closed contentedly and her breathing slowed as though she was entering dreamland. Lying in her embrace, she could hear the rhythmic beating of her steady heart. The sound helped her to relax and slowly calmed her tense nerves. “Mira?” She called out softly but there was no response. “Mira!” Fear washed over her and chilled her to the bones. “Mira, please answer me.” She waited anxiously for a reply but the other person was already gone. Her heart seized with immeasurable pain and she sobbed into her still warm shoulder uncontrollably. “Mira, don’t leave me alone.” “Mira-” Faint sunlight filtered through the linen curtains and formed irregular patterns on the beige carpet. Rose sat up in a daze. It was not until a large teardrop landed on her duvet with a “plop” did she realize that her cheeks were wet from crying. A suffocating pain strangled her heart along with a deep sense of longing that emanated from the depths of her soul, rendering her unable to gather her bearing for a while. It was this dream again. She’s been having the same dream more and more frequently these days. Although she couldn’t remember the content of those dreams, the feelings within them were always the same. Taking a deep breath, she recomposed herself, and absent-mindedly made her way downstairs to the kitchen of her 2-storey apartment to make herself a coffee. It was a Saturday, so she didn’t have to go to work but right now, she’d rather be at work than be idle. When she’s busying herself with work, she doesn’t have the leisure of thinking about unnecessary things. When she buries herself in paperwork, she doesn’t feel the cold and empty loneliness from the depths of her heart as much. It has already been two years since the time of her accident. Although the doctors claimed that she had already made a full recovery, she still felt as though she was incomplete. When she woke up in the hospital ward two years ago, she couldn’t remember anything. Even her own name felt foreign to her. With time, bits and pieces of the memories gradually came back to her, but the last six years of her life leading up to the accident remained a blur. She remembered that she didn’t have a very good childhood. Her mother died during childbirth and her father, devastated by her death, spent his days living as though he was dead. That father of hers disappeared one day and it was only one month later, when she was at the brink of starvation, that some people found her and took her back to her paternal grandparents’ place. The Beaumont family was extremely wealthy so she no longer had to worry about food or shelter. Of course, she knew deep down that these people did not take her in out of the kindness in their hearts. Her father was the old Beaumont couple’s only son and she was his only offspring. Rather than let the branch families split and swallow up the family fortune, it was better to try to cultivate their only blood-related granddaughter to take over. When she was 22, she was suddenly possessed by an overwhelming urge to go to the ocean. She didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but the compulsion grew stronger and stronger until she found it difficult to suppress. At one time, she even sleep-walked off the edge of a cliff. She didn’t know how to swim and almost drowned. When she woke up, she was lying on the beach completely unscathed. She would’ve believed it was all a dream if it were not for the scale that hung from a string around her neck that wasn’t there before. The iridescent black scale was outlined in gold and more beautiful than any precious gemstone. Its presence also brought her a sense of relief from the weariness she hadn’t realized she was feeling, like an anchor that allowed this weary soul of hers to rest at last. After she returned safely from almost drowning, she still couldn’t completely stop herself from heading to the ocean several times. Luckily, she never had any sleep-walking accidents again.The memories from then on were very hazy, but somehow, she knew those missing six years that she couldn’t recall were the happiest and most important years of her life. Putting down her cup of coffee, she washed up and got ready, grabbing her car keys before heading out. She needed to go to the ocean. She always felt that what she had lost could be found there. Everytime she felt uneasy, she would make a trip to the ocean and stand at the edge of the cliff, breathing in the cool, salty air. The harsh sound of the crashing waves would drill into her ears and drown out all of her unnecessary thoughts. Stopping by a small cafe on the way, she bought some breakfast and ate quickly in her car before continuing on her way. When she was first discharged from the hospital after her accident, she stayed at her grandparents’ place. When she had recalled most of her memories, she decided to move back into the apartment she bought so she could have more time to think on her own. The address she found led her to a sleek high-rise in one of the most expensive gated neighbourhoods. However, there was one thing about her apartment that made Rose endlessly puzzled; there were clear signs of another person’s presence there, even though she supposedly lived alone. Feminine, floral dresses in the wardrobe that didn’t fit her, a shoe closet filled with beautiful high-heels that were too small for her feet, and sumptuous, silk bed sheets that didn’t match her detached character. There were two sets of everything; two mugs, two bowls, two toothbrushes, two pairs of slippers, two sets of cutlery, two pillows on a double bed… She tried to ask around but most people either didn’t know, or said that the other person was her cousin who had returned from abroad. They told her that they had rarely seen her cousin but that she was a beauty with dark raven hair and golden eyes. Rose didn’t have a cousin. Her father was an only child so there was no way that a cousin could pop out of nowhere. She believed that telling them being her cousin was merely a cover and that their real relationship must have been something else… She thought back to the double-bed in the master bedroom… No, it couldn’t… But this was the most logical explanation... By the time her wandering thoughts had been reigned back, she had already reached the ocean. Rose parked her car on the side of the road and made the rest of the journey to the cliff on foot. The salty sea air tickled her nose and the spirited winds pulled her hair along in a chaotic dance. The sea oscillated in front of her, making her dizzy from its motion. Maybe it was because of that dream she kept having, but Rose had not been able to sleep well for the past few weeks. The hypnotic movement of the ocean made her head spin and for a moment, she almost blacked out. She stumbled haphazardly near the edge of the precipice and tried to stabilize herself, but the loose soil caused her to slip right off. Rose felt her body suddenly plummet and quickly stretched out her hand to grab onto the edge of the cliff. Her feet dangled in midair and she swayed along with the wind. Although slightly shocked, she didn’t immediately panic. It was still very early in the morning so the beach was pretty much deserted. Calling out for help was pointless and she left her phone in the car. Rose tried to swing upwards so she could grab the edge of the cliff with her other hand and pull herself up but the weeks of fatigue had taken a toll on her and she wasn’t exactly in her peak condition. Just as her fingers were about to lose strength, she felt a warm feeling being transmitted from her necklace. The black and gold scale glowed softly and slowly filled her with strength. Rose was somewhat stunned at the unexpected changes in her body; she felt that she would be able to pull herself up from the cliff’s edge easily now. However, before she could celebrate, the scale that hung from her neck cracked and shattered into pieces. At the same time, Rose felt something shattering in her mind as well… They first met on a summer’s afternoon eight years ago. On that day, Rose had once again felt a sudden longing for the ocean. Except this time, it was stronger than ever before. After a bit of hesitation, she called off the meetings scheduled for the rest of the day and drove straight to the sea. When she arrived at the beach, she threw her high heels into the car and made a beeline towards the ocean. She felt like something was pulling at her soul, leading her towards it so that she could finally be free from the emptiness and longing that plagued her. What she found was a girl, hidden away behind some large rocks. She had beautiful, silky, black hair and an exquisite, doll-like face. Her long lashes cast shadows beneath her eyes and her smooth, pale skin looked like it was glowing under the bright summer sun. The girl was unconscious, but she was still breathing. Without her realizing, Rose’s body had already unconsciously moved on its own and covered the girl with her suit jacket. When she finally came back to her senses, she realized that she had already carried the girl to the back of her car. When the girl woke up, the first words that unexpectedly came from Rose’s mouth were: “I found you so do you want to go home with me?” Blushing a deep shade of red that was worthy of her name, she berated herself for blurting out nonsense, but the girl just smiled, her golden eyes reflecting the sun. She suddenly pulled Rose down towards her with surprising strength and kissed her passionately on the lips before whispering softly beside her ear: “Okay.” The eternally cold and emotionless Rose was stunned silly for a full five minutes before she started the car and drove off in a daze. Although it came from nowhere, she didn’t hate that kiss. In fact, the lingering sweetness she could still taste in her mouth only made her long for more. The girl, whose name Rose later found out was Mira, rarely mentioned her past in the six years they spent together but even so, Rose could still feel the unbridled trust and affection Mira had towards her. Their relationship developed very quickly and it felt like they were born to be together. For the first time in her life, Rose felt as though she had found her reason for being alive. Rose began to work from home more often in order to spend more time with Mira, and also bought a bigger apartment for them to live together. She never felt the urge to go to the ocean again either and the two spent their days together blissfully in each other’s company. Just when she thought that they would spend the rest of their lives together and slowly grow old next to one another, Mira disappeared. Hurt and disoriented, Rose grabbed her car keys and drove towards the ocean in a hurry because somewhere in her heart, she knew this was where she could find Mira. Unfortunately, on the way there, she was met with a traffic accident. The other person was driving while intoxicated and hit her car at full speed. She woke up later without any memories but before she blacked out, a scene played in her mind… In a lush, green garden, a woman sat in the wicker chair beside her. She reached out to cup her face with wrinkled hands and stared deeply at her with a par of familiar golden eyes filled with love. “I’ll wait for you,” she said, “I’ll wait for you to find me.” She finally found it. She finally found what it was that she had lost. It was just a shame that she had found it too late. Rose laughed at herself bitterly but her eyes were clear. She loosened her grip and let go off the cliff’s edge, feeling the ecstasy from the sudden fall. She gritted her teeth when her body hit the surface of the water and exhaled deeply. Relaxing the muscles in her body one by one, Rose slowly sunk deeper and deeper into the ocean. The sunlight streaming down through the water was beautiful and enchanting but before her eyes, Rose could only see the image of Mira’s gently smiling face. Her heart echoed the words she spoke at that time. Wait for me, I’ll find you. I promise.
you mean when they meet at the beach? she's about the same age as Rose I guess? at least appearance-wise, she's at an age where she can easily be passed off as Rose's cousin
ok so she may or may not have been a mermaid when I came up with her character so her body might actually be really old but by mermaid years, she should be around the same age as Rose when they first meet on the beach, which is 22
Okay, I'm going to accept this~! The word "girl" does create a little bit of confusion as to whether or not she's an adult, but "girl" is commonly used for adult women and I believe you fully intended her to read as an adult. (Sorry for all the questions~! There have been a few entries that had to be edited for similar reasons, so I had to make a tough judgment call as to whether this was going to have the same problems and have to be rejected.)
Oh man, that gave me the feels. It was a bit confusing though. She met Mira 8 years, Mira disappeared, Rose started having dreams about her, she met her again temporarily but didn’t know it was her then committed suicide?
It wouldn't have been a problem if she was, since you made it clear that Rose was 22 at the time. Unusual, but perfectly acceptable for the contest~!
@Tony sorry I just realized I posted this in the wrong section do you mind moving it to community fictions? or is it ok for this to stay here?
That was so beautiful I hope they find each other in their next lives as well and be happy together until the end this time