Setting Suns | A Coania Short Story

Prologue

Saudade

(n.) A feeling of longing for the love that remains even after someone is gone.

"When you have lost everything in your life, where would you find the will to carry on?" A boy asked, his feet kicking over the water of the lake as he sat on top of a dock.

The cold breeze that came with the autumn season flowed through his hair and caused a few of the dark strands to stand up. The night had settled above him a few hours ago, leaving nothing but the moon and a dimly-lit lantern to be his only source of light.

The girl on his right turned her head and looked at him for a second. "Probably in myself." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

Her fingers played with the strands of her long blonde hair, allowing her feet to kick over the waters and create small ripples through the lake.

It was a quiet evening in the forests of Ninjago. Just a few miles away from the lively city where the people celebrated the season with a fall-themed festival. And while some people passed on cups of pumpkin-spice lattes or hot chocolate, two teenagers chose to distance themselves from civilization.

The leaves of different shades of orange fell from the trees around them. Some cracked and broke after slight contact with the ground while others fell into the lake.

The boy hummed at the answer. He expected the response, given her optimism, he knew she would try and drag him back to the right direction. Of course, he wasn't exactly the kind of person to only have one question.

"How can you find that in yourself when you don't have anything anymore?" He asked again, not even sparing her a glance.

"You're not exactly left with nothing, you know? You have your life and you're here right now. If you ask me, I think that's much more important than anything you lost or could lose."

He didn't have to turn his head to know that she was wearing a proud smile on her face as she spoke. Instead, he froze. The question had presented itself plenty of times throughout his life and no one, not even himself, had the right answer to it.

But somehow, she did.

She always did.

The girl noticed his silence and took in the way his whole body went rigid and his legs froze above the water he was kicking a few seconds ago. However, she couldn't help the rush of pride the moment brought.

No one was better at making him speechless than her.

"What's the point of being alive when you have no one to share it with? When you feel empty and alone?"

His mind was racing, flashing different memories from his once happy life until his vision was clouded with the pool of hot tears that gathered on the edge of his eyes. The girl went quiet for a moment and he understood.

He wouldn't blame her if she couldn't answer because he didn't have one either.

"The thing is, you're never truly alone. You have me."

"Yeah, but...I could lose you too." Again. He meant to add but held himself back.

This time, he took a quick peek of her through the corners of his eyes. The boy shook his head, already feeling the regret make its way to his heart. He was always one to avoid getting too attached to certain things. They wouldn't last anyways.

At least, that's what he's learned in his lifetime.

She tried to catch his eyes but he looked away before she even caught a glimpse of his face. It had been a while since she last saw his features, let alone his entire self, and the curiosity of what time had done to him was itching at her to move forward and look at him for herself.