Blue Rose

Chapter Two: Together

And yet Rose surprises me again.

She comes.

I can't believe it – miracles don't happen... or at least not to me... and yet, she is there for me the day after our reunion.

And the next one.

And another one.

She comes every day.

Each of our meetings is a bit different from the last. Sometimes we walk together, side by side, through the lesser known streets of Paris, away from prying eyes; sometimes I simply watch from afar as Rose sells flowers to passers-by, bidding goodbye to each one of them with a warm smile; sometimes we just sit together in this - incomprehensible as it is - peculiarly comfortable silence, and sometimes... sometimes I confess to her.

I confess everything. Every crime, every lie, every wrongdoing that I have done or of which has been done to me. I tell her everything – without concealment, without half-truths, without mitigating anything. Regardless, Rose always stays at my side. No matter what monstrosities I say, she never runs away, she doesn't even flinch, nor does she push me to continue when I finally fall silent. She doesn't demand anything, she doesn't judge... she just... she's simply there, she listens to what I am saying, and when I can no longer find words, she smiles- despite the sadness I see in her eyes- as if trying to assure me that nothing has changed... that she hasn't changed her mind about me.

This smile is an invariable element of our meetings. I still can't understand... why would anyone smile for me?

But this isn't everything. I am in a terrible condition, mentally and physically, and Rose can see it. So, for each subsequent meeting, she starts to bring with her some food to share with me. She never fails to do this, even if most of the time it's not much that she can give. Usually, I manage to eat at least some of what she brings with her. For the first time in two years I start to eat regularly.

None of this makes sense to me. Why is she doing all of this? Why is she so different from everyone else? Why does she care for the beast? However, the prospect of loneliness is far too frightening for me to begin to question this, and so, every time I want to ask about it, the words die on my lips before I can say them.

Every day I count down the hours and seconds to the next meeting. It's the only thing I wait for, the only thing I have left... And truth to be told, it's the only thing that keeps me alive. In every sense of these words.

However, one day it is different.

Rose doesn't show up at the agreed time.

- - - X - - -

I'm standing alone on the bridge, but the girl with violet eyes does not appear.

So, I'm waiting.

It's getting later and later. The sound of bells announce each next, passing hour. The last passers-by slowly head towards their homes. The sky darkens, the streets slowly submerge into darkness. Cool, evening air begins to attack my body fiercely.

But I'm still waiting.

With each passing moment, an invisible noose tightens on my neck. I feel like I'm suffocating, I can't catch my breath. My heart beats wildly, and my hands are getting numb from the cold.

But I'm still waiting.

I have to.

Because she will be here.

She will come.

I can't, I won't believe otherwise.

Because it would mean that the only one, tiny miracle which was granted to me, has been taken away; that the last, tiny spark in the darkness has gone out...