Divine Warriors - Irene the Matron

Scene 10: Neverending Life (POV: Irene)

90 Years Later

Menphia laid on the bed, her head heavy yet weightless at the same time. Her eyes squinted shut and her body shivered in pain.

"Menphia!" I tried to call out gently. Her hand twitched at the sound of my voice.

Tears threatened to fall from my eyes as I saw my friend struggling in pain.

She started to speak. "I'm sorry for leaving you Irene..." Her words were barely a whisper.

I shook my head in disbelief. "No, you aren't leaving me Menphia. These relics make you immortal."

Menphia smiled weakly, her normal fire gone. "I'll come back Irene. Once I've had my rest. These wounds are deep, and I want a break from this cruel world."

I felt a tear drip down my face. "Menphia, let me come with you... please!"

But she put a finger to her mouth and said, "Shh. You are needed in this world Irene. And it is my time to go, not yours."

Promise me Irene. You are going to have to experience this with all the other Divine Warriors. Promise me that you will not make such a fuss over them as you did over me."

I looked into her dark brown warm eyes.

Finally I spoke. "I can't promise that Menphia..."

Menphia's eyes widened slightly but I continued.

"If all my friends are going to leave me, what's the point in living anymore?" My voice was quiet and hopeless.

"No! Irene. The world needs you."

I gazed at Menphia, her face was sweating and her hand was clenched. Her face was still as young as the first time we met. A price of immortality.

I could tell she was in pain, yet she was still trying to help me. I didn't deserve her as a friend.

"I don't want the world to need me. I want a day, a month, where I don't have to save the world. I want a break. It's too many expectations." Words spilled out of my mouth. I couldn't stop.

Menphia didn't say anything.

I lowered my head.

"Menphia, I love you. Please, please don't leave me. I can connect to you. I trust you."

My tears were pouring now. They dropped onto Menphia's bare arm and she smiled.

"Irene, believe in yourself. You are the light to everyone's future. I'm so glad I have met you, honored that you would consider me so dearly.

And remember that I am never going to leave you."

I could hardly breathe, my chest was in pain.

Emotion wedged into my heart, stronger than ever before.

Menphia's brown hair stilled as she rested her head against the pillow, never to move again for Yuna knows how long.

I also didn't speak for the longest time. I just laid against her bed, my vision blurry, my fingers touching her soft hand, until it began to shimmer.

With the sounds of birds surrounding in the air, her body started to dissolve into dust. One by one, her physical being peeled into magical sparks.

Shining dust that floated through my fingers as they reached for the sky.

The sky, a place where a soul as wild as Menphia's could run.

I watched her spirit run up to the sun, and thought about what she had said to me right before she had disappeared.

And remember that I am never going to leave you.

I thought about this for a long time, and then I finally whispered, "Okay."

I'll never say goodbye."