I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

The wind passes between us, reminding us of its existence. It travels
from the first floor all the way up to here where we touch the sky.
Through its carry, I feel every person in the hospital’s walls, and I
remember that even if I will never be alone, “You know that you’re
the only life I ever needed.”
Hikari’s eyes well, the yellow glossing like suns reflecting the moon.
She touches the tattoo on my chest.
“If what you say is true, then no matter how many lives I lead, you’ll
lose me every time.”
“Yes,” I say, crying with her, moving aside her collar to catch the
arrowhead edges of her half sun. “But it also means that I will always
find you first.”
Two lonely souls across different boundaries sharing a single
universe cannot be kept apart by anything. They cannot be stolen
from each other. And as long as I am here, I will never break my
promise again.
“All my tomorrows are yours, Hikari,” I say, our noses brushing, the
salt of our goodbye meeting in a stream.
Her breath hitches against my lips. Tucking her hair behind her ears,
I kiss her, every kiss we’ve ever shared held in it. I’ve had my life
with her, and I could not be more grateful for the time we were given.
It stands behind me, ready to lead my body away as the wish that
Hikari and I could become one comes apart at the seams.
“Will you come back, my love?” I ask. “When you’ve lived this life
and had your loves, and you’re ready, will you come back to me one
last time?”
I slip a torn piece of paper into her hand, stolen stationery. I bared
my heart on the night we first kissed in the old cardiology wing. On it,
another dream sits, ready for the taking, another promise. Hikari
reads the words as her tears trickle onto their page. One last time,