Shatter

Chapter 21: Us

Us.
It was always like that.
Luna and I.
Friends. 

But everything changed when she left. 

I had no friends. 

I was always lonely before Luna and I became extremely close friends. There was no one I could share my depression with, my thoughts with, and my feelings with. It was always just... me. 

My name is Zephyr.

I lived in Aeluin. 

I am a healer. 

Luna and I, our parents were friends from the start. But Luna and I never spent time with each other until seven years old. We always just glanced at each other, occasionally forcing a smile to be polite. 

She left everyone at eleven. My family mourned when we heard that the machine for Luna's family had malfunctioned in the journey to go to another universe. I never recovered. 

I remembered it very clearly.

~

"Goodbye," I said, cheerfully. Luna grinned at me.

"I'll tell you all about what happens in the machine," she said, brightly. Luna pressed a blue stone into my palm. "Just in case I don't make it," she whispered.  

Then, they left. 

The next morning, it was on the radio. 

"Family does not make it. The setting of the mother, father, and daughter unknown. A moment of silence, please." 

~

I couldn't describe how many tears I shed that day. I kept the blue stone under my pillow, remembering that she would be there, somewhere. 

But then, Luna was there, in front of my eyes, as her fourteen year old self. Perfectly unharmed. But she was broken, inside, and I could tell. Her face was hurt. Her shoulders curled around her chest. 

She ran towards me, hesitant to hug. It had been four years. It was going to be awkward. I thought she was dead. 

Carmen, she mouthed to an invisible person. Who was that?

"You okay?" I asked, and in that instant, my voice cracked. It was as if I had made Luna live again, because she ran and collapsed. I tried to regain my balance as I hugged her. 

"No, not at all," Luna whispered. "My friend just died." 

I removed her arms from mine, awkwardly. She jerked back as if I had just slapped her. 

We were older. 

What would it look like?

People would assume it was love, instead of friendship. 

Luna took a shaky breath. "Let's go inside," I murmured, and helped her inside the house of my family. 

"Luna!" my mother greeted, suddenly standing up, rapidly. "It's so nice to see you!" 

Luna nodded. 

"Poor girl," my father murmured. "She should get some sleep." 

"She can sleep in Zephyr's room," my mother said. 

"Um, mother..." I said. "She's fourteen, and I'm sixteen...."

"So?" my father asked, glaring daggers at me. "It's Luna." 

"Alright," I said, stretching out the word. 

~

 "So, what happened in these four-ish-five years?" I asked. 

Luna was lying on the bed my mother had made for her, her back facing me. 

"Too much," she said, shakily. She rolled over. "Zeph, I have... a question." 

"Yeah?"

"Are we still friends? Or are we just strangers, now?" She rolled back so her back faced me again. 

"Luna..." 

"Zeph, it's been around four or five years. It's okay if you say we're strangers." Luna said, and under her breath, added, "'Cause it sure feels like it." 

There goes our friendship, I thought, sadly. This is why friends aren't always forever. 

"Friends," I said. But I had hesitated for a moment. And a hesitation meant a lot to Luna. 

After a long silence, she said, "Good night, Zephyr." 

I walked out of the room. 

I wasn't sleeping, not that night.