卒業

[Dogs231]

Noah remained in the abyss for what felt like an eternity. The screech of the wind was silent in his ears, the growing chill a hazy afterthought. The sky was still blue, but the clouds were pink and burnt-orange.

Eventually, the world came back into focus; the tears on the fabric, the cracks in the ground, the dried crust on his shirt. Noah wiped his face with his sleeves. He didn't have any tears to cry, not anymore.

It took him a few moments to stand, his balance uncertain, his legs filled with pins and needles. He took a single step, and they nearly buckled beneath him, but he pressed on.

He turned back to Sayuna and pulled his hat down lower on his face as if trying to conceal it from her.

"I..."

He halted.

"I can't leave her here," he said, his voice broken and faded, "she doesn't deserve that."

There was a moment of silent hesitance, then an affirmation.

"...I'll find a place for her to rest."

He lifted her, his legs weak, his eyes red and stinging. He took one painful step, then more, and left the guardhouse. His eyes fixed on the horizon, towards the flat expanse that stood before him.

He wouldn't stop until he forgot how much it hurt.

NOAH DAVIS: CONTINUED IN "Star in the Dust"