Dreams and Reality
The strange dream happened again.
Funny that she’d had the dreams shortly after the time that Sunset had asked her about dating another girl; that was…odd, as the girl in question not only didn’t exist, but was also stated to be the (non-existent) younger sister of her ex-boyfriend. Younger than her by at least a couple of years, and certainly not what she would consider girlfriend material – there was only one girl that fit her mind, in her opinion.
So when she woke up again after having the same recurring dream she’d had occasionally since that day last month, Compass Rose sat up and looked around in her room, the moonlight throwing odd-colored grayish white shapes through the window against the wall. Her head was a mess and right now she wasn’t sure what she wanted.
Part of her wanted to call her ex-boyfriend. Despite what she told everyone, she still loved Forward Pass. She’d broken up with him not because they didn’t belong together or the like, but because he’d made a stupid comment. Part of her wondered if they should get back together, especially with the rumors she’d heard that he was genuinely remorseful about making light of her admission of her feelings. Truth be told, she’d thought about it on more than one occasion, but it never went beyond that for one particular reason…
And that reason was Sunset, as she was part of the problem as well. The girl she’d been friends with as a child (and that had actually turned out to be Sunset’s similarly-named twin sister, oddly enough), only to go away for a few years and come back as the bad girl that had piqued certain desires in Rose’s mind. That had blossomed into outright love as Sunset had changed and become the girl everyone relied on. Unfortunately, getting into Sunset’s heart meant a locked struggle against the magenta-haired yandere that was unfortunately the niece of Rose’s bosses at the café. Just thinking about her made Rose’s blood boil.
And then there was this strange, fantasy girl that had been in her thoughts as of late. Rose knew she was a figment of her imagination, and yet all those dreams felt like they were memories, fragments of a time gone by, as weird as it seemed. But if that was true – and there was no way it could be – then her dreams were…
She shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about what that meant.
She looked at the clock, which read 1:30 in the morning. Thankfully, she didn’t have to work today, but going down to the County Fair to see Sunset was out of the question, mainly because that also meant dealing with the pink-haired problem child. So she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep.
No such luck.
Sitting up, she knew she couldn’t sleep now. She was wide awake and restless at that. If she was going to sleep, she was going to need to burn off this extra anxious energy. Part of her wanted to go wake up her brother and ask Vector Line if he wanted to watch some movies, but then she remembered that he was out of town this weekend with his girlfriend and had left her his car so she could get around. Part of her also thought about calling her parents back in the UK for advice but given the time difference there was no guarantee that they were at home. Plus, to be honest, she really didn’t feel like sitting at home in the empty house, now that she was awake.
She reached for her phone and started to tap out a text to her best friend, Scotch Bonnet, but then remembered that she had to work at her part-time job at the County Fair in the morning, so waking her up was probably a bad thing to do. So, like it or not, Rose was on her own for this one.
Fortunately for her, she thought, as she got out of bed, being up this early in the morning gave her an idea that she wanted to try, if for no other reason than just because she could.
The Meatery was the only round-the-clock diner that she knew about, at least around here. Nestled in Bella Vista, it was started by a pair of game hunters. The place had a weirdly rustic look to it, and the logo – a cartoonish smiling griffin, eating a cheeseburger – also made things look all the weirder. And that was during the day. At night, with the deer’s head and antlers on the wall, antique guns and other bric-a-brac decorating the wooden walls, well, she wondered if she should look for a guy in a hockey mask carrying a rusty, bloodied machete as well. Seriously, the place in the late hours just seriously was creepy as hell.
And as she sucked on the straw in her mouth, she had to sigh. Strange as hell or not, they made the best milkshakes in town, hands down. She’d been here a number of times with Scotch Bonnet and Tennis Match, her best friends – a wince passed through her as she recalled the tragic, unfair fate that had befallen Match – enjoying the drinks and onion rings (another one of the choice items here) and generally trying not to be creeped out by the décor.
But things were different now. Ever since Match’s death, there had been an uncomfortable rift between her and Scotch, and the gulf seemed larger every day. In many ways, the now-lost third member of their trio had been the glue of what kept them together, and now that she was gone, murdered by girls who were really no older than they were, Match’s loss had reduced the trinary to a binary that was falling by the wayside due to grief, life or something that Rose couldn’t put her finger on.
We really were so innocent back then, she thought mournfully. Just Scotch, Matchie and me, happy as larks and not realizing the dangers of the world. She sighed; she’d give anything to live back in the world of the past again if it meant her friends could be returned to her. But reality didn’t work like that, she knew, and there was nothing that could change that.
“Rose?”
She turned and looked with surprise: there, standing at the table, was Forward Pass. They’d been together for years, though strangely sometimes it felt as though they’d never been together, if that made sense: their relationship had fallen apart because she’d realized her feelings for Sunset and in a pique of jealousy or something, he’d made comments that had driven an irreparable divide between them. They’d been apart for close to a year now, and even after all that, she’d heard rumors that he hadn’t really gotten over her.
Well, that was fair enough, because truth be told, she hadn’t really gotten over him, either. She always found his smile infectious, always got lost when looking into his eyes, and missed the warm strength of his arms around her. They’d never slept together, but she’d been tempted to more than once and maybe if he hadn’t meant his crass remark about Sunset, she might have even taken him up on that.
That is, if that bitch Pinkie doesn’t stop trying to turn Sunny’s life into a nightmare, Rose inwardly seethed. She hated that girl, even if she liked said cunt’s aunt and uncle. Well, not their fault their niece was a freakish stalker nightmare twat, she reasoned.
“Yeah, it’s me, Ward,” she told him.
“What are you doing here?” he asked her.
She held up her drink. “The mint chocolate milkshake’s to die for,” she said with an awkward smile. “But I could ask you the same thing.”
He looked around and when the coast was clear, sat down in the seat next to her. “Honestly? Ditching Double Reverse,” he said with an awkward smile. “We just got done with our game against Bridgevale High a few hours ago and Dub’s here trying to get into Dance Squad’s pants.”
Rose glared at Forward with narrowed eyes. “Isn’t he dating Flying Colors?”
“Define ‘dating’,” Forward told her. “The sad fact is, he’s with Flying Colors because she dotes on him and he’s over there playing tonsil hockey with Dance Squad because she’s stupid, stacked and a bit on the slutty side.”
She took an angry sip of her milkshake – or at least she thought so. To him, it looked a bit childish, in that cute sort of way. “So is that what you jocks do?” she accused. “Have one girl that stands by you while you go play hide the football with the other?”
He clenched his hands in frustration, closed his eyes, then sighed. “You’re never going to forgive me for what I said, are you?”
“Hey, I let you sit here with me instead of telling you to take a hike, right?”
Before he could answer, the waitress showed up and because he didn’t want to be a bother, he placed a quick order for a cherry milkshake and fried pickles. She always wondered why the hell he liked the things, and when she once asked him about it he’d replied that it was something his parents always made, then made an off-hand remark about how he wasn’t aware they were any normal foodstuffs back in his parents’ native Mexico.
“You and those pickles again, I see,” she commented.
“And knowing you, you’ll steal half of them before I’m done even though you claim to hate pickles,” he told her.
“I do,” she replied, “but at least the buttermilk dressing they go with tastes okay.”
Once the waitress disappeared, the two former paramours looked at each other uneasily. Forward was the first to speak after several awkward seconds. “So…how are things going with Sunset?”
“I….” Rose gave him an awkward smile. “Great! Sunny and I are doing just fine, thanks.” In response to that, Forward merely looked at the girl he’d known forever until she wilted under that look. “Okay, we’re not doing so great. Unfortunately, I have to contend with a pink-haired menace who thinks that getting in the way of my romantic life is the best option.” With that, Rose went into a discussion with the heated rivalry she had with Pinkie Pie and how it was impacting her attempts to get closer to Sunset.
“Well, don’t look at me for romantic advice,” Forward said with a shrug. “I don’t think I could genuinely offer any. Besides, I didn’t even know that Pinkie Pie swung that way. Last I’d heard, she had a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, well, she should’ve stayed with him,” Rose growled. “Maybe she’d’ve been happier that way.” She then paused, realizing exactly what she said, and looked at her ex-boyfriend. “Ward…I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.”
“I….” Mercifully, before he could say anything else, his order showed up. As expected, she immediately stole a pickle from him, though it was more out of the need to not say anything that could make things worse between the two of them. Several minutes went by with him not saying anything, just eating and with Rose feeling that every bit of taxidermy in the restaurant was staring at her with accusing eyes, glances that spoke of just how badly she’d screwed things up and how much she was paying for it.
“Ward? Say something? Please?” she asked him.
“What’s there to say?” he grunted, not so much in anger as resignation. “You were right. I fucked up, and I’m paying for it.” Unable to finish his food anymore, he got up from the table and added, “I’ll pay for everything, so don’t worry about it. You have a good night, Rose.”
She reached out for him. “Ward, please, I didn’t mean—” As she touched him, she realized he’d stopped.
“Oh, son of a bitch,” he groaned. “Dub, you fucktard.” At that pronouncement, Rose looked over to where the other teens had been and saw an empty booth. Clearly either forgetting about him or just not caring, Double Reverse and Dance Squad had taken off, leaving Forward high and dry.
“Ward, please, just have a seat and finish eating, okay?” she told him. “I have my brother’s car and I can give you a lift home. Just…sit, okay?”
“Fine,” he grumbled, taking a seat once more. With that, an uneasy silence came between the two once more, punctuated only by the occasional slurping from straws and chewing on fried pickles.
“You think you know about life
You think you know about love
But when you put your hands inside me
It doesn’t even feel like I’m being touched, and
You were the boy I wanted to cry with,
You were the boy I wanted to die with”
The song droned on as they pulled up in front of Forward’s house. The house was dark and as they pulled up, Ward looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“Well, we’re here,” Rose said, looking at the unusually darkened house. Then again, it was nearly three in the morning. “Huh, they didn’t even leave the porch light on.”
“That’s, uh, my fault; my parents have been out of town for the past few weeks, so it’s just me by myself.” He leaned back in the seat. “You know how my parents have thought about having a second kid, right?”
“Yeah. Sometimes I think they thought I’d be it,” she said with a half-joke, then winced at yet another reminder of their ended relationship. That was quickly followed by a flash in the mind of that purple-haired girl from her dreams earlier. Huh?
To his credit, Forward let her comment go. “Well, they’re currently in Mexico signing adoption papers for another kid.” Forward pulled out his phone and showed a picture of a smiling little girl with green hair, tan skin and orange eyes. “Her name is Cinnamon Churro and she’s the cutest little thing, so my parents say.”
Rose took the phone. “She does look cute. Looking forward to being an older brother?”
“Yeah. You know me, always been an only child, so….” He shrugged.
“Well, speaking from being a kid sister, having an older brother is a great thing,” she yawned.
He noted that. “C’mon in – I’ll get you some coffee before you go.”
“No, that’s not really necessary, Ward,” she protested.
“Bullshit. I saw that yawn, and I’m not going to let you drive into a ditch because you closed your eyes at the wrong time.”
“I won’t do that,” she insisted.
“Yes you will – I still remember that the fastest way to your place is through Three Heroes Parkside Drive, and that place gets foggy as hell at night this time of year. It’s a mess to drive even during the best of conditions and not while you’re half-asleep.”
Rose made to protest again, but then a second yawn uttered from her mouth. She blushed and said, “Your mom still get that cinnamon mocha coffee?”
“Yup,” he said with a grin as she locked the car and he went to the door to open it.
A few minutes later, they sat in his kitchen, drinking coffee. Despite the caffeine injection, she still felt as though she was losing it. For his part, Ward looked just as tired. Stifling another yawn, she asked, “So how are things going with you, date wise? I know that Suede Jacket and Miniskirt were both interested in you.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he admitted. “And to be honest, I could probably have either of them within an instant.” He sighed and then looked her straight in the eyes. “But they’re not you, Rose. And if I were with them, well…I’d feel like I was cheating.”
“Why would you? We’re not dating anymore.”
“Rose, you don’t get it, do you? I don’t want anyone else! For fuck’s sake, I could have the entire cheerleading squad throw themselves at me and it wouldn’t matter, okay? You and I – we were together since Eighth Grade, and you threw us away because of a stupid comment I made! Yes, I shouldn’t have made it! Yes, I should have been more sensitive to your feelings! But what about mine? Don’t my feelings count for anything?” He leaned against the table, looking at her, his face a mixture of anger and hurt. “You honestly can’t sit there and say that you don’t feel anything, do you? That you’ve stopped loving me?”
She looked at him and was going to say the obvious: Yes. But it wasn’t just that simple, was it? He was right – they had been together forever, and while she’d been hurt by what he said, she hadn’t made it any easier by admitting how she felt about Sunset. Furthermore, her fights with Pinkie – as justified as they were; that girl had some serious obsession issues! – probably hurt Forward every time he saw it. And lastly, if she were to tell him yes, she knew the truth: it would be a lie.
Not sure of her own self, she suddenly found the table surface very interesting to look at as she said sotto voce, “No.”
Endless minutes peeled away from the clock in silence, until the sound of steady staccato sounded from outside. Both of them looked out the window to see silvery lines come down, heavy and constant.
“Well, that settles it: I can’t let you go out there like this,” he told her. “You know where the guest room is.”
“But I—”
“Rose, please don’t argue. I know what you’re going to say: that it probably isn’t a good idea to stay over at a guy’s place when his parents aren’t home. But we’ve been alone before, and you know I’m not going to do anything. Plus, the door locks, if you don’t trust me.”
She gave him a hurt look; not because she’d been hurt herself, but because of the shamed look. Yes, they’d been alone plenty of times, and there had been times when they could have easily done something, but he’d always been a gentleman about things. And now that they weren’t together, why would it be any different?
“Tell you what: I’ll get up in the morning and make you your favorite breakfast,” he said with a grin. “I haven’t forgotten about that.”
Despite everything, she laughed. “You don’t know how to cook, Ward.”
“And yet you ate it.”
She rolled her eyes. Yes, I did – but only because…. She sighed inwardly; she ate it because she loved him and she didn’t want to tell him how God awful his attempt at “cooking” was. “Okay, you win – but only if I make breakfast.”
“Deal,” he said, sounding somewhat relieved.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“No, but if I have one more breakfast consisting of microwaved Hot Pockets, I’m probably going to go nuts.”
After sending her brother a quick text – ever since the murders this past summer, Vector had become somewhat more protective of her than usual – she climbed into the familiar guest bed. She’d slept in the bed more than once, but that was usually when she stayed over when Forward’s parents were home. Still, it felt comfortable, and in a way, perfectly natural, and with that, she didn’t have much problem falling asleep.
“Rose?”
Rose looked around, seeing the front of Canterlot High. She was still in her underwear, having slipped out of her clothing so she could get some sleep in the guest bed, and so she knew this was just a dream – a lucid dream. Furthermore, there was nobody around, so she didn’t have anyone to look at her – even if it was a dream, that would still be embarrassing.
Okay, if Sunny looked at me, it wouldn’t be that embarrassing, she admitted to herself.
“Rose?”
She heard the voice, and it sounded like no one she knew. Of course, it was a dream, so it was all just a part of REM, of her mind sorting out the day’s events, and truth be told, they had already been not normal for her.
She then felt the tap on her right arm, and as she turned, she felt herself kissed. Sensually, lovingly, and the sensation of someone pulling her close. Without even thinking twice, she joined in on it. She could sense something feminine about the lips, and it had to be Sunset. Even a dream Sunset was better than nothing, right?
As the kiss broke, she heard the voice say breathlessly, “Wow – you never did that to me when I was alive.”
Rose’s eyes widened. Was she kissing Tennis Match? She blushed furiously – for one, she never thought of Match like that; they’d been friends forever and that had never come into her mind. Plus, Match had a boyfriend!
The person laughed and Rose found herself looking into the eyes of a girl she’d never seen before, one with lilac eyes, framed within a beautiful tan face. Burgundy locks fell down around her, and there was something that stirred within Rose, which made her blush all the harder for it. Then she realized she was nearly naked, and dream or not, this was a stranger. Screaming, she dived for the nearby bushes.
The girl laughed. “You were always the shy one. Why was I the bolder one? I was the younger one, for crying out loud!”
“Who…who are you?” Rose called out from behind the bushes. Suddenly this didn’t seem so lucid anymore.
A sad look came over the girl’s face. “I knew this was going to happen, but…it still hurts. Hold on a second.” The girl raised her hand, and strange circles of lavender light encircled them, with unusual script dancing between the layers of the circle. Rose suddenly felt warm light encircle her, and a second later, she was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.
“You can come out now; your dignity is ensured,” the stranger told her, though she added, “though I kinda liked the view, to be honest.”
Rose stared at herself. Isn’t this a dream? she thought to herself, now completely confused.
“It’s a dream,” the stranger assured her. “Only it’s not, too. It’s…complicated. And we don’t have much time. I wish we did. Maybe, maybe if things had gone right, we would have. I’ve seen other places, you know. Places where we were happy together. Places where we spent a lifetime together. And now?” The look in the stranger’s eyes looked infinitely sad.
“Do I know you?” Rose asked. To a degree, she did: it was the girl from her recurring dreams this past month. The fantasy girl she didn’t know and wasn’t sure why she was dreaming about. But until this point, she was sure that the girl was probably a picture she saw once somewhere, and mentally tied to Forward. But now? She wasn’t as sure about that.
“You did,” the girl told her. “I used to be your girlfriend in a time that never existed…but you obviously don’t remember that. I’m not going to go into a long story that would probably give you a headache. Let’s just say that I existed once, something happened, and I don’t exist anymore – never did, in a sense. But when I did, you were my girlfriend, and we were an item…even if my big brother wasn’t happy about that.”
Something jabbed Rose’s memory like a spike in the head, and she suddenly remembered last month, when Sunset was asking her about a girl that didn’t exist, a girl that was supposedly Forward’s kid sister and Rose’s girlfriend. Rose had told Sunset everything she knew – or rather, didn’t know – about that girl.
Despite everything, a word came with the unusual clarity, as if something was clawing from the beyond only to insert itself into her brain like a coin dumped into an arcade game.
“Boysenberry? Berry?” Rose spoke, not sure if she was saying the right words.
To her surprise, the girl started crying tears of joy. “You remembered,” she said softly and gently. “Despite everything, you remember.”
“I…didn’t. I…shouldn’t?” Rose stated, confused once more.
“Oh, trust me, after this is all over and done with, you’ll probably forget about it, like most people do with dreams,” Berry admitted. “Not all of us get to be lucky enough to be in the circle of friends of a goddess, or something like that. I’m a bit unclear on the details myself, given that I don’t exist.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yeah. My mentor tells me that’s the first step to wisdom,” Berry said with a sad laugh.
A blank look came over Rose as she suddenly remembered everything. Their relationship, the arguments with Forward (who, strangely enough, wasn’t her boyfriend and was actually unhappy about her relationship with Berry). That she hadn’t been as popular at school as she was, and that if anything, she filled the niche now filled by some girl named Wallflower who Rose barely recalled meeting once. So much of it filled her mind, thoughts and memories of a time that didn’t exist and yet somehow did, and the girl couldn’t wrap her mind around it. She fell to her knees, buffeted by the mental onslaught, and sobbed a whimper of pain as the maelstrom of realities warred within her mind.
She felt Berry’s hand on her shoulder and things were suddenly clear. “You don’t have the capacity to remember both timelines. There’s precious few who do,” the girl told her. “And it’s not going to matter once you wake up, anyway – which will be in a few hours. So we have to talk fast.”
“We do?”
Berry nodded. “My mentor pulled a few strings – more than a few, actually – to get this moment to coalesce. After that, probably never going to happen again. Probably for the best, I guess. So, I’m going to be blunt: go back to Ward. Give up Sunny.”
“But why? For starters, he hated our relationship, if these memories are true! And even so, you want me to date your brother?”
“You two grew up together! Why not?”
“But if that’s the case, that’s the result of the new reality, not the one you lived in! That doesn’t make sense!” She looked into the eyes of the girl she dated once upon a non-time. “None of this does.”
Berry smiled. “It does. You were always meant to be a part of my family, Rose. In the old time, we were probably going to get married. In the new one, it’s clear that you and Ward do. Things happen for a reason, and I guess this is one of them. But you can’t do that if you keep chasing Sunset.”
“But what about my feelings?” Rose asked. “What about my own life! You’re making it sound like I have no agency or choice in all this!”
“Rose, sweetie, it’s not like we’re characters in a story. Well, we are, but…so is everyone else.” She put up her hand and magic flared within it; above, billions of small bubbles appeared and within those bubbles were faces of people she both knew and didn’t. “Everyone has a story, a role to play in the grand scheme of things. It’s like that song my brother likes so much: ‘All the world’s indeed a stage, and we are merely players – performers and portrayers.’” She smiled. “You showed your agency and choice by leaving him when he made that stupid comment. But even still, you love him, right?”
Rose nodded. “I shouldn’t. If what you’re saying is true, I shouldn’t. But I do. I love Sunny, but I also love Ward.”
“Because you were meant to love someone in my family and continue our family line. There’s a reason for that. I don’t know what it is and I don’t know why. But you were meant to bear Ward’s child, no matter what.” Rose looked at Berry with wide eyes, and the younger girl laughed. “C’mon! We’re both girls! How’d you think we were going to be parents? I mean, adoption’s great, really, but you’ve always wanted kids of your own – you even told me as much.”
Rose blushed; she did. “And so I just forget about you?”
“You can’t forget about someone who didn’t exist.”
“You know what I mean!”
Berry reached over and caressed Rose’s cheek. “I do. But somewhere, maybe, our story is still being told. Maybe somewhere you and I get our happily ever after. And I’m sure even in this time, we…well, at least you…get our happy endings. I’m sure I will, too. My mentor is really upset about what happened. But Sunset, as hot as she is, was never meant to be yours, Rose. You have someone who loves you, even if he made a mistake. And trust me, he’ll make many more – he is my brother, after all.” Berry pulled Rose back to her feet. “Look, ultimately you’ll make your choice – that’s your agency. But destiny exists…it’s just not pre-destiny.”
Berry went and kissed her. “But no matter what, Rose, I’ll always love you. Even if you don’t remember me, I’ll remember you.”
And then Rose opened her eyes as her alarm went off. Ugh, she groaned, wiping her eyes. I swear I feel like I didn’t get any sleep! She stretched, remembering that she was in her ex-boyfriend’s home and that she’d offered to make breakfast for him.
My “ex” boyfriend, she mused to herself. How long was she going to hold him to a mistake he’d made that he didn’t mean? How long was she going to deny her own feelings about him still? She knew she loved Sunset, but….
Forward came into the kitchen, yawning. “I swear, I need some coffee,” he said, stumbling in like a zombie. Then the smell hit him – the smell of real food.
“Hi,” Rose said as she stood over the stove, making omelets. “Sleep well?”
He shook his head as he shuffled over to the coffeemaker. “No. Weird ass dream.” He thought about it, rattling the idea around in his head. “Bunch of weird, horse-like creatures telling me that I had to make you happy.”
“Weird horse-like creatures?”
“Well, some of them were horses, but really small, maybe about the size of a large dog,” he told her. “I’d call them ponies, but obviously they looked more like some demented version of that kid’s show – Filly something or other. And they weren’t all horses. Some of them were fantasy creatures, like pegasuses and unicorns.”
“Pegasi,” Rose corrected. “Trust me, I was born in England, so I know my fantasy characters. I think it’s Crown Law or something.” She slid the first omelet onto a plate as he poured himself a mug, then started working on the second one. “But they were telling you that you had to make me happy?”
“Yeah. Like I’d be disappointing someone if I didn’t. I know, sounds funny, huh?”
“The mind works in weird ways, Ward, you know that.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a football player, so I’ll just write it up to a concussion and call it that,” he said with an awkward chuckle. Seeing the lack of a smile on her face, he sighed and took a drink from his coffee. “Look, Rose…I honestly didn’t sleep much last night, because I had to do a lot of thinking about things.” Another sip to clear his mind. “About us.”
“I figured that.” She finished up her omelet and sat down at the table, where she’d already poured herself a coffee. “Same here.”
“And?”
She took a bite of her omelet. For a strange second, she thought she tasted fruit…berries? But then the sensation went away. “I’m not going to lie. I’m bisexual, I realize that. I’m in love with Sunset, and that’s not going to change.” She saw the look of heartbreak on his face, and in that moment, she knew her choice was made.
“But,” she added, “I also know she’s not in love with me. As much as it hurts, she only sees me as a friend, and that’s probably all I will ever be to her.”
“I’m sorry,” he said to her in a not-entirely-convincing voice.
“Thanks. But it’s more than just that. Truthfully, she’s not the only one I love. And I’ve been absolutely horrible to the other person I care about.” At that, Forward looked up at her with desperate hope in his eyes, and she looked at them in return. “And for that, I’m sorry, Ward. I don’t know if I deserve your forgiveness – or love – for how I’ve treated you this past year.”
“I don’t care about that,” he told her. “But does that mean…?”
“Can we start over?” she asked him. “I think we should. Take it easy and slow. But you have to understand: I’m always going to be attracted to girls. There’s a chance I might find one and she might be Ms. Right instead of you, Ward. I don’t want to sound cruel or wanton, but….”
He reached over and took her hand in his. “I’ll take that challenge,” he told her. “I’ve never loved anyone other than you, Rose. I don’t think I ever will.”
“Why?” she asked him. “You could have just given up. You could have, by your own words, dated anyone. Why me?”
He chuckled again, but there was a smile in his eyes. “Because, as strange as it sounds, it has to be you. Like there’s something inside of me that says that you and I were meant to be together. I know that sounds weird, but somehow, when I first realized that I wanted to be more than just friends with you, that I wasn’t going to go anywhere else. Like you were always going to be the one.”
She looked at him and believed it. Without even thinking about it, she leaned over the table.
So did he.
His lips tasted like coffee, that boysenberry-flavored coffee that he liked, as much as she thought it was weird. But for some reason?
It felt right.
Standing outside, watching from under the shade of the pine tree she used to love sitting under, Boysenberry sighed. It was over. The last link was severed, the last tie was broken. “I guess this is it, then,” she said sadly.
“It is,” a new voice agreed. “It had to be done, and I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“Bonds such as the one that you have with her…they create a weakness in the fabric of timespace,” the other person told her. “That’s dangerous and causes things that aren’t exactly good for humanity. But healing personal rifts also heals those kinds of rifts as well.”
“I wish I could have been with her,” Berry mourned.
“I wish you could have as well. But that’s beyond even my power.” Seeing the look in Berry’s eyes, the speaker added, “Oh, this has happened before. It will probably happen again. And from what I understand, usually those affected are offered the chance to forget when the pain becomes unbearable.”
The young woman looked at her reflection in the glass. She was thirteen a reality ago. Now, she was in her early twenties, and a stunner – the new body that had been created for her as a consolation prize for not existing in this reality anymore. She wasn’t Boysenberry anymore, not really; that said, she would always be herself, though, even if the identification she carried didn’t say that. And she would always love Compass Rose, no matter what.
Berry looked at her mentor. “Does anyone ever choose to forget? To move on, as if it never happened?”
A beautiful woman with long, blood-red hair and sparkling blue eyes looked at her, and a ghost of a smile came onto her lips. “No,” Faust said fondly. “No one – or nopony – forgets. No one.” With that, she started to walk away from the house. “Let’s go. I have a lot to teach you still, and you have a ways to go on your new path. And we don’t have much time.”
Berry took one last look at the girl she loved, and the brother she adored, then turned away. She would never forget them, even if she would never see them again.
And somehow, that made all the difference.
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Someone read and loved the same Astro City story as I did. <3
Well done.
I do.
Maybe....