ACCEPTING FATE

ZENITH FORESTS

3 MONTHS LATER

9:12 am

The days went as normal as it could be defined, now everyone knew everybody's accounts and everybody felt sympathy for everyone. Except for the newlywed husband and wife who didn't lose anything much except for the trains for whom they had tickets.

And slowly everyone had accepted their loss since they knew there was nothing they could do about it except move on. Humour started to build up and everyone felt like being home.

Aurora dismissed any fact which would ruin her mood, she too had learned to accept fate just like everyone else did, Daisy loved her and they would sit under the same tree they met and chat for all day long.

Lily took care of Aura and Daisy as her own daughters and she felt it necessary to move on too, even though she knew no one could replace her daughter.

Kazuo found interest in gathering firewood and finding food for the camp with the rest of the boys of his age.

And this seemed to be their lives from now on, to live without any electronic products and network connection or school, everything seemed so unimportant when all their lives were at stake.

They had formed a committee within the few hundreds who survived to maintain law and order among themselves and Kazuo and Lily had chosen to be the food storage and maintenance and others had similar things related to survival.

10:00 AM

"Kazuo" Aura tried to talk to him in the room where Lily and Daisy also lived with them, and so it was hard to find time alone with Kaz since Daisy always stuck on to Aura.

"Hmm?" Kaz replied less to her in the moments they were alone, fearing he would blurt out whatever he felt for her.

"I think I love you, I don't know when this all started, I started loving you from the day you handed me the rose you grew when I was 5, I loved it when you used to babysit me, I loved everything of you, and one day I realised it wasn't any kind of normal affection, I feel something really good towards you, a pull, something I can't define, I've been showing whatever I feel for you all these 3 months, do you like me the same way?"

Aura confessed the words she had been hiding for the past 3 months since the blast, she had been waiting for the right time to say this but nothing seemed to be the best timing for now. she spilt the beans

"You're too immature and young for this and I think this is just a teenage infatuation " that was all Kaz could say. He had imagined the same word from her mouth millions of times, but he controlled himself, he knew this wasn't right.

"So does that mean you're interested?" she asked him, hoping he'd at least accept her when she gets older.

"I never meant that you heard me" he couldn't lie to her about what he felt for her, so he decided to hide that.

Aura looked crestfallen at the words he had inflicted on her.

Kaz now looked her into her eyes which held her tears back and looked like a red sunset with the black sun . he cupped her cheeks and smiled at her.

"That doesn't change anything between us Aura, I care for you, I adore you, you are the only family I have left, I'd do anything for you" he saw that delight in her face that each and every word of his had done and felt satisfied.

"But love? couples? I have no idea how I would work out that way, please don't take that conversation again" even though he was desperate to have her that way, he knew it wasn't the right age to accept her like that, it would mean he was taking advantage of her infatuation towards him, he wanted her to be mature enough to understand and choose him.

She didn't want to discuss more, she left the cottage in a huff and she looked back at the cottage that they had so much fun building.

*flashback*

"Don't throw pieces at me Kazie" daisy shouted as she ran around the unbuilt cottage holding her skirts up and running to escape the pieces that Kaz was throwing at her, laughing.

"Could you girls help me tie the knots of the hay?" Lily smiled for the first time in two weeks and Aura rushed to help in and Kaz, who didn't notice that Aura was in the other direction running towards lily slumped at her with a great force and he fell on her

she felt his warm accidental embrace to be so good to even believe whatever she felt, he stood up after a few seconds of awkward glances and pulled her up holding her hand, Aura blushed and ran away giggling which he pretended to not notice and he himself blushed, at the thought of her holding his hands.

That seemed a long while ago.

7:00 PM

she walked to the campfire where some more people were sitting and here there was an unspoken rule, anyone could socialise with anyone.

She smiled at the people around her and her glace suddenly shifted to a guy in a blue sweatshirt and khaki pants, with brown eyes and hazel hair, and with dreamy dimples. He was glimpsing at her since she started walking towards them.

"I'm Qwezyl," he told her, even without her offering him a question about it.

"I'm Aurora" she smiled at him, in normal situations she wondered how many girlfriends he would've had.

She giggled at that thought.

"Huh?" he asked her

"Nothing, how old are you," she asked him.

"I'm 16" he laughed and she knew he looked so, with only a small amount of beard which had only started developing.

Everyone had works to do, while she sat chatting with him under the moonlight with this dreamy new guy she had just met, she wondered whether she is attracted towards him, the answer was yes, even if not as much as she felt the pull towards Kaz, she definitely felt something for Qwezyl.

"You talk so sweet" he looked down and shook his head chuckling.

She laughed.

"I've never seen a girl like you" he looked into her eyes and he admitted.

"Woah, slow down, we've just met" she admired how he described her and her ways, but deep inside she wished for Kazuo to say these things about her and she knew that wasn't gonna happen after the encounter they had today.

"Aura, there you are" she heard a voice behind her, and she knew it wasn't just any voice it was Kaz's

"What?" she turned around and saw him, and she realized he was staring confused at the new guy she had just met.

"Hey, we just met!!, I'm Qwezyl, call me Qwez" he offered a hand which Kaz took and he smiled back

Kaz was wondering what they were talking about, and he was burning inside with jealously, only if he hadn't been rude to Aura earlier, she would've been in his presence and now was in somebody else's. He realised he was much younger than him, and he can love her without any guilt. He felt terrible.

There was nobody to blame except him. and he saw her smile at Qwezyl and throbbed in despair.

"let's go home Aura, you haven't eaten anything, it's dark already" Kaz stated her and she got up.

"See you tomorrow" she smiled at him and he waved back

And after they were nearer to the cottage and less to the campfire, he wanted to tell her how he felt about her talking to other guys, she would definitely wonder why which would give her the obvious answer for him loving her.

When will he ever be able to express the way he felt towards her and what if she already started feeling more towards that new guy, she just met and to whom she gave an adorable smile?

He felt awful.