Ray - SURGE (5)

Ray pulled away from Eri.

"No. I do not want to be separated from him, I..."

Elga jumped to her aid.

"Eri, if they are truly connected, it would be pure cruelty to tear them apart! You cannot seriously... What if we are wrong about him?"

Ray looked at her gratefully, but Eri remained firm.

"They are not connected, at least not initially. She is a Lucid, he is not. The longer we allow this fleeting attachment to continue, the more she will lose herself."

"He is not a fleeting attachment," Ray snapped.

How could these people, who did not even know her, dare to claim they knew better? To presume they could judge her bond with Dio?

The image of the circle surfaced again in her thoughts, its perfection bringing her comfort. It was as if she could grasp its light and weave it as she wished. Ray's breath caught as she saw white tendrils slowly forming around her, but this time, instead of draining her, they seemed to lift her up, to strengthen and encourage her. Her exhaustion and weakness faded slowly.

Eri raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"I understand that you are upset and probably still confused. But you are once again showing incredible potential. The light within you shines brighter than anything I have ever seen. We cannot make an exception just for you! If you do not find yourself, it could become very dangerous! Believe me, Sparky, I have seen it happen before."

Eri bared his teeth bitterly, as if trying to ward off unpleasant memories.

"You cannot just take him away from me. If you try, I will fight!" Ray declared, letting the tendril around her right hand thicken.

She would never listen to Eri, even if he was probably right. Even if she was making a foolish decision, she would take Dio with her.

Or I will grab his hand again, and we will run back into the forest, far away, escape and...

"Go with them, Ray."

Dio's sad voice suddenly reached her ears, hitting her like a blow to the stomach. She turned to him, startled, as a terrible feeling rose inside her.

He had not come to them but still stood by the brook, next to the unconscious Gima, looking at her. His eyes were moist, and his face was paler than usual. Confused, she let the light go, and the tendrils around her hand faded, while Eri exhaled in relief.

"What... what do you mean, Dio?"

He spoke slowly, as if weighing every word carefully.

"He is probably right. You are... incredible. And this light within you... shining so brightly... What if I really am in the way? I can feel your presence, even from here. I know it would be very dangerous for us to stay together, because we would eventually do anything for each other, no matter what it is. That is how it feels to me, and it scares me. It scares me a lot. I do not want more people to suffer because of me. To die or awaken or whatever happens when we end them. I understand why you burned them. If I had been in your place, with your powers, I would have done the same. I would have wanted to save you... And from such actions, terrible things can grow inside us, or inside those around us."

"No!" Ray whispered, shaking her head.

Tears of helplessness welled up in her eyes, because she could see he had already made his decision.

"Listen to him. It will not be forever! Once you have learned enough about the light within you, you can come back..." Elga tried to soothe her with her gentle voice, reaching out a hand, but Ray stepped back.

"Dio, come to me. Please! Let's just leave. Let's go into the forest and stay there. I do not care who I am. I do not care if you have no talent for the light. Lucid or not, who cares? We do not need anything else. Right...?"

"Yes, we could go back into the forest, return to the gravel bed and keep moving into the unknown. We could hide somewhere, and maybe it would be good for a while. But... eventually, you would start to wonder. Wonder what would have happened if you had gone. What beauties you would have seen. What miracles are waiting out there and what challenges there are to face. And someday, we would set out to explore the world and meet people. And then? Would you hold back? What if something happened again, something that threatened me or you? Would you...?"

He was right. She would probably lose control again if they were in danger, and maybe even hurt Dio in the process.

Ray could already feel the longing rising within her: she wanted to set out, to free her conscience from what she had done. She wanted to build something with her light, to create wonders...

But she also wanted to be with Dio.

Everything he says just shows how well he already understands me. It shows that we should be together, doesn't it?

"Will you wait for me? Wherever you settle?" she asked slowly.

Her voice trembled, almost failed her, but she looked him firmly in the eyes.

"Yes, of course," he answered. "I will find a beautiful, quiet place and wait for you there, until you come back. Just promise me you will not take too long...!"

Dio managed to smile. Ray let out a small laugh, and warm tears once again streamed down her cheeks. She took a step toward him to say goodbye, to hug him, already feeling the warmth flaring up inside her... But he raised his hand.

"Wait... please wait," he said haltingly.

Reluctantly, Ray forced herself to stop.

"What is it?"

"I think if you come to me now, I will forget everything I just said. Then I will run off into the forest with you, and it will end badly. I want to hug you... but I am afraid it has to wait. I hope you understand..."

She did - at least a part of her.

His eyees wandered to the others.

"Please take care of her!" he asked, only after they all nodded reassuringly - Eri gruffly, Elga with a smile, and Demoa looking confused and surprised - then his gaze returned to her.

Ray looked at Dio more closely, as if seeing him for the first time: a young man with curly brown hair, a slender build, and watchful big eyes that absorbed the world around him. Pale skin, fairly tall... and a smile that meant everything to her.

"Until we meet again, Dio," she whispered.

She didn't want to say the words, didn't want to watch him turn and walk up the hill toward the waiting people who had been observing them. People who now looked at her like she was some kind of walking miracle. As if they had forgotten everything, all their hate and fear. Forgotten what she had done to the men she had expelled from this Dream before they even had a chance to truly arrive. But Ray hadn't forgotten.

She would never forget.

She knew she had to go with Eri. To prevent a catastrophe, to make sure whatever Gima had seen in her wouldn't cause further harm. Maybe... maybe even to make it into something good.

"Until we meet again, Ray."

Dio turned away so she could no longer see his face. But she didn't need to. As he slowly climbed the hill, she felt the warmth of him inside her grow fainter.

"Will I forget him if I wait too long? Can that happen?" Ray whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"If you are truly connected," said Elga quietly, just loud enough for Ray to hear, "your bond may weaken, but it will always be there. Somewhere inside you, as long as you both remain in the Dream."

The short-haired woman had moved closer, seemingly wanting to comfort and reassure her.

If you already made me send him away so I could find myself, then at least don't annoy me while I try to do exactly that!

Yet despite these stubborn thoughts, she was grateful for Elga's words.

"That's good. I'll hurry and see him again very soon," she proclaimed.

For a brief moment, she smiled at the thought of hugging him... and realized that she had never actually done so. She had pressed herself against him when he had given her enough courage to keep the darkness from entering her heart, back in that strange part of the forest. But she had never truly embraced him.

They had spent so little time together. And yet, she owed Dio the fact that her first memories in the Dream were beautiful ones. Memories she would hold on to until her las tbreath in this alien world.

She knew he would not look back. His gaze was set forward.

As he disappeared behind the hills and bushes growing in the dim light, Ray could only sit and watch.

When he was gone, fear gripped her - for the certainty of seeing him again faded with every step he took away.

No, I won't allow that! We will see each other again! she thought fiercely, pushing aside the dark thoughts and seeking comfort in the brilliant circle that once more appeared before her mind's eye.