SHIN KIDOU SENKI GUNDAM WING

SAINAN NO KEKKA
Fairy Lights
The Wallflowers, One Headlight

So long ago, I don't remember when

                      She believed that there were fairies living in the forest.

That's when they say I lost my only friend

It was just one of her whims - Ilene had a lot of whims, I remember, but she was heavily into fairy tales and high fantasy. I used to think it odd for a girl whose daily topic of conversation consisted usually of who was going out with so-and-so, or which store was having a sale, or what celebrity had just released a new album. I caught her though, one night, when I came in late, reading under the covers.

"What's that?" I said as I moved to the dresser to take out my pajamas and let my hair down in front of the light of the makeup mirror.

"Nothing," she said evasively, and I had laughed.

"Come on," I said teasingly. "I doubt it's that bad. Is it some kind of porn?"

She snorted. "If it were porn, would I be embarrassed about it?"

I considered that for a moment as I took my hair out of its elaborate French-braided ponytail and put my curlers in. "I don't know. Would you?"

"You know me better than that, Helena!"

"Well, if it's not porn, then what are you so embarrassed about?" I teased.

She grudgingly slipped the book out from under the sheets and I stopped what I was doing to glance at the cover. It bore the garish but whimsical illustration of a prancing animal shaped like a box, with a little boy trotting alongside it and a woman next to him that looked like she was made entirely out of cloth.

"The Patchwork Girl of OZ," I read off the cover, then frowned at Ilene. "What's that?"

"A book," she mumbled, clearly embarrassed to have been caught reading it.

I laughed and turned to put in the rest of my curlers. "Ilene, I don't even know what you're so embarrassed about. I don't think anyone's ever heard of the book."

"It's old," she said. "Published in the 1900's old Earth date. The first book was made into a film - The Wizard of OZ?" The tone of her voice clearly implied that it was well known.

I shook my head. "No."

"It's a…fairy tale, I guess you could call it. Children's book. Fantasy?"

"I never thought you liked fairy tales."

"Well," Ilene sniffed. "I do." And burrowed under the covers with her book and a flashlight. I sighed, shook my head, and went to bed.

The incident was never mentioned again by her, but a few days later I was having lunch with Chris on the lawn outside the Law building and I casually mentioned it to him. He had chewed his sandwich for a while before responding.

"Why do you think it's odd?"

I stared at him like he had gone mad. "Why? Well…it's Ilene! I'm not saying that it's bad she has an interest in something other than shopping…after all, the girl is smart. But it's rather surprising, don't you think?"

Chris had shrugged. "She's an odd one. I wonder if she believes in leprechauns?"

I sniffed and whacked him on the shoulder with my bag of cookies. "Silly! I’m being serious."

"So am I," he returned. "You know, Helena, there are things about Ilene that I've never figured out. Do you know she likes to take long walks in the Wood in the middle of the night?"

The Cliffside Wood was a half-acre plot of airy tall trees and pleasant wildflowers about five minutes walk from the school. This time I really did think he had gone mad. "She what?"

Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease
As I listened through the cemetery trees

"Duo and I spotted her out there last Saturday, at about one in the morning. We were doing that science project for biology…where we'd decided to go document insects living in the Wood, and we had to go out that night to catch some nocturnal ones. We were about to head home when we saw her just walking along, with a lantern in one hand and some kind of book in the other."

I blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"My roommate Ilene?"

"Positive."

"The school gossip queen and fashion model Ilene?"

Chris laughed. "What, Helena, you don't believe Ilene has her quirks?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ilene definitely has quirks. But I didn't know that this was one of them. I'll have to ask her about it."

I've seen the sun coming up at the funeral at dawn
The long broken arm of human law

[I was just thinking. I never thought I'd be saying something like this. I…I was raised to believe that if I did what I was told, I'd have a safe, happy life. But things don't really turn out that way. Do they, Enjolras?]

I caught her that night after dinner, when we were both in the room, seated at our desks doing homework. The radio was on, turned down low, playing oldies, and it was a lovely fall evening with the sunlight slanting through the clouds just so. The conversation with Chris was nagging at me and I finally put down my pencil, turning around to look at her. She wasn't even concentrating on her homework, but was staring out the window with a slightly dreamy look on her face.

"Ilene?" I said. "Why do you like fairy tales?"

She jumped, then sighed. "Helena! I was concentrating on this physics problem!"

"No you weren't. You were looking out the window, in la-la land."

"I’m in la-la land ninety percent of the time. It's normal."

I smirked. "Really, Ilene, I'm just curious. It's been bugging me ever since Chris told me that you take walks in the wood at one in the morning."

She jumped again and then glared at me suspiciously. "How did he know I was talking walks in the wood at one in the morning?"

"He and Duo saw you."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish's before she simply said. "Oh."

"What were you doing?"

She didn't answer.

"Come on, Ilene."

"I was…looking for fireflies," she said grudgingly at least, and I blinked.

[Now it always seemed such a waste
She always had a pretty face]

"Huh?"

She cocked her head to the side. "I don't know. I suppose…when my brother died - " her voice caught a bit before she hurried on, "and my parents just decided not to care much about me anymore…well, I suppose I needed a hobby."

I winced. "I'm sorry."

She waved a hand. "Oh, don't be. We were never a close family anyway. It was just me and James, really. My parents were just kind of there. I'm jealous of you, actually…people always tell me how lucky I am to be born a Keets, but I'd rather have been born into a family that actually cares about me."

"I’m sure they do care about you."

"Do they?" she replied pensively. "Anyway, that's not what we're talking about right now. I began taking long walks outside. My house is on a huge tract of land - several acres, and we have horses and all that - so there's a nice little wood nearby. And one summer night I was out later than usual, because my parents never cared when I came home, and the sun had set. And there were fireflies out. You know what I’m talking about, don't you?"

"Fireflies?" I hazarded uncertainly. "Sure. I have them where I live too."

Ilene shook her head. "No…no. I mean…fireflies are so tiny, aren't they? Little itty bitty things. But…when they glow, it's like magic. It was one of the most beautiful sights I'd ever seen. There must have been hundreds of them, all glowing, like little lights." Her violet gaze became a little dreamy, and I wondered if she were reliving that night, seeing the fireflies glowing. "Anyway, I guess after that I became a little obsessed with…fairies and the like. I've never really been into nature religions or Wicca or anything, but I did go through a little phase with Celtic things. I guess I thought that there were fairies living in the forest, and the fireflies were their messengers. Or something."

"That doesn't really translate to fantasy stories and uh…OZ…though."

Ilene shrugged. "No. It doesn't. But OZ is cute. And magical. It's a world where everything always ends up good, you know? I used to read those books over and over, wishing that this world was like that. Even though bad things would happen…everything would turn out happy and no one would ever be sad again." Her smile was bitter. "But that doesn't happen, does it?"

I longed to go over to her and wrap an arm around her shoulders, but something about the way Ilene was sitting told me that she didn't desire contact right now. "Well," I said, trying to think of something positive to say. "The war is over."

Ilene gave that twisted smile again. "So they say."

Her brother had been killed in the war, I remembered belatedly, and I opened my mouth to apologize, but Ilene stopped me once again. "Sorry. I get a little…bitter sometimes." A rueful smile this time. "Don't. You have nothing to be sorry for."

[So I wondered how she hung around this place]

"Did you ever try to trap the fireflies in jars?" I said softly. "When you were little?"

Ilene nodded. "Oh yes. Especially after that night…I would go out every night for a while with jars, catching them and watching them as they flew around and around. It was like my own little piece of magic."

"I think all children try to do that when they're small," I said. "It was one of my favorite pastimes. Though I never kept them in the jars long…it seemed cruel, you know? To deprive them of their freedom."

Ilene's face grew hard. "When I was a kid, James and I would release them after a while. But after he died, it was just me. I'd keep them. I'd keep them even after they died."

"Why?" I wondered. Something in her voice sounded very odd. Cruel. Ilene was not a cruel person.

"Well," Ilene said, "if I kept them, they'd be mine forever. Wouldn't they?"

"That's horrible!" I said, shocked.

Ilene looked like she was going to say something else, but apparently decided against it. She smiled a little. "That was a long time ago, Helena. Don't worry…I’m over James' death now. At least…as much as I'll ever be. I just didn't understand then why the war took him away from me."

This time I did get up from my chair and put an awkward arm around Ilene's shoulders. "I understand. I'm glad you decided to tell me."

"You're my best friend, right?" Ilene returned. "All you had to do was ask."

I gave her another brief squeeze before breaking away and returning to my desk. "You still believe in the fairies living in the forest?"

Her violet eyes were mysterious. "Why do you think I take long walks in the middle of the night?"

[James was a good boy. But that doesn't mean he couldn't have made the wrong choice. We all make bad choices sometimes.]

Helena told me what Ilene had said the next day, and I confess it caught me a little by surprise. I'd known Ilene had had a brother, of course - it was common knowledge that one of the Keets children had died in the war, and I had already been friends with Ilene when it had happened - but I hadn't known she had taken his death that hard. Apparently, Helena hadn't either.

"I feel for her so," she said in the dreamy way she had whenever she was lost in thought, her apple sitting uneaten on her plate. "She says she's gotten over her brother's death, but I wonder if she really has."

"It's hard," I agreed, putting an arm around her and feeling her relax into my embrace. "Your parents hadn't let you come to school during the war…but I remember her hearing the news. She refused to come out of her room for days."

"You called me," Helena said. "I remember. You told me she didn't even speak for weeks afterward."

But there's got to be an opening
Somewhere here in front of me

"That was just before the school was closed, anyway. Because they were afraid that what happened to Lake Victoria was going to happen to Cliffside."

Helena sniffed. "That's ridiculous. Lake Victoria was a military academy."

I shrugged. "Who knows. I suppose it's a good thing your parents didn't let you come back to school that year."

"I missed you though," she said, smiling.

I kissed the tip of her nose. "I missed you too."

[Through this maze of ugliness and greed]

"Anyway." She struggled to sit up, taking a bite out her lonely apple. "Ilene."

"What about her?"

"It's her birthday soon, isn't it? What….next week. Did we have anything planned for her?"

"No. What were you thinking?"

"She's been walking through the woods looking for fireflies, hasn't she? I was wondering…are there fireflies here? Maybe we could do something with that…"

I considered her thought for a moment, then shook my head. "Fireflies remain active till about the beginning of September, which would be now, but…there's never been many fireflies around here for some reason. Anyway, I'm sure she's seen them all anyway. We'd better do something else."

"You're right," Helena said heavily. "I just thought…"

I patted her on the arm. "I know. You wanted to do something special for her. She's your best friend, after all, isn't she?"

"She is," she replied softly. "And I couldn't ask for a better one."

And I seen the sun up ahead
                           At the county line bridge
                                                       Saying all there's good and nothingness is dead

I had promised Duo a game of basketball after classes, and he had, as usual, kicked my butt twenty to nine. I had no idea how he was able to be that good at anything he tried to do - not only sports, but school, socializing…he claimed he was from a small, middle-class family, like Helena, but I had no doubt that if he'd been born in high society, he would have had offers from every school in the country clamoring for his attention. Duo wasn't high school student material - he should have been in college.

He claimed he wasn't as smart as I thought he was, but that was just Duo joking around when he should have been serious, as usual.

We were changing out of our sweaty ball clothes and he was out of the shower, wringing the water out of his wet braid, when I thought to mention to him what I'd found out from Helena. I knew Duo and Ilene were close, but I didn't know how much he knew about her. They hadn't known each other for very long, and Ilene, as far as I knew, hadn't told anyone details about her brother's death except for Helena and me.

I decided to leave James Keets out of the conversation, substituting an anonymous member of her family that she'd been close to. Still, Duo didn't seem to notice anything wrong with the story, furrowing his brow as I explained exactly why Ilene had been taking a walk out in the woods at night last weekend.

"Interesting," he said, toweling the tip of his braid in quick, flurried motions like he did with everything else, but I could see he was thinking. "I never knew she had such an interest in that kind of stuff."

"You think it's silly?" I asked.

Duo snorted. "No way. I've known a lot of people in my life who believed a lot of different things - one of the first things I learned was never to call anyone's beliefs in anything silly. Everyone has things they believe strongly, you know…and you never want to ridicule those beliefs."

I nodded slowly. "I know…sorry..."

[We'll run until she's out of breath]

My roommate gave me a quick punch on the side of the head as he disappeared into the bathroom, still talking. "Hey don't worry about it man…it's just customs and courtesies, you know? I guess you move in different circles than me anyway and everyone who you know is always careful to disguise what they like and don't like with all kinds of polite shit."

That made me laugh. "That's one way to put it I suppose. You're right, though, I wish it wasn't like that. I wish people could respect other people for who they are, no matter what."

Duo emerged from the bathroom for a moment, lounging in the doorway, eyes dark. "That would be nice. That's a lot harder than it sounds though. Maybe someday."

"I believe it can be done. Can't you?"

"I'd like to," he said thoughtfully. He reached back inside the bathroom for a moment to hang up his towel, then walked back into the room to plop onto his bed. "As I said, maybe someday people will push aside whatever preconceived notions they've made of other people and their pasts and presents…does it matter, really, what popular opinion is, anyway? Why can't people make up their own minds?"

[She ran until there's nothing left]

I blinked at him, a little shocked. Duo was usually passionate about a lot of things, like football and the taste of cafeteria food, but this was the first time I'd heard him be so adamant on something so serious. He seemed to catch my train of thought and grinned goofily, looking a little embarrassed. "Sorry. I get carried away a lot."

"I've noticed," I said, throwing an eraser at his head, and he swiped it aside just as easily just like he'd blocked my shots to the basket this afternoon. "Say…Helena brought up a good point. Ilene's birthday is next week and we have nothing planned. I'm not usually a party kind of guy, but she deserves a good party, don't you think?"

"Course she does," Duo enthused, bouncing on the bed. "What does your girl suggest?"

"Beats me." Helena loved to plan, but she usually left me out of it. Planning, she had told me multiple times, was a woman's realm. I hadn't disagreed. I hated planning anyway. So, I had found, did Duo.

We made a good pair of roommates.

"She wanted to do something with fireflies," I continued, "since apparently Ilene hasn't really seen any yet here. But that probably means there aren't any, don't you think?"

Duo mused on that thought for a minute. "I wouldn't be so sure," he said. "The Wood is small, but there's that forest on the other side of the school. It's kind of farther away, but there's a lot of little lakes in it. Remember? We went hunting there that one time. Isn't there that bog that runs into the river a couple miles out?"

"Yeah. What are you thinking?"

Duo's eyes sparkled merrily in that expression I'd grown used to seeing when he had something up his sleeve. "Don't mind me. Go on planning…if this doesn't turn out, I don't want her to be disappointed. I'd hate to disappoint her."

[There may not be such a thing as absolute truth, but I’ve always believed that the search for it is important to the soul. Self-knowledge is important to help us define our souls, and help us learn which path to take at the next fork in the road of life.]

Well this place is old
                     It feels just like a beat up truck

[My path has led me to you... you are my brother's murderer, and it's time I showed you the truth of that!]

I'd finalized my plan by Ilene's birthday, and Helena had informed me that it would be a small party, held in the evening, with just a few friends. She'd ordered a cake and told everyone to help pitch in with presents. Cliffside had an elaborate party tradition, though there were usually no rowdy parties with people passing out on the floor and throwing up on the carpet. The kids at Cliffside usually considered themselves too refined for that, but that led to parties that could only be called extravagant displays of money and usually ended up seeming like miniature political gatherings.

Helena, being from a middle-class family, couldn't even hope to afford a party half the size as was usually put on at Cliffside, but she, true to form, didn't care. Neither did Ilene or Chris or her several other close friends, who were the only people invited. I knew Chris had told her about my plan, but she didn't mention it until the night before the party, when she found me in my usual spot - sitting and thinking on the edge of the cliff that gave the school its name. I heard her footsteps behind me but didn't turn around, waiting till she'd gracefully taken a seat beside me to look at her.

[I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn]

She smiled back at me. "Whatcha thinking about?"

I was thinking about Hilde, though I couldn't possibly tell her that. And Heero, though I couldn't tell her that either. Wondering what the two of them were doing right now. Wondering if Hilde's junkyard was doing all right. Wondering if Heero was still alive. "Just thinking," I said. "Stuff. You know."

She nodded understandingly. "Yeah. I know."

Well it smells of cheap wine and cigarettes
This place is always such a mess                           

We sat side-by-side for a while, watching the river, and then she turned to me. "I wish you'd trust one of us enough to confide in us, Duo. I know we haven't known you for that long, but…you're our friend. One of my best friends. I know you're Chris' friend…and Ilene worries about you too."

I tried to smile. "Worry? What's she worrying about? I'm fine. Swell. Great!" To punctuate my statement, I gave her one of my best charming smiles, but she just shook her head.

"No you're not, Duo. Stop pretending."

I dropped the smile. "I can't," I said flatly. "You…I wish I could tell you. I really do. But…I can't."

"Any particular reason?" she pressed. Helena was the only person in the world I knew who could make anyone spill the deepest, darkest secrets of their hearts without even beginning to sound like she was prying. But I knew I couldn't tell her. Not even her.

[Sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn]

"I’m sorry, Helena," I said. "Don't think me any less because I haven't told you. Maybe someday." I gave her a shadow of a smile. "When…the world changes."

I saw her gaze turn inward for a second, and then she nodded. "When the world changes," she repeated. "But you know, Duo…we're the ones who are going to do that."

I blinked. "Do what?"

She smiled. "Change the world of course! I know you can do it. You have so much potential."

I've already changed the world once, I wanted to say. And it nearly killed me. I have no desire to do it again. But again, those words were something I couldn't utter, if I wanted to save my identity and probably my life. I just nodded, as if I agreed. "Maybe so."

I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else
Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same

To my surprise, she laughed. "So cynical. I came to tell you about Ilene's party, and here you're ruining the mood."

[But somewhere here in between the city walls of dying dreams]

Grinning, I tackled her and she squeaked, falling backwards. I heaved myself upright before it could look like I was doing something inappropriate - not that most of the students here would think so if they saw us, but it was good to be cautious. Besides, I had no romantic interest in Helena whatsoever. I had Hilde already. "Pray, do tell, my dear."

She giggled, brushing leaves out of her hair. "It's going to be small. Cake, presents, just people having a good time. I have eight names on the guest list, but I'd like to invite a couple more. Can you think of any one?"

I already knew who she'd invited - mostly good friends of either Ilene's or Helena's, some of Chris' polo teammates. I thought for a moment. "Shinobu Matsuura?"

Helena frowned. "He barely knows Ilene."

"I know. But…he's having a hard time here, since he doesn't speak English, and he's a cool guy. I'd like him to meet some more people, go to a few more parties, that kind of thing. It wouldn't hurt to include him?" I gave her my best hangdog look.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Good point. I'd always thought I'd like to get to know him better myself. I'll add him."

"Thanks, babe," I said, ruffling her hair. "If you're here to ask about my plan, it's complete."

She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know it was so elaborate."

I shrugged. "It's not. Just had to find a good spot…and hope that it doesn't rain."

As usual with all of Helena's endeavors, the party was a success.

Maybe "success" isn't such a good word to use for it - it was just a gathering of friends, really, something that we'd had precious little time to do lately, with the homework and exams coming on and the post-war tension between various White Fang and Federation ex-soldiers filling the school so thickly that it seemed like the air was charged with electricity sometimes. I wisely kept out of all of it. If I opened my big mouth, something might slip out, and then the ex-Gundam pilot would probably be in deeper trouble than he'd ever been in his life.

Well, maybe not.

We held the party in one of the student lounges. The cake was chocolate with vanilla icing, Ilene's favorite, as I learned that night, watching her happily squeal over it and the presents, and profusely thanking everyone who had come. It took to little to make her happy. She seemed so content, so grateful for everything anyone ever did for her, and I envied her that innocence.

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever

Shinobu was there, along with the rest of the guests, and to my pleased surprise he'd had made some effort to interact with all the guests. They'd responded well, and one of the guys had come up to me after the cake had been served and remarked softly and offhandedly that he hadn't realized Shinobu was such a cool guy.

I'd smirked.

It was later, after the presents had been opened and most everyone was sprawled out on the couch in the lounge watching some talk show and Ilene had just gotten off the phone with another one of her friends who went to boarding school in Iowa. She was leaning against the wall, her white dress floating around her like flower petals, a happy smile on her face and a glow in her eyes, and I went up to her and touched her on the arm.

"Duo?" she said.

I smiled in my best mysterious manner. "Come with me."

She frowned. "What are you up to?"

I shook my head in silence and motioned to her. Her face went through about six different expressions as she tried to figure out whether to look serious or to take this as a joke, but I'd expected it, and she finally pushed herself off the wall a little dubiously.

"All right. You better not be doing anything bad."

I caught Helena's eye as we left. She'd turned around on the couch and given me a little smile and thumbs-up. I grinned.

The jeep was parked just outside, and I'd wanted to take the top down, but there had been reports of scattered showers. It would be clear enough weather for most of the night, but when we were driving back it might start pouring, and I didn't want her to get wet.

"Get in," I said, going around to the driver's side and hopping in.

She was laughing. "Duo! What?"

"You'll see," I promised, and started the engine, speeding us off with a roar. It would have taken at least half an hour on foot to get out to the forest, but I knew a shortcut and this jeep seemed like it could take a little mud and dirt.

[There's got to be something better than in the middle]

We made it there in a little less than fifteen minutes. She'd been demanding answers the whole way, but I had just grinned and stayed silent. Heero Yuy himself would have been proud of how quiet I was. Ilene had finally given up asking when we'd reached the rocky dirt path, contenting herself with trying to stay on the seat as the vehicle rattled along.

I grabbed a flashlight, parked the car and turned it off, then jumped out and ran to the other side to give her a hand. I should have told her to wear walking shoes, I thought in dismay as I realized she was wearing heels.

Hmm. No matter.

"Duo!" she said in mock-indignation as I backed up to the side of the car and bent down.

"Come on, babe, up you go," I said, and felt her climb up onto my back. She was as light as air, and I bounced up and down on my feet a few times, eliciting a few more shrieks from her, before setting out through the trees. It was dark, and I tried to use the flashlight as best as I could, but it was hard to hold it and carry her at the same time.

After a few minutes of rough going, she nudged the side of my head. "Where are we going?" she demanded, suddenly sounding a lot more serious, and I realized she was frightened. I stopped.

"You'll see in a minute," I replied, as calmly and reassuringly as I could. "And don't worry, I promise I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not dangerous." At least not anymore, I added silently.

She giggled, sounding relieved, and a moment after that we emerged into a vast clearing surrounded by tall trees. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating the space in a dazzle of silver light.

"Ooh…" she breathed, and I bent down, letting her climb off and take a look around. "Duo…"

But me and Cinderella
We put it all together

[It's not wrong, is it? Revenge.]

"Watch," I said, and suddenly a spark of light flashed from a few yards away. I felt her freeze.

"Duo…?"

Another spark of light. I watched her as her eyes grew wide. "Fireflies…" she whispered. "They're fireflies…you found the fireflies…"

The lights flittered around the edge of the wood and she reached out a hand to them. A sudden gust of wind fluttered her white dress out and she looked like she was flying.

"Duo…" she said again, and I realized she was crying. "Thank you."

She threw her arms around me and I held her rather self-consciously, wondering why I was feeling so nervous. I was used to hugging girls, but never this way. It was almost spiritual and surreal - the clearing, the moon, the fireflies…Ilene. As if I let go of her, she would vanish from my sight, never to return.

I was suddenly very afraid of losing her.

[We can drive it home]

The fireflies blinked from all around, and I smiled. "You've found your fireflies. And maybe your fairies too."

"Thank you," she whispered into my shirt again as a distant crack of thunder sounded. We both jumped and she clutched my shirt.

"We'd better head home," I began as a second crack pierced the night, but she tugged at my arm.

"No…Duo, watch!"

Another crack of thunder, and suddenly the forest lit up with sparkles of light all at once, hundreds and hundreds of them. I blinked in awe, and when I opened my eyes, it was dark again.

"What-?" I said.

"It must be the fireflies…I read somewhere that stimulants like loud noises - thunder - can make them all light up at once…"

The thunder sounded again and the forest lit up once more, the lights like thousands of candles burning through the night, a silent vigil. I felt the night sweep us up into it, along with the fireflies and everything else here, spinning in a circle of light.

"Come on, Duo," Ilene said suddenly, and her eyes were sparkling. "Let's dance."

"But-" I protested, and suddenly the rain began, pouring down in sheets, so suddenly that we both stood there frozen a split second, and she began to laugh, peals of girlish laughter that rang through the clearing and that was to my ears the sweetest sound in the world.

Hell, why not.

It's moments like these - once in a lifetime moments that you remember forever - that makes life worth living.

"Let's dance, Duo!"

I let her take my hands and pull me to the center of the clearing, whirling around with the beauty and frenzy of the storm. The fireflies had disappeared with the rain, but there was still the moon, somehow shining through a break in the clouds and misting everything over with a silver-white sheen as we danced like two mad fairies in the middle of the forest, dancing as if yesterday didn't matter, as if today was the most glorious day in the history of the world, and as if tomorrow would never come.

 
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