Over | A flash fiction story
66 of đź’Ż
I haven’t kept my side of the promise. He kept his side for all these years — even when I didn’t want him to — without ever complaining. But I… I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t.
I still remember sitting here years ago, the same waterfall, the same birds, the same orange sun going down, over and over. Everything looked exactly the same as it does now. I guess simulations are very good at staying the same. Or, rather, they’re good at doing what we want them to do. I’m very bad at that.
I wanted to come back here for years, but I never did. I wanted to stop hurting him, but I never did that either. And I wanted to keep my promise, to protect him.
I guess it’s fair. If I were the one to die he would still be here, and he would be the one suffering again. This way, his suffering is over, and it’s my turn now. That’s fair.
When I look down at the bottom of this waterfall, I’m terrified by the height, even in this simulated world. I can’t imagine the amount of courage it took him to face this kind of height in the real world.
The only thing now that is different from all those years ago is I’m the only one enjoying the view, alone with the sun and the waterfall and the birds. But, somehow, just by being here, I feel him with me, as if I was taken back to that first time. I guess it’s a good thing simulations are so good at staying the same, after all. This way I get to enjoy the sunset over and over and over.
