Willing to Wait for You
Days flew fast for the two, they are now graduated from high school. Joyful days were long but not forever, as they enter a new chapter, another set of obstacles awaits them.
***
It was early in the morning, Nicolai was supposed to sleep for a little longer but a bunch of messages and calls flooded his notification. As he opened his phone, he saw that the messages were from Selene, telling him to hurry over to the airport and that something urgent happened.
His body froze for a second, the moment he read those words, fear took over his body. What if Selene leaves? But where? She didn't tell me anything? Was it an urgent decision?
He hurried to the airport and looked around for Selene. He went through sveral crowds before, finally, finding Selene. There, she was walking back and fourth, her hands clasped together and the rim of her eye seemed to be red, as if she just finished crying.
Upon seeing Nicolai, she immediately ran towards him and hugged him tightly. Nicolai, in response, hugged her back and asked gently, “Why? What's wrong?”
Selene's eyes opened and once again teared. Meeting Nicolai's intense eyes, her expression turned somber. "Nic, I have something to tell you."
His eyes locked onto hers, sensing the shift in her tone. "What is it?"
Selene's voice cracked beneath the burden of her words. "My parents, they want me to study abroad...and if I ever return, they won't let me be with you...they'll only let me be married to a highly influencial man...someone with wealth, witts and power"
Nicolai's expression remained stoic, but the faintest glimmer of despair appeared in his eyes. "What do you mean?"
Tears flowed from her eyes, her voice barely audible. "They're worried that a man of low-background won't do me any good. They want me to focus on a future... without you”
Nicolai's grip on her hand tightened, as if wanting to hold onto her forever. "And what do you want?"
Selene's eyes locked onto his, her sentences broken with sobs. "I want to be with you... always."
Nicolai was filled with determination, his voice low and resolute. "Then, my love, I'll wait. I'll strive to be the most powerful, the wealthiest, the wittiest....I'll do it. I will sacrifice my dream, my freedom, my everything, anything no matter the cost."
He paused, his chest heaving with emotion.
"If in the novels you read, the boys kill thirty-three gods, refuse godhood because the person he loved wasn't in heaven, or die 1351 times for their loved one. Then I, Nicolai, will endure for eternity waiting for you,scacrife everything to be the man you're parents want, to be the man you deserve, if that's what it takes."
Selene's heart shattered at his words, the anguish in his eyes piercing through her soul.
"I'll love you while waiting for the time we can be together – twenty, fifty, a thousand, a million years, or never. I'll love you even after the stars fade, until I become the man your family desires."
Even more tears streamed down Selene's face as Nicolai's vow wrapped around her heart like a shroud.
"But what if... what if we never get to be together?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Nicolai's eyes burned with conviction, though his voice cracked. "Then I'll love you from afar, in silence, in secret. I'll love you in every breath, every heartbeat, every thought."
The world around them melted away, leaving only the two of them, suspended in time. Catarina felt the weight of Nicolai's promise, the crushing weight of their impossible love.
As they let themselves be absorbed by the moment, Selene's parents came. In a hurry, Selene pushed Nicolai away to hide him. He was far away so he couldn't hear what they were talking about, but after a few seconds her parents finally left.
“Listen, Nic... it's my time to leave, my parents are in a different plane.... please, just please, keep your promise” she said in a haste.
As Selene gets her things, Nicolai then pressed a glorious crimson necklace into her,it was the pair of the blueish-black necklace she gave Nicolai.
After that, he watched Selene walk away, her figure slowly fading.
Meanwhile, Selene has already entered her plane, she was sitted next to the window, sorrowful. The next moment, the plane started to take off. Then, She suddenly remembered the necklace Nicolai gave her. Inside the necklace was a piece of paper. She was about to read what's written inside, when she suddenly heared a person shouting her name.
Selene quickly looked at the window, and there, beside the taking off plane, was Nicolai. She was completely unaware that, Nicolai, unable to express all of his feelings earlier, decided to follow Selene.
Seemingly afraid that his voice might not reach Selene’s ears, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted toward the plane.
“Selene! Do you hear me?! In my heart, you are my only love! I'll wait for you! I won't forget you! Do you hear me?!”
He screamed with all he had, to the point where all of the airport
echoed with his voice: “Do you hear me?!”
“You are my one and only love! I will never forget you!”
She actually heard what he said, Nicolai did everything he can to say that, to make sure the one he loves hears it and knows that he'll wait and love her forever.
Soon, the plane flew higher and the figure Selene was looking at is now gone. She leaned back at the chair and closed her eyes, tears streaming down.
In her hand, Selene found the paper she was about to read earlier. Unfolding it,she found a single sentence, written in Nicolai's own blood:
"My heart, my love, my everything – forever yours."
—The End—
[Nicolai's declaration to wait forever, to be the best and most powerful was planted into Selene's heart. To achieve his goal, Nicolai needs dedication and perseverance. Yet, they may not be aware that their story is far from the end. From the outcome of his improvements, their long awaited reunion, to the new and improved Nicolai she will cross paths with on her return.
But that is a tale for another time.]
