Feeling of Escaflowne

~Gaea/Van’s POV~

I was pacing in my office when Merle decided to find me again.

“Are you going to do anything about Hitomi?” she asked from the doorway, watching me with that strange look on her face.

“I don’t know,” I grumbled, running a hand through my hair. I really didn’t know what I could do. In the two years since I’d sent her back she could have found someone else.

“What is it now?” Merle snapped, perching on the edge of my desk when she saw my horror-struck expression.

“What if she’s found someone else to…” I choked on my words, the pain gripping me again.

“She wouldn’t have,” she said, sounding so sure. “But you’ve got to go bring her back.”

“But…she should stay with her family…”

“Didn’t she say that she wanted to see a peaceful Fanelia with you? She wanted to stay. She probably wants to be back here with you.”

“But why should she give up so much—for me?”

“Ugh! What do you want?!”

“I want to have her by my side forever…”

“Then go and get her! She loved you and probably still does! At least go and find out!”

“How?!”

“You have the pendant, you idiot! You can wish yourself there!”

“Oh…right…” I pulled the pendant out again and looked at it. So much power held in the little, pink stone. I had hardly been able to believe it when I first found out.

The power of Atlantis…the power of human will.

“Let’s go, Merle.”

“You want me to go, too?”

“Why not? You were her friend before.”

“I guess,” she muttered after a pause, giving me a strange look.

“What?”

“I just thought it might be kind of a private thing for you two…” She shrugged and pranced out of my office. After a moment, I followed.

We ended up going to Folken’s gravesite. I knelt there for a moment.

“Brother,” I murmured, “I hope that you are having a good time…wherever you are.” Then I stood and turned to Merle. “You ready?”

“Yep!” She held out her hand to me and I took hold of it. I wanted her to come because she was my best friend and I needed some support this time around. Her being friends with Hitomi was just an excuse.

Forgetting that, I concentrated, holding the pendant up and closing my eyes.

I want to be with Hitomi again, I thought.

I want to be with her again.

I want to hold her again.

I want to be with her forever.

I saw the pinkish glow of bright light in front of my closed eyes. Then I felt myself being lifted off the ground and heard Merle’s gasp. I’d forgotten that this was the first time she’d traveled by light-pillar.

That sounded so weird.

But I didn’t think about that. I opened my eyes and looked at the Mystic Moon, still concentrating on what I wanted. Before I knew it, we were soaring into the sky, twisting and tumbling, and finally landing in a field.

There—Hitomi was standing with her old, worn bag, watching me with a smile. There was another girl with her, but I didn’t care. She was smiling at me.

I held my hand out to her and she held on tightly, pulling the other girl with two smaller bags with her.

Then we were flying again and I had Hitomi in my arms, happier than I’d ever been before. The other girl was giggling about something with Merle and I just didn’t care. I knew that I’d die before letting Hitomi leave again. What kind of idiot had I been to let go of this in the first place?

My heart was soaring, doing flips and tricks that I couldn’t imagine myself doing.

Damn, I hadn’t realized how miserable I’d been until now.