As Amukelo awoke, sunlight streamed through the window, casting a stark contrast to the turmoil inside him. His mind momentarily fogged from a deep sleep, and he jolted upright, shouting for his friends in a reflex of desperation. "Bral, Idin, I have to see Pao, I had a horrible..." His voice faltered as his eyes darted around the empty room, the reality of his loss crashing back upon him like a relentless wave. "It was not a nightmare... Pao... Why..." The grief was unbearable, thick in the air around him as tears welled in his eyes.
Shaking his head as if to dispel the sorrow, Amukelo's grief morphed back into the fiery anger that had driven him the days before. His glance fell on the disarray he had left in his room. With a deep, steadying breath, he resumed the task of sorting through his friends' belongings, driven by a need to find closure and perhaps a way to honor their memories properly.
He gathered all the belongings from Pao and Bao's room and brought them into his, creating a somber collection of their lives. Starting with Bao's items, Amukelo carefully sifted through each piece, searching for anything that might hold sentimental value for their family. His hands trembled slightly as he handled each object, each one a reminder of the vibrant lives cut so brutally short.
Among Bao's possessions, he found a small locket that flipped open to reveal a hand-drawn family portrait, capturing a happier time when they were still nobles. The drawing, though simple, was filled with warmth and love, the kind that speaks of better days. Beside the locket was a small book, its pages filled with childlike drawings, a testament to cherished memories. Each sketch seemed to hold a story, a frozen moment in time, precious and irreplaceable.
Moving to Idin's belongings, Amukelo's heart continued to ache with each item he set aside. Among Idin's few possessions was a simple ring, worn and polished from use. Inside the band, engraved words read 'for the best brother in the world', accompanied by a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it gently, Amukelo found a drawing of Idin with his family, smiling and happy. Idin was wearing the ring in the drawing, a symbol of love and connection with his family.
Amukelo lingered over Bral's items, his fingers tracing the worn edges of a small leather book filled with exchanges between Bral and his family. It was intimate, a window into Bral's thoughts and feelings about his life and love for Bao. The letters were punctuated with confessions of fear, hope, and dreams, sketching a portrait of a man deeply connected to his loved ones. Tucked alongside the book was a small dagger, the inscription on its sheath reading, "Stay safe, and come back," a poignant reminder of expectations unmet.
With a heavy heart, Amukelo then turned to Pao's belongings. His breath hitched as he touched her items, each piece a tangible memory of her presence. He unfolded her dresses delicately. The simple pink dress she wore on their first date and the elegant one from their second, each had a big meaning to him.
Beneath the layers of clothing, Amukelo found a small diary. His hands trembled as he opened it, each page a chronicle of Pao's thoughts and adventures. The early entries burst with her enthusiasm for life and magic, her words painting a vivid picture of a young woman eager to seize the world. As he flipped through the pages, he found the moment he entered their life, described as a 'charming stranger' who saved her and brought a new brightness to her journey.
Near the end, the entries grew more somber. The passage about their first date revealed her deep feelings, "My dear diary, I found the love of my life. I want to spend my entire long life with him." The words were a bittersweet echo in his mind, a testament to what could have been. The final entry before their ill-fated quest was filled with apprehension yet underlined by her trust in him, "I'm scared, it feels overwhelming, and I have a bad feeling. But my dear Amu will be with us. He is strong, he protected me so many times, and I'm sure he will protect us again."
Amukelo's vision blurred with tears as he read her words, the ink blurred under the weight of his sorrow. "I'm sorry... I... I failed... I'm so sorry, Pao..." he whispered to the empty room, his voice cracking under the strain of grief and guilt. The diary fell from his trembling hands as he bowed his head, overwhelmed by the enormity of his loss and the haunting finality of Pao's last written words.
After a moment, as he regained his composure, he continued. He stopped as he saw a small box, in the box was the necklace he gifted. As he opened it, and took out the small golden necklace in the shape of a flower, a fresh wave of sorrow washed over him. Each petal, each link in the chain was a reminder of the moments they had shared, now only in his memories. The necklace seemed heavier in his hands than it ever had, each bead weighted with the gravity of what had been lost.
He placed the necklace gently back in the box, the soft click of the closure sounding unusually harsh in the quiet room. He took a few deep, shaky breaths, trying to steady himself as he moved through the remaining items.
When he came upon the second necklace, similar to the one Bao had cherished, it felt like unearthing a secret connection between the sisters. He held it, feeling the cold metal against his skin, wondering about the hands that crafted it and the moments it had witnessed.
The task of sorting through their belongings was draining, leaving him emotionally spent. Deciding what to keep and what to let go felt like navigating a minefield of memories, each step a potential trigger for pain or a brief respite of nostalgia. Ultimately, he placed Pao's dresses, still scented with her presence, in the pile of things to let go. It was a reluctant farewell to pieces of a life that would continue only in his heart.
As he threw the remaining items into the chimney, the fire crackled and sparked, consuming the physical remnants of his friends' lives as if to finalize their departure from this world. The room, now stripped of its lived-in chaos, echoed back his solitude. The absence of Bral's laughter, Idin's steady presence, and Pao's gentle voice magnified the silence around him.
The stark emptiness of the room mirrored the hollow inside him. The lively mess that had once irritated him now seemed a treasure lost forever. The loneliness he felt was suffocating, a stark contrast to the solitude he once found peaceful in the mountains. This loneliness was different; it was the absence of voices that would never speak again, of steps that would never sound on the wooden floors, of lives intertwined with his own now untangled forever.
Amukelo sat, alone watching as his friend's belongings were burning down. He replayed all the most beautiful moments with them. A unbearable sadness washed over him.