CERISEĀ could still remember the day in full detail; The day in which her fate became entangled with his; the day in which all of her regrets started to come together.
KOENĀ could still remember the day in which he was forced to watch as her body was buried underneath the soil, never to see the sun again. Despite being known as someone who wasn't one to regret, it felt like regret was all that he knew.
~
A death proclaimed as a suicide; a man consumed by regret; and a mission involving an hourglass, sends high school friends, Cerise and Koen, back to their younger days. Only so much can go right, when two have completely different goals in mind.
Prologue:
Ā "You don't deserve to mourn," Sana spat, shoving her shoulders against Koen's as she made her way towards the funeral hall.Ā Anyone else who might've heard her would've said that such words were cruel beyond any reasoning, but to him, it held the absolute truth. Sana was right. She was always right when it came to any matters that involved Cerise. They were best friends after all - long before he entered her life and screwed it up.
He clenched his jaw, wondering if he should even be allowed to attend. But as though it was a sign, he felt a warm breeze spring by him, emitting a soft peach scent; one that reminded him so much of Cerise and her favorite perfume. He didn't deserve to have regrets, and to cry over what became of Cerise in the end. But the least he could do was pay tribute to her during her last moment.
As he laid a flower inside her coffin, he could only think one thing; Twenty-nine was young - too young for someone to rejoin nature. But that was the exact case for Cerise Lillyan. And it was all because of him. Him and his continuous selfishness when it came to anything involving her.
'It has been concluded as an suicide,'Ā the police had stated. 'All evidence points to it.'
He had refused to believe it at first, but the letter left behind; stating who, and what, would get her assets proved otherwise.
Written on a simple A4 paper had been her writing. It was a plain, straight to the point, letter; One he was fortunate to even get a chance to read, given the fact that she never once mentioned him in it. It had started formally, ending with a quick apology to only two people; her mother, and Sana.
'I'm sorry to my dear friend, Sana, and my beloved mother, but I don't deserve to go on.' For her to say she didn't deserve to go on meant that the main reason for her death lied upon what others had been saying about her.
And it was all because of one reason.
The mission.
The damn mission he had forced her to accept despite how against it she was.
In the end, it resulted in several casualties, and the media painting her in a bad light. But it should've been him that was publicly persecuted. Not her. Not when the mission was meant for him in the first place.
Ā "I didn't think she would be so cruel to leave me like this," he could hear Cerise's mother choke out as the coffin was closed, and her daughter was seen for the last time in the world. He felt the hold on his heart tighten even more, to the point where he wondered if it was even beating still.
He opened his mouth, about to say something, when a loud beeping interrupted him. He flinched when all eyes turned to him.
"I apologize," he hurried to shut off his watch. But the code red on it wasn't one that could, nor should it, be ignored.
"Just go," he heard the familiar voice of Sana snap, as though she sensed his hesitation to deny the acceptance button. "We all know how much more important your mission are compared to Cerise."
He wanted to refute, feeling his blood boil at her statement. But as he was met with her teary glare, and the reminder that it was indeed because he chose his mission over her that resulted in her death, he could only swallow back his words and offer a quick apology before exiting.