"Not all graves have headstones. Some are carried in the hearts of the living, heavier than any stone could ever be."
Rei walked.
Through the ruins. Through the ash. Through the remnants of a battlefield that had already begun to forget.
The scent of charred metal and blood still clung to the air, but the fires were dying. The embers flickered, struggling against the cold wind.
Aya was light in his arms. Too light.
Like the life had been stripped from her so completely that even the weight of her existence had faded.
It didn't feel real.
None of it did.
But the stiffness in her fingers, the stillness of her chest—they did.
And that was the worst part.
Rei didn't know where he was going.
Only that he couldn't stop.
Because if he did, the weight in his chest would crush him.
And he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to get back up.
It was a long time before he finally stopped.
The battlefield had disappeared behind him, swallowed by the distance. The ruins were gone, replaced by the skeletal remains of a once-lush forest—trees burned to blackened husks, the soil barren and lifeless.
But it was quiet here.
And maybe that was enough.
Rei knelt down. The dirt was cold beneath his fingers as he slowly, carefully, laid Aya down.
For a moment, he just stared at her.
Her hair, dusted with ash. Her small hands, curled slightly like she might wake up at any moment. Her face, peaceful in a way that made his stomach twist.
He reached forward, brushing his fingers against hers.
"Still warm."
But not for long.
The thought sent a sharp, searing pain through his chest, something deep and indescribable.
His throat tightened.
But he didn't look away.
Not yet.
Not until he had memorized everything.
Because once he buried her, this would be all he had left.
And he couldn't afford to forget.
Not her.
Never her.
The soil was hard.
It clung to his fingers, dry and unyielding, like even the earth itself refused to accept another grave.
Rei didn't have a shovel.
So he dug with his hands.
His nails cracked. The skin split open, dirt mixing with blood. His breath came in ragged exhales, every movement slow and heavy.
But he didn't stop.
Even as his muscles screamed.
Even as his vision blurred.
Even as the world around him felt far away, like he was floating somewhere outside of his own body.
He just kept digging.
Because what else was there to do?
What else was left?
By the time the grave was deep enough, his hands were shaking. His knuckles bled, the skin torn raw, but he didn't feel it.
His body didn't matter.
Nothing did.
Except this.
Except her.
Carefully—so carefully—he lowered Aya into the earth.
Her body barely made a sound as it settled into the dirt.
He stared for a long time.
His fingers twitched slightly, hovering above her like he wanted to pull her back.
Like he could.
But he couldn't.
So, slowly, he reached for the first handful of dirt.
And let go.
The soil landed softly against her chest.
It felt wrong.
Everything in him rebelled against it.
But he forced himself to keep going.
Handful by handful.
Burying the last piece of himself that had still been alive.
The Words He Couldn't Say
By the time he was finished, the sky had turned dark.
A grave.
Shallow. Unmarked.
A nameless patch of earth in a world that would never know her name.
Rei sat back, his body heavy, his breath slow.
His hands rested on his knees, caked in blood and dirt. His fingers curled slightly, as if searching for something to hold on to.
But there was nothing left.
He opened his mouth.
To say something.
To say anything.
But no words came.
What was there to say?
That he was sorry? That he had failed her? That he wished it had been him instead?
She wouldn't hear it.
No one would.
And somehow, that made it worse.
His hands shook.
He clenched them into fists, digging his nails into his palms, forcing himself to breathe.
One breath. Then another.
The world was so quiet.
And then, finally—
A whisper.
So soft that it barely escaped his lips.
"...Goodnight, Aya."
A pause.
Then, almost broken—
"...Sleep well."
He stayed there for a long time.
Long after the wind had carried away the last embers of the battlefield.
Long after the cold had settled into his bones.
Long after there was no one left to mourn.
And the world kept turning.
As if she had never been there at all.