Moon and Stars
Mystery Revealed
It was months before they saw Usagi smile again, and months more before she laughed even a little. She knew they all worried about her, and she felt bad for making them anxious. But she couldn’t pretend that everything was okay. How could anything be okay now that Mamo-chan was gone? His picture sat by her bed and his image filled her dreams. When she dreamed of him, Mamo-chan always reminded her of her promise to be happy. But nothing made her happy anymore. Not like it used to.
Minako finally made her put the picture away, along with all the things that reminded her of Mamo-chan. Not to be thrown out or forgotten; she would never forget him. She would never stop loving him. But torturing herself over his sweet face was keeping her from healing. She didn’t want to put those things away, it would only make the nightmare more real, but she knew that in order to live again, she had to.
She couldn’t precisely remember when it was that her dreams began to change. Mamo-chan no longer filled them all. Shadows of the past and of the future that no longer seemed to exist swirled themselves with nonsensical images filtered from the zombie-like life she led. In time, a familiar form began appearing more and more often. Usagi couldn’t tell who it was, but she knew somehow that he was no stranger. Each time she had the dream, something woke her up before she could see the man’s face.
Time passed. Usagi was able to talk and laugh with her friends, but they still saw pain in her eyes from time to time. She was no longer the bubbly, care-free girl they all knew and loved. Her sorrow had aged her spirit. She longed for the dreams of Mamo-chan, and at the same time secretly wished for the dream of the familiar man, wondering who he was.
A year passed, and then another. Finally, Usagi and her friends graduated from high school. She couldn’t believe that she passed all her subjects, but it had really happened. They were free. Another year gone by and Usagi was putting herself to bed early one night, stroking a purring Luna and wondering what the future held now. She knew her friend couldn’t tell her the future even if she was, but Usagi still wished that Setsuna was there to talk to. She slipped into sleep, wondering what her other friends were doing.
She stood in darkness, waiting, expecting something to happen. Suddenly, bright lights flashed on, blinding her. She shielded her eyes, and there he was: standing in front of her, silhouetted by the bright lights. “Who are you?” All at once, the space transformed into a rooftop, but the man was still standing there with his back to her.
“Don’t you remember me, Odango?” She gasped, and the man slowly turned to face her.
Usagi bolted upright in bed, nearly sending Luna flying. She knew who he was; the mystery man in her dreams was Seiya! Her heart was racing and she tried to slow her frantic breathing as her mind flew trying to work out the implications of her dream.
How long had it been since she had seen him? More than three years, since before Mamo-chan had died. Thinking about Mamo-chan made her sad, but it was Seiya that made her cry this time. Would he even recognize her anymore? He had promised to visit, but he had never returned. She supposed he must be busy rebuilding Kinmokusei with his own princess, Kakyuu: his beautiful, happy princess. The more she thought about Seiya the more her heart ached with the loneliness she had felt since Mamoru had died. No one had ever touched her heart like Mamo-chan. But Usagi wondered had her heart had not been full of love for Mamo-chan, if Seiya might have. Those thoughts made her feel guilty, like she was betraying Mamo-chan for even thinking those thin gs. She tried to push the Starlight out of her head, rescuing Luna from where she’d landed on the floor, and lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.