Originally posted 22 Nov 2006
The city lights shown down on a figure wearing a long trenchcoat. The young mans' collar was loose and coat open to the chilling wind. It flowed behind him as he slowly trod from under one light, into shadow, and under the next. His arms hung almost limp at his sides, and his face was downcast. He entered a long period of darkness and from it he began to gaze at the lights outside of it. He saw the dining hall close by with its long window wall keeping those inside warm and happy. He looked back at Redwood tower as he walked, but only for a moment.
The young man looked towards the lighted stairway in front of him. He passed the entrance to the dining hall and began ascending the building. Every few steps he would pass another light, each one revealing a different face. It changed from mearly downcast to that of a person who has given in. His eyes began to water. His hands, already frozen from the wind, trailed along the cold metal railings spaced out on the staircase. "Why..." he said while exhaling, as if until now he had forgotten he was holding his breath.
Tears collected in his eyes as they stared ahead unfocused. Yet he was innately aware of everything around him: the sound of his shoes softly touching and leaving the concrete and metal. The chill of the wind blowing stronger as he climbed higher. As he reached the southern outdoor gardens of the Jedi Order temple he turned from the staircase and walked parallel to the staircase he had just climbed towards Redwood. He felt the loose tiles move slightly beneath his feet, because the construction robots had not finished all of the cementing. It was an area the young man's architectural team had designed for the Jedi Order.
The young man reached the end of the garden walkway. The cold high winds swept across his face and through his body. He stayed there for some time, because from his experiences in the past no one would be in this garden and any tears that formed would be carried away by the uncaring winds.
"Out of the moments I remember us, each one is worth more than all the others I was not at her side. Each day as I wait to know what has become of her I grow weaker without pause. I know no consolation for these feelings except perhaps I may find her again one day. The greatest frustration I have with this separation is that it is torture in the sense that I feel pain beyond reason and I can do nothing to stop it. I've stopped sleeping for days at a time, only falling unconcious when my body fails to respond anymore. I know she would not want this for me..." the young man gripped the edge of the wall he was standing next to for support. His shoulders hunched back to take in a sharp breath, "... yet... even now my strongest feeling, desire, and singularity in thought is to go after her. However..."
He stopped for a moment, and took out an engraving. He set it down without a sound on a wall he walked past. It barely stood out among the thousands of stones that looked exactly like it yet more smoothed than any other, as if it had been handled often rather than freshly cut. The words which were engraved on the stone looked at the heavens above. Above the gardens that night arose perfect purple and white clouds catching the light of the city and a sky full of magnificent stars which laid beyond.
"... here I must remain."
For My Love, Alicia
