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Aesop takes a deep breath as he looked into the night sky, feeling tired yet he did not know why.
He felt lonely... and yet, he did not know why.
He had someone he cares about, someone who also cares about him. So, why... why does he feel this way? Why does he feel like it’s not enough.
A soft singing broke him out of his thoughts, thinking everyone was asleep, he was curious who it was from. Without him knowing, his feet had moved on their own and dragged him to find the source of the singing.
What he found took his breath away.
There was a man clad in white robes with intricate golden patterns. He stood in the middle of the garden, where the moon’s light reflected off of him. He was smiling, yet it had a hint of melancholy, Aesop could only wonder why. The man was singing, and he was singing beautifully. He would not be surprised if he found out he was just dreaming.
Then the man suddenly turned to him, seemingly shocked to have been discovered. The man was masked, yet Aesop could feel his eyes boring into his soul. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he once again wore that melancholic smile.
The man walked towards him, sings to him in a gentle, yet sad tone and lulls aesop to sleep. He was brought back inside, beside his lover.
“you could have been anyone, anyone else... no one had to make the choice for you”
———
Aesop was feeling tired again.
This time, he questions if he was still loved by Joseph, the sun of his life.
He was slowly starting to see.. that he wasn’t.
He couldn’t be the perfect person Joseph wanted him to be.
He couldn’t do anything right.
“I shine only with the light you gave me”
———
The moon was absent that night. The faint singing he had grown used to had gone, all he heard were the sounds of crickets and the hoot of an owl.
His feet brought him to the garden where he first found the man. He was surprised to have seen him there, but he was glad. Glad he was there.
This time, he was silent, his turn to listen, as Aesop spilled all his worries and pain to the man before him.
Exhausted, he eventually fell asleep on the man’s lap.
The masked man looked into the star filled sky and sighed. His seal was broken and yet, all he could think of was what the silver haired man had told him. He absentmindedly ran his hands through Aesop’s soft hair.
“The moon will sing a song for you, you loved him like the sun”
———
“My heart knew the pain, Ten years worth of the dust and neglect”
Tears.
There were tears and raised voices.
Aesop was arguing with Joseph once again. He felt like a doll, thrown away when it was old and broken.
“we could have anything, anything else. Instead you hoarded all that’s left of me”
Joseph could not believe Aesop was rebelling against him. Where was the quiet boy he loved? The one who did all he asked?
Aesop feels so so tired.
He feels like an empty shell.
A tool.
A doll.
thrown away.
“Swallowing your doubt, like swords through the pit of my belly”
———
The moon was full.
Aesop was holding a knife.
Tears were rolling down his face.
He wanted a break from it all.
His hands move to puncture his chest, closing his eyes and preparing himself for the pain.. or maybe there won’t be pain.
The pain never came, instead, a firm hand kept the blade from piercing his skin. Aesop opened his eyes, and he was met with the man without his mask. His crystal blue eyes pierced into him.
He took the blade from Aesop’s hands and set it aside. He then pulled him into a hug. Aesop hugged him back, holding tight, holding on to a hope.
A hope that this was not a dream. That he was no longer going to be alone.
They smiled as tears rolled down their faces.
The two were never seen nor heard from again.
“You can shine on your own, Aesop.”