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“Tell a story,” she had asked, her eyes fluttering closed as she spoke. Sol could tell that her exhaustion was getting the better of her, and that she would not last in talking to them for much longer, “Tell me a story of the world around you."
“A story of the world around me…” Sol repeated before they stopped. “Tell a stor— there’s no story here! Nothing! Just rocks and grass and ruin!”
“Then listen harder.”
Sol still didn’t understand what she meant, and they were more than ready to say so, to ask her to give them something more substantial to work with, but in that moment, her breathing steadied, and she fell asleep. Sol couldn’t help but feel relieved that they didn’t have to figure it out. They looked at the sleeping girl, her face serene as she slept on, surrounded by nothing but rocks and grass and the ruins they had found her in. They would stay with her if they could, and maybe learn to find the story she had asked from them. She seemed like a nice person; they couldn’t help but feel bad about having to leave her alone in such a deserted place. But their time in this world was almost up, and they had no other choice.
It's been thousands of years since they had met the girl, and Sol had long gotten the memory of her vague request out of their mind. They didn’t know why they had suddenly thought of that time, but now that it crossed their mind, they couldn’t help but think about it. Sitting here next to the one that they loved, they think they could finally understand what she meant.
Mal had closed his eyes as he leaned back against a tree, his shoulder touching Sol’s own. Sol couldn’t help but smile fondly at him, no longer able to deny the love and affection that they felt. The two of them were in a forest, and there wasn’t much more here than there was at the place Sol was with that girl. There were rocks, and grass, no ruins - but a lot of trees. There wasn’t much of a story that could be told of this world they were in, but should she have been there, Sol thought they could have told her something about it.
Perhaps she was right, there was a story in the world around them. Sitting here with their beloved, Sol couldn't help but think that there was a story to be told about the rocks and the grass and the trees. There was a story they could tell about the forest; the way the trees bent as the wind blew through them, their branches reaching out to each other almost as if they were saying hello, there was a story in the way the birds flew high above them, and certainly, there was undeniably a story they could have told her about the way Mal's eyes were drooping, in the way he was slouching and letting his head fall onto Sol's shoulder. There was a story in the love they felt for him, and the way that it made the world around them feel so much brighter than it used to be.
Sol closed their eyes, listening to the sounds around them.
A gentle breeze was blowing, and the leaves in the tree above them were rustling. They could also hear the gentler rustling of the grass, and was that the happy chirp of a bird? Sol couldn’t help but keep their eyes closed, never really falling asleep, too engrossed in picking out the many sounds they could hear. Mal shifted a little, lifting his head from Sol’s shoulder as he awoke. Sol couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. His gentle steady breathing had long become their favourite sound.
“Sol?” His voice was low, and he spoke slowly. Sol smiled, adding Mal’s half-asleep voice into their list of favourite sounds.
“Yes, Mal?”
“Can you tell a story?" Sol smiled, nostalgia hitting them as they remembered the way that they had last been asked this question, "Tell me a story of the world around us.”
Sol didn’t even need to think. They had already begun telling Mal about the wonderful world that surrounded them