Chapter One
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"No, Nephlyte! Please, don’t go! Please don’t leave me!" I scream his name over and over. My small fingers clench tightly around the massive branches piercing his shoulder. My fingers are wet with his blood. Tears stream down my cheek as I struggle frantically to pull the branches out. He places a bloody hand on my shoulder and smiles warmly. His finely sculptured face is scratched, his beautiful brown hair, once long and silky, now hangs tangled and drenched in sweat and blood. He coughs, and I can hear the resignation in his voice as he chuckles, "I guess I lied about the chocolate parfait..."
"No, Nephlyte!" His eyes close gently, and even as I begin to sob, I can feel his soul leave this world; a soul set free from the evil of the Negaverse. Set free by the power of our love. He is free...and I am alone.
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Sometimes, I look back through the years of my life, and I marvel at what has happened to me over the course of time. So much has affected me, so much has changed. Some things will never be the same again. Like Nephlyte.
Nephlyte was special. He cared so much about me. He had a gentle spirit, a spirit which most people aren’t gifted with. It’s funny how he just swept me off my feet, the first time I saw him.
He was known as ‘Maxfield Stanton’ then. He just drove up one day, and the minute I saw him, ‘bam’, it hit me...like a rock. This wasn’t like any of my other crushes: with Brad Pitt, or Leonardo DiCaprio, or even that small one with Darien, this was different. This was special. I knew right away that we were meant for each other.
I’m embarassed at the way I threw myself at him, but I knew I loved him. He was confused, I suppose. He didn’t know what to expect, being from the Negaverse, where they don’t experience love. But, I confronted him with my feelings, and I think he felt the connection, too. Serena...she thought he was bad for me. Now that I think about it, I guess she had a point, but I wouldn’t trade my time with Nephlyte for anything. Even now that I know he was from the Negaverse. Even now that he’s dead. He has changed my life so much, and I know that he will always live in my heart.
So much had happened the night of Nephlyte’s death. He had saved me from some people from the Negaverse, but he was injured in his right arm. I bandaged his arm using a bit of ripped cloth from my pajamas. I think that was the night he realized he loved me...I mean really realized, for the first time, that we loved each other. That night, he told me he wanted to fight for good. He wanted to change...for me.
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Serena walks into the classroom, late, as usual. Miss Haruna chews her out for not having her homework done. After Serena stands in the hallway for a few hours, she is allowed back into class, and she sits down at her desk beside me.
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It’s funny. Serena and I have been best friends ever since we met on our first day of school at ‘Crossroads Junior High’. But recently, she’s had some new friends; I’ve met them a couple times. Ami and Lita go to our school, and they seem nice enough. She’s also been hanging around with those girls Rei and Mina. I don’t know how or when she met them...it just seems like the four of them have become inseparable almost overnight. And when she started dating Darien...whom she used to hate! She used to think he was just an obnoxious jerk, but now...
It’s like I never see her anymore. I don’t how I should feel, really. After all, she has her own life, and I can’t expect her to always be around. Still, it’s strange how things change.
* * * * *
Lunch time has arrived and we are all outside eating our little box lunches. I have some vegetables and rice, but Melvin’s mother has packed him some delicious looking squid. I love that stuff, and Melvin knows that. He offers me some.
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Melvin. It’s funny. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead hanging around him. He always seemed annoying, but now, I think I’ve seen something in him which most people don’t notice at all. He’s brave and kind, and he really cares about people.
I guess it started around when Nephlyte...died. It still hurts to remember that, but the pain has begun to die down. Anyways, I was in shock for several days, and very depressed. I couldn’t stop thinking about Nephlyte...his hair, his eyes, it just hurt so much to think I would have to live the rest of my life without him.
Serena came over after school: she tried to drag me out of the house. Melvin tagged along, and we all decided to go watch the new Sailor V movie. We passed a graveyard on the way to the theater, and seeing all the tombstones, each marked neatly, row after row, made me think about how Nephlyte would never be remembered like this. As far as I knew, I was the only one in the world who understood him, remembered him, and mourned for him.
I felt tears begin to roll down my cheeks, and I ran away from Serena and Melvin; I didn’t want them to see me cry again. I bumped into a priest as I ran through the graveyard, and told him about Nephlyte, but then ‘Zoicite’, the evil general from the Negaverse who had killed Nephlyte, appeared and transformed the priest into a monster who attacked me. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask appeared and battled Zoicite, and I tried to stay our of the way. A stray bolt of energy flew towards me and, when I saw it, I was too scared to move. Suddenly, I felt someone push me out of the way of the attack. It was Melvin. He had jumped in front of me and had pushed us both out of the way. But, he got injured in the attack...in the same shoulder as Nephlyte’s injury.
After Sailor Moon had defeated ‘Zoicite’, I gave Melvin Nephlyte’s bandage to tie around his arm. I guess it was my way of thanking him. I guess that was also when I let Nephlyte go.
Since then, Melvin has proven his courage several times, but it seems like I’m the only one who ever sees it. No one believes that he is as strong and noble as Nephlyte was. But, I know it’s true. I guess that’s why I like him so much, because he reminds of Nephlyte. Melvin and Nephlyte. It’s a little ironic.
* * * * *
Serena, Melvin, Brandy, and I sit in the shade of the ‘big tree’ and begin to talk about Sailor Moon. Serena is telling us how she thinks Sailor Moon is graceful, beautiful, and powerful.
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It’s strange how often I’ve encountered Sailor Moon. She has appeared so many times to save my life.
The first time I saw her was in my dreams. My mother’s jewelry store was being attacked by a monster and everyone had turned into zombies. Sailor Moon came to rescue me.
Since then, I’ve begun meeting her outside my dreams. I’ve even tried to protect Nephlyte from her and the Sailor Scouts! I wonder why it is that Sailor Moon always seems to be around whenever I need help...
I’ve seen Sailor Moon so many times. I’m envious of her beauty, her strength, and her wisdom. But, every time I see her, I always get the nagging feeling that she looks very familiar...
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Classes are almost over for the afternoon. I stare out the window, and listen to the birds singing and the squirrels chattering. Miss Haruna notices how nice it is, and decides to let us out a few minutes early.
I walk down the sidewalk, and, somehow, my feet lead me to a park. I weave between the trunks of the trees, and stop beneath a certain tree. It is cool and shaded here, the sky mostly hidden by the green treetops. I sit upon the grass, and lower my head in quiet remembrance.
* * * * *
"No, Nephlyte! Please, don’t go! Please don’t leave me!" I scream his name over and over. My small fingers clench tightly around the massive branches piercing his shoulder. My fingers are wet with his blood. Tears stream down my cheek as I struggle frantically to pull the branches out. He places a bloody hand on my shoulder and smiles warmly. His finely sculptured face is scratched, his beautiful brown hair, once long and silkily, now hangs tangled and drenched in sweat and blood. He coughs, and I can hear the resignation in his voice as he chuckles, "I guess I lied about the chocolate parfait..."
I stroke his blood-stained cheek and he closes his eyes gently, a smile on his lips. He is dead. I begin to cry. His body fades into sparkling dust, and I feel it caress me in the wind, before rising upward, forever. All I have left, is the bandage. It’s all I have left to remember him by.
* * * * *
Sometimes, I imagine that he’s still here. That he’s all around me. He is in the air I breathe, the wind that blows through my hair. He embraces me whenever I go outside. He watches over me and protects me from evil. He is everywhere, and I’m not alone.
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Other times, I find it impossible to think that. He is dead. He will never smile at me again...never look at me with those deep, brown eyes. I am alone. I feel empty, like a shell of something I once was.
I feel as if a part of me died that night. As if that night is eternal and I am there, lying on the wet grass, waiting for him. I am trapped forever in that moment, and I can never break free. I am waiting for him. The rest of my life is just a dream as I wait. I will be there forever, calling out his name...
"Nephlyte..."
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