229 PARTING WAYS

"Hiyaa!"

Like lightning, Raigon hopped on Steel, hoping he would immediately take him from the Castle to the tunnel. She was expecting that Zoe, Azra and Erin were already in there. 

He was still doubting if he made the right decision even though in his mind he knew that it was the right thing to do for everybody's sake.

But his heart was broken to the point of he was wondering how it could still beat even with its crushed state.

As the winds caressed him as he passed through the fields of Terra, his aggrieved spirit because of his decision to let Zoe go was somehow pacified. 

"Terra needs me now. I can think about my own happiness later."

He resolved to himself as he recalled his mission to save Azra. And then afterward, solve the case of her mother's assassination. And last find out the reason for the outbreak and the cause of the other unknown illnesses in Terra. 

It's not just because he should. But because he wants the people to be safe and secured, not worrying that another crisis will come and destroy their peace. 

But as he was finally being sold out in his decision, he saw a figure of a woman who seemed to be opening her arms to him.

"Zoe?"

He slowed down his horse as he rubbed his eyes. He felt a warm glow flow through him as she looked more delicate and ethereal than ever at the edge of the cliff under the bright moon. 

His dying heart suddenly pumped alive again as he approached her. 

He wanted to control himself from making anymore advances so that they wouldn't be both in so much pain when he told her about his decision.

But he couldn't do so as he wanted to feel free and enjoy his time with her even for the last time.

"Zoe…"

He went inside her personal space and felt the warmth of her embrace. 

Zoe suddenly opened her eyes in bewilderment as she was just tasting the feeling of having him near her even in just a wishful thinking.

But to her surprise, it felt tangible and real as she felt the heat from his body enveloped her in the cold evening breeze.

"A-are you really Raigon?" 

Her palms flew to her cheeks and slightly tapped on it, making sure that she was not just imagining things. 

Raigon's lips curved up as he bent down and stared at her well-modeled but feminine face up close. 

He wanted to keep his hands to himself. But her nearness to him made him lose all sensibility.

"Maybe it's all right since this would be the last time."

"Let me prove it to you."

His mouth came down on hers. And that was it. All the self-control he'd exerted  went like water crashing through a broken dam. 

Zoe, realizing that it was indeed him and feeling that it would be the last time for both of them as well, let herself loose at that moment. 

'Raigon, please don't forget about me.'

Her arms came up around his neck and he pulled her against him. His hands flattened against her back and she was up on the tips of her toes, kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing her.

He clung to her more tightly, knotting his hands in her hair, trying to tell her, with the press of his mouth on hers, that this is what he wants.

'I want to fight for you, Zoe.'

His hands slid down to her waist. He had no idea what he would have done next, if  Zoe didn't unlock her hands from around his neck and stepped back. 

Raigon was still staring at her. His lips were parted, his hands still open. His eyes were wide. 

"Let us not make any more memories that can make us long for each other more."

Zoe spoke in a determined voice but faltered in the end as it is a far cry from what she truly desires.

As much as she desired to continue on, she knew what was needed to be done. 

Raigon's eyebrows furrowed as he was about to tell her about his decision even though he does not know how and where to begin.

"I think it would be for the best for everybody if we would stay away from each other from now on."

It was the most painful words he has ever heard in his entire life, more painful than the negative criticisms of the people whom his family has served their entire lives.

He knew this was about to happen and he readied himself for this. But he didn't realize that it would be this agonizing, being the person who has received it.

'Who knew this could be this devastating?'

A sigh of relief came out of Raigon as he was glad that it turned out to be this way. He didn't realize how hurtful it would be for her if the decision came from him.

He was thinking of how to answer her when she objects. And now he's the one who wanted to object to the idea.

Seeing the dilemma in his dazed look, Zoe reiterated her suggestion, which reminded Raigon of what is at stake.

"This all started in us. And it should end in us. If we would both decide to fight this together even if it means we are separating ways, I believe everything will fall in its place."

Zoe reinforced her resolve as she darted her eyes away. She couldn't bear to look at Raigon as she would just eat what she had spoken.

"I'm sorry, Zoe…"

Raigon whispered in his softest voice.

*******************************

The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected. Maybe they always have been and will be. Maybe we've lived a thousand lives before this one and in each of them we've found each other. And maybe each time, we've been forced apart for the same reasons. That means that this goodbye is both a goodbye for the past ten thousand years and a prelude to what will come.

Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook