Endless Embrace

The day of the accident was one of those rare moments in life when the world seemed to stop.

The sun had been setting, and I remember that. The sun always set at a bad time. It was never worth looking at, but you couldn't help it. You'd glance up from your work and find yourself distracted from whatever it was you were doing by the orange-red slash across the sky. I don't know why we stopped making blue skies for ourselves, after we'd finished being primitive and living on Earth. I've never asked anyone about that; people have too many opinions about things like that, now. It's easier just not to talk to anyone if you know what they think before they say it. Sometimes I wonder if the sky is grey now because everyone's forgotten how to make blue paint.

But anyway, the sunset that day was really something special. It was so vivid; somehow better than usual in all the ways that we didn't notice until something made us look up. We'd all been talking about how nice it looked outside, and then one of my friends said he thought he saw someone standing on top of the wall around our apartment block, staring at the sunset with their arms outstretched as if they wanted to catch more of it...

I mean, who would do a thing like that? Just stand there like that? But then someone else said, 'well, obviously,' and pointed out that the person looked like an idiot for standing like that, but it wasn't *actually* illegal or anything. If you're going to live in a place with a wall around it, you should have some way to get over the wall if you need to escape or something, right? Which sounds reasonable enough until you realise that we all lived in places with walls around them precisely so that no one could get into them without our permission - but anyway, everyone kept arguing about whether or not it was against the law while I kept staring up at what I thought had been just a shadow on the wall of our building.

And then I saw him move ever so slightly, like he'd seen me looking at him or something; I don't know why he did that. And then he waved at me! Not like an idiot waving their arms in the air - more like someone trying to attract my attention from across a crowded room.

I didn't know what to think at first; it was strange enough to see someone standing on top of our apartment building waving at me - let alone someone who looked exactly like Muzan! He was wearing his favourite shirt (the blue one with little white clouds all over it) and his favourite pair of brown trousers, which were also covered in little white clouds and gave him this sort of halo-like quality when he moved. He'd lost weight since I'd last seen him two years ago; he looked amazing!

Then I realised what must be happening: Muzan must have come back! That had to be it! Yes! He'd finally decided to forgive me for breaking up with him two years ago and gone off into space to embark on a yet unexplained adventure... but when he got back home he saw me standing there in his favourite shirt - thank goodness I wore this shirt today because apparently Muzan has some kind of weird thing about my shirt collection - and hadn't been able to resist showing me how happy he was to be back home again by coming over and hugging me through my window!

So I stood up from my chair beside my desk and waved back excitedly at Muzan ... only by then Muzan had already disappeared down behind some other buildings on our street corner. The sun had already set behind those buildings - you couldn't see anything except darkness now - so I knew there was no way Muzan could still see me waving back at him; if he wanted to wave back again he'd have to turn around and walk all the way round those buildings just so he could see me again.... which is exactly what he did!

Except now Muzan was walking across the top of another building - one much taller than any others around here - wearing his whimsical blue shirt with white clouds on it and looking excitedly towards where I would be waiting for him... except by this point I knew how everything went wrong every time Muzan walked away from me for any length of time: every time Muzan left for longer than a week things got harder between us until eventually we broke up *again*. And even though this time would surely be different because Muzan had changed so much... well, he hadn't actually changed *that* much since we broke up two years ago; just seeing him walking away from me like that made my heart sink right down into my stomach faster than if we'd both just fallen off a skyscraper together....

And then... it happened again: suddenly everything stopped. The whole world felt like it had slowed

to a crawl, as if time itself was holding its breath. I blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening. The city around me froze in mid-motion—the cars suspended in mid-air, their wheels locked in an eternal standstill. People stood frozen in various poses, their expressions frozen in time.

My gaze shifted back to Muzan, who was now just a few steps away from reaching my building. His eyes, filled with anticipation, locked with mine. It was as if the universe had conspired to give us this moment, to reunite us after so long apart. The excitement bubbled within me, but a part of me was wary. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...

But I couldn't deny the pull he still had on me. The memories of our time together flooded my mind, the laughter we shared, the way his touch sent warmth cascading through my veins. Despite the pain, I couldn't resist him. And now, standing on another building, just beyond my reach, he was offering me another chance. A chance to rewrite our story, to learn from our mistakes, to build something new from the wreckage of our past.

In that frozen moment, I made the decision. I would allow myself to hope again. I would trust in the possibility that this time could be different. That we could weather any storm, any inevitable distance that separates us. Because what we had was worth fighting for. And if there was even the smallest chance that he still loved me as I loved him, then I couldn't let that slip away.

With a surge of determination, I rushed towards the nearest exit, bypassing the frozen pedestrians and the motionless world around me. My heart pounded in my chest, urging me forward. I needed to reach Muzan, to embrace him and let him know that I was willing to give us another chance.

As I burst through the doors, a flash of something caught my eye. A peculiar shimmering light seemed to surround Muzan, causing him to glow with an ethereal beauty. My steps faltered momentarily, curiosity piqued by the unusual phenomenon. But it didn't matter. Nothing did, except for Muzan.

As I ran across the rooftop, the distance between us closing rapidly, I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. He too had noticed the strange light. But neither of us hesitated. We had come too far to let anything, even the unknown, stand in our way.

Just as our outstretched hands were about to touch, the world around us snapped back into motion. The cars resumed their honking, the pedestrians hurried on their way, and the city came alive once more. But Muzan and I remained frozen in that suspended moment, oblivious to the chaos around us.

Suddenly, the shimmering light intensified, enveloping us in its gentle warmth. Time seemed to bend and blur, blending past and present, joy and heartbreak. And then, in a flash, everything changed.

When the world unfroze, I found myself standing on the rooftop of a different building, alone. Muzan was gone, leaving only a bittersweet ache behind. Confusion washed over me, mingling with the remnants of hope that clung desperately to my heart.

But then, in the distance, I heard the distant chimes of a clock tower. Its melodic toll echoed through the stillness, guiding me towards the next chapter of my life. As I made my way towards the sound, uncertainty gave way to determination. Whatever lay ahead, I vowed to follow the path that fate had laid out for me, even if it meant letting go of the familiar and embracing the unknown.

For the day of the accident was not just a moment of stillness, but a catalyst for change. And as I walked towards the unknown, my heart brimming with both trepidation and anticipation, I knew that regardless of what lay ahead, every step would lead me closer to finding my own sunset—the one that was meant just for me.