The Traveler 4/5 (GYWO Yahtzee 2025)

[reneescarted]

Title: The Traveler - Part 4
Fandom or Original Universe: original
Rating: General
Word count: 381
Summary: A traveling alien lifeform lands on a curious, water-filled planet. Here he meets a woman with dreams who, for the first time, will make him want to stay.
Warnings/triggers: -
Writing Prompt: sprattle

The days and weeks following were bliss nothing like Arios has ever known - the newfound kinship with Edith, all the new experiences, and the weird, almost thrilling feeling that he belonged somewhere. He never thought about settling down, not even quite when Edith had first posed him the question, but now that he was here and in love, he wondered if he could. There was so much newness that it filled him right up, and for a while, he believed that it would be enough.

But then, he started noticing the changes in himself. Before, impressions, memories, ideas came to him effortlessly, from everywhere in the world, but now, these were faded and hard to grasp, slowly sliding by him without touching his being. His wanderings became less frequent, until he noticed that he had no desire for them anymore, and even when he made himself go, his body's transformation was imperfect, finding limitations that weren't there anymore.

This is how he found himself back on the beach one night, escaping from the dream of spending a lifetime with Edith, and from her all-consuming impressions that were the only ones getting through to him nowadays. With his head in his hands, Arios was thinking, turning possibilities over and over in his head.

He was fading, and he knew that. Without being true to his nature, he was not himself anymore, and he would keep losing more and more if he stayed. But Edith... he loved her, and knew she did love him too, so how could he just leave her behind? Break her heart and abandon her when everything that mattered to him right now was her?

Arios shed his tears, trying to shed the attachments, not out of malice, but because she filled his soul so much it was difficult to think and find a direction. He had to make a choice, and quickly, while he still had one to make, for it would affect not only his life, but also the woman's he loved. Was there a right choice? Could he somehow compromise and make it work, traveling the universe, calling a piece of it home to return to?

He stared down at the sand, and how his tears became pearls, and knew what he had to do.