Blade

“I just… decided to leave.” Pinkamena explained.

“Oh my gosh.” Cherry frowned. “What if you stayed, and decided to check on him or something?”

Pinkamena giggled lightly.

“Why would I ever check on Kanker?”

Cherry realized how silly that had sounded. He returned a laugh.

“Yea, I guess I didn’t think about that.” He replied. “But really, what if whoever got him had gotten you too? Don’t you think it’s lucky that you left in time?”

“They didn’t get Brolly did they?” She asked, obviously knowing nothing about the incident.

Cherry paused, trying to remember. Suddenly, he flinched violently, startling Pinkamena. Then he relaxed himself, as if nothing had happened.

“No. No, I don’t think so. I might have actually seen him yesterday.”

“You’re still having trouble remembering things?” Pinkamena asked, trying hard enough to change the subject.

Cherry forgot instantly.

“Oh! Well don’t worry about that, Pinkamena.” He answered kindly. “It is permanent, but I really have gotten better. Much better, you know?” He assured.

There was a hint of nervousness in Pinkamena’s voice.

“So, uh…What was the thing called again? The disease?”

Fortunately, Cherry didn’t pick up on it and answered warmly.

“They always told me it was called Parkinson’s. They say I’ve got a really rare case of it. Apparently, it’s the good kind of rare, though. It’s really mild, they tell me.”

“Oh well it’s good to hear you’re doing better, Cherry.” Pinkamena smiled awkwardly.

They stood there at the edge of town square silently for a bit. It seemed very long to Pinkamena, but she didn’t think it did to Cherry. Things were obviously still going wonderful for him. His wife probably still loved him as much as he loved her. Maybe they had even had some children by then. Pinkamena understood why he had somebody to love him; he was warm and friendly, kind and funny, joyous and all around caring.

Pinkamena thought about herself. She didn’t think she could be called any of those things when she thought about it. Nobody had really loved her except for Ariel. There was nothing to love her for. A grinding coldness chilled her heart. She unexpectedly found herself about to cry.

Cherry saw her lip quivering. Her eyes shined and looked away from his. He lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly, worried.

“Pinkamena?” He asked. “Are you alright?”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She only exhaled. She didn’t dare sniffle. She turned away from Cherry and toward the bridge.

She didn’t want him to worry. He didn’t deserve that. She didn’t want him to comfort her either. She was glad that he knew she was fine and that was the end of it.

“I’m sorry, Cherry.” She whispered.

Pinkamena ran off toward the bridge, leaving Cherry in the dust.

“Pinkamena! Wait!” He called. “Why are you going into the woods!?”

An answer would be pointless. She just kept running. She hoped that he wouldn’t follow.

Pinkamena got her food later that day, just as the market was closing. She made sure Cherry wasn’t around. She didn’t want to be bothering him anymore.

Author's Note:     This is the shortest chapter so far. Sorry about that. The reason; I had written the next chapter before this one and I felt that the last chapter had ended too abruptly. The next chapter takes place in a completely different setting and time of day, having left me with the burden of figuring out how I would just magically jump back to the time frame that the last chapter is in without confusing people. So, simply put, not much was put into this chapter because it's only purpose was to finish where I had last left you off. I'll be releasing the next chapter tomorrow night to compensate for this one's shortness. Thank you very much for sticking with me this long and liking the story this far in (or not). You guys make my day with your kind words. I truly wish I could give you more than my thanks.