A splash shattered the silence
Cold closed in around Aerith
His eyes fluttered open—vision blurred, thoughts scattered
Through the shifting darkness, a figure moved toward him
Then—
arms wrapped around him, tight
He felt himself being pulled back
The world tilted,
light breaking through the water above,
and everything began to move upward
"—cough—"
Aerith opened his eyes
Someone stood in front of him—blurred at first
Slowly, his vision cleared
A boy with misty silver eyes and silver hair
Aerith tried to sit up weakly
The boy said nothing, only staring at him with concern
"Why… did you save me?" Aerith asked softly
Instead of answering, the boy lifted a finger and lightly tapped Aerith's head
Aerith blinked, startle
The silver-haired boy showed signs with his hands
Aerith stared, confused
The boy repeated the signs, then pointed at Aerith… and the ocean—
as if asking why
"…You can't speak?" Aerith asked quietly
The boy shook his head
Silence settled between them
Aerith smiled softly
"I did it…" he whispered
"…because I don't have a reason to live anymore."
The silver-haired boy reached beside him, picked up his phone —the one he had left safely on the shore—and began typing
He turned the screen toward Aerith
I don't know what kind of life you lived to reach this point
But if you suffer, give up, and disappear—
then everything you endured becomes meaningless
You've lived this long, haven't you?
So live until the very end
It may be hard—
"But"
Hang on a little longer
You don't deserve to die
Aerith's chest tightened—
yet felt warm at the same time
His eyes widened
Tears welled up and spilled over before he could stop them
Then—he broke
He cried the way someone does when they've been holding everything in for far too long
Each sob tore through the walls he had built around himself
The silver-haired boy pulled him into his arms without hesitation
Aerith clutched his shirt, shaking, crying harder than he ever had before
Everything he had hidden
Every ache he swallowed in silence
Every moment he told himself he was fine when he wasn't
"Shattered"
All he had ever wanted
was a simple hug
The silver-haired boy said nothing
He just held him tight
Sometimes, silence is kinder
The boy's eyes shimmered with quiet pain as he watched him
When the tears finally faded,
Aerith felt warmth settle in his heart
His phone rang
On the screen:
Ash ♡
Another notification followed
Yuri ♡ — 60 missed calls
Ash ♡ — 70 missed calls
Aerith froze
The silver-haired boy held up his phone again.
It's okay
Just tell them you were with someone
"…I don't have anyone besides them," Aerith whispered
The boy looked at him for a moment—
then typed again
Then tell them you were with me
The wind brushed softly around them
The silver-haired boy smiled and gently held Aerith's hands
Aerith took a slow breath
"…Okay."
He pressed the call button
It rang once
"Aerith??" Ash's voice came immediately
"Ash…" Aerith said quietly
"I was… with someone
A friend."
"You scared me," Ash said softly
"Where are you? Why didn't you answer?"
"It was on silent," Aerith replied.
"I didn't notice."
"…I'm glad you're okay," Ash said
"Come home. Yuri and I were worried sick."
"Yuri's quiet… I think he's mad."
Aerith smiled slowly
"Yuri being mad is rare."
The phone was suddenly snatched away
"Come home, Aerith."
"…Okay, Yuri."
The call ended
"They're going to scold me," Aerith chuckled softly
For the first time, his heart felt light
The silver-haired boy watched him
"I didn't say it yet…" Aerith said with light in his eyes
"Thank you."
Aerith
"…Your name?"
The boy smiled and replied
"Aerel."
Aerith smiled back
"Thank you, Aerel."