2024-05-16: A Moment of Eternity

• Log: 2024-05-16: A Moment of Eternity
• Cast: Chloe, Coco Coconoe
• Where: Sunroom
• Date: U.C. 0099 05 16
• Summary: Vivid memories have been plaguing Chloe's dreams of late. Another one strikes during her visit to Tokyo-3.

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• • BGM: https://youtu.be/twpazdGTMBA**

"Thank you for blooming... You must have worked so hard."

I glance around the sunroom as her voice shakes me from my thoughts. She's currently facing in the direction of the flowers which recently bloomed. I don't understand why she's talking to them... They can't hear her, can't understand her.

"I like things that let me feel a touch of eternity."

It's as if she heard my thoughts. I ask out of confusion, "Eternity?" I know the definition of the word, but the context here is lost on me.

"Yes, eternity." She turns her wheelchair in my direction, though of course her eyes remain closed. "Flowers, grass, trees. Stars, too. Stars are eternally in the sky, and flowers live countless lives on the ground. Stars and flowers are the same."

Again I am confused. Stars and flowers are nothing alike. A star will burn for millions of years. Flowers live only for an infinitesimal moment in comparison.

"It doesn't matter if they wilt or fade. Because the moment when you feel their beauty... That moment never will."

A moment... Is eternal? That seems so contradictory. I voice my confusion again, "I don't understand... Besides, you can't even see stars or flowers."

She giggles at my directness. I've known her long enough to know that, while her condition of course troubles her, she prefers to face it head on rather than tiptoe around it. She explains, "There are things you don't need eyes to know. Close your eyes. Open your ears."

I do as she requests, plunging my world into darkness as I close my eyes. I try to listen. My sharp ears can pick up the sound of her heartbeat, echoing my own with eerie accuracy. The rustling of her dress as she brushes her hand across it. The quiet whirring of the fans in the air cycling system. The hum of the lights that feed the plants in the sunroom, which, despite its name, is far from able to receive the true rays of the sun.

"Can you not hear the singing of the stars? Can you not hear the whispering of the flowers?"

I cannot... The flowers are too still for me to hear any movement. And the stars are certainly far beyond the reach of my ears.

"The scent of flowers is all around me, and the stars are in the sky beyond. I cannot see them, but I know they are there."

I open my eyes again to look at her. I still don't understand... But that's okay. Watching her, I feel a sense of ease. Like perhaps, this moment really will last an eternity.

"Let's look at the stars together someday, Chloe."

Suddenly, I can feel the world fading. I can feel her getting further away from me...

"It's a promise."

No... Don't go.

"Don't forget..."

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Chloe jerks up in the bed, sweat rolling down her face as her heart pounds. It takes a few moments for her to register where she is, as it's not the usual place. Then she remembers the temporary quarters assigned to her during her visit to the NERV HQ in Tokyo-3.

Chloe moves a hand to hold her head, the experience still surprisingly vivid in her mind. Yet another memory that haunts her in her dreams and wakes her in the middle of the night. It's not the first and probably won't be the last.

Chloe whispers quietly, "Coco..."