Hange: A Short Story
There’s something so tragically beautiful about the rain, Hange muses to herself as she traces and connects the transparent drops dotting the mullioned window. She can’t deny it: it’s certainly fitting for the given situation. She breathes in and the fiery ache within her lungs doesn’t go away; it only worsens, and she fears, for a fleeting moment, that maybe it’ll burn a cavity through her chest.
When she exhales, she feels a lump in her throat and a persistent ache behind her eyes. Her head feels heavy, as do her eyelids. Hange lets them flutter shut and just listens to the rhythmic, soothing noise of the rain outside.
“You’re sad,” somebody observes, and Hange grits her teeth and keeps her eyes shut, refusing to open them. She wills …show more content…
“I can’t believe I’m talking to myself.”
“It’s not your fault,” the voice repeats and Hange sucks in a breath, truly and utterly afraid. She chances a look up and doesn’t see Moblit there. She doesn’t see him sitting in the corner, a book in his hand, and she doesn’t hear him reprimanding her about her lack of self-care. The room’s empty, and Hange feels so inexplicably lost as she searches it with tearful eyes.
And then there’s a noise behind her and she turns quickly, a hopeful and relieved expression brightening her face. However, her smile falls upon seeing Levi standing in the doorway, and the lump immediately returns, choking and suffocating her. She emits a small whimper, shaking her head, and Levi lets out a sigh before he marches across the untidy, disorganised study. She half expects him to drag her from the office, and she’s speechless when he kneels to the ground and wraps his arms around her, holding her.
His voice is low when he says, breaking the silence, “It’s not your fault.”
Hange makes a somewhat startling sound in the back of her throat before she buries her face into Levi’s neck and just
When she exhales, she feels a lump in her throat and a persistent ache behind her eyes. Her head feels heavy, as do her eyelids. Hange lets them flutter shut and just listens to the rhythmic, soothing noise of the rain outside.
“You’re sad,” somebody observes, and Hange grits her teeth and keeps her eyes shut, refusing to open them. She wills …show more content…
“I can’t believe I’m talking to myself.”
“It’s not your fault,” the voice repeats and Hange sucks in a breath, truly and utterly afraid. She chances a look up and doesn’t see Moblit there. She doesn’t see him sitting in the corner, a book in his hand, and she doesn’t hear him reprimanding her about her lack of self-care. The room’s empty, and Hange feels so inexplicably lost as she searches it with tearful eyes.
And then there’s a noise behind her and she turns quickly, a hopeful and relieved expression brightening her face. However, her smile falls upon seeing Levi standing in the doorway, and the lump immediately returns, choking and suffocating her. She emits a small whimper, shaking her head, and Levi lets out a sigh before he marches across the untidy, disorganised study. She half expects him to drag her from the office, and she’s speechless when he kneels to the ground and wraps his arms around her, holding her.
His voice is low when he says, breaking the silence, “It’s not your fault.”
Hange makes a somewhat startling sound in the back of her throat before she buries her face into Levi’s neck and just