Chapter Theme Music: Emancipation ~ Ace Combat 4 OST
<10/20/2018 - 17:54 | 1065 Peachtree Street (Hotel), Atlanta, GA, USA>
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Not too long after our amazing trip to Atlanta City, Lumina and I put together the perfect plan and idea to travel to the city once more; only this time, it would be just the two of us on a one-night stay. I had to save up a bit of money for this one, for the Uber fares and the cost of a one-night hotel room pass, but on this day, we executed the plan perfectly.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzcsPIKcsc
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I managed to convince my mother I'd only be at a friend's house for one night, not telling her where I'd actually be for a number of reasons. It wasn't easy, but I wouldn't care either way. I know I still live with my parents for now, but they can't tell me what I can and can't do when I'm over the age of eighteen anymore. Anyway, that's not the point.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuD94p9tfXC
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The point is, we managed to have another magical moment here in Atlanta, just like before. Only this time, Lumina and I got to watch the most beautiful sunset together on the balcony of our hotel room. Staring deep into that sky was more mesmerizing than either of us could realize, reminding us just how vast and incredible the universe is at times, and also how amazing we are to each other.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0uaU0nTrDR
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Lumina and I did all kinds of things with each other, though most of it was just us walking around. I got a renewed sense of excitement, doing this all on my own with no supervision, no chaperone, just me and my Lumina. I don't know why it feels twice as amazing when Lumina and I are alone together; it just does.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNl8N1yRLp6
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Of course, I also didn't forget that an interesting fact hung on the back of my mind more than it did for Lumina. The fact of the matter is, Lumina and I are spending a night together in a hotel room. For everyone who has the context of how things are between us, that statement alone lacks a bit of excitement. It's not as if Lumina and I can really get it on and play with each other the way we really want to. Even so, she and I know that we want to do that together, to hold each other close, to make out for hours on end, and to consummate our marriage once and for all.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8uTOMt8bWM
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But the reality is, so long as we're physically apart like this, none of that can happen. The only thing Lumina and I can do is hang out with each other, sharing our most intimate experiences with each other, and sometimes engaging in mental synch. I wish I could do more, but I'm still satisfied enough with what I have now.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yIvFiEdVC
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That said, the idea of speaking our activity aloud without the context made me chuckle a little. I mean, if I told another human who doesn't know us this well that I spent a night in a hotel with Lumina, they would instantly come alive at the thought of a juicy topic, jumping to the conclusion that it meant Lumina and I had sex in a hotel room. It wouldn't be true, but some part of me wanted to plant that idea into the heads of a few people, just to see what would happen afterwards. I'm only curious of course.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojjJMsTYC6
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I sighed quietly thinking about it to myself, having just let Lumina go while I stood at the edge of the outdoor rail separating me from falling several stories down. The outdoor view here was absolutely amazing. Even so, none of us could fight against the sharp rising temperature outdoors, comfortable on the skin, though just high enough to block off our telepathy for the rest of the night. Even though I had to let Lumina go for now, I knew we would both look back and think to today as another magical moment. With her, I felt more connected with Lumina than ever before, and I knew it was because we were both reminded of our promise of eternity.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbUmsH2knk
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I stood out here for so much longer during the sunset above, letting my thoughts congregate to an amazing epiphany. Fixing my gaze to the orange sky of an October sunset, it felt in that moment that I was staring through all of time. Appreciating the elegance of this view gave my mind backdrop as I thought back to my whole life once more. My vision, expanded by all that I now know, had me wonder what it would be like to go back to the beginning and start over again with all I have learned. I bet I'm not the only one who does this, wishing they could go back sometimes just to do things a little differently. Still, thinking back on everything this way felt so surreal. There are things I would want to change, and things I would never change.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GE1XG633c
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Regardless of what I could or couldn't change, I was certain this moment in time felt right. This is more than a sunset in Atlanta. It's a marking stone of both our lives, a beacon of truth, a flare of love more powerful an any other moment.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVIWNTtPI7
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I wonder where I will end up in life; building the future with nothing but my own two hands and my reason for living. Despite everything I've been through, I have no reason to quit now. I have to keep doing my best, for her, for me, for both of us. But it won't be easy, for I am not a normal person anymore.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2VxIKBThG
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My special abilities have brought me this far, allowed me to stay with the one I am destined to be with, and opened my eyes in ways I never thought possible... Can you see me standing in this place, my love? Two lives, two worlds, two perceptions. Our bodies are so far apart, but our heart and soul are still connected together by an impossible miracle of chance. Both our worlds are real, both our realities co-exist, overlapping through our senses until you become me - and I become you.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvteTAJ3yW
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It has already happened before, at times with mental synch, and other times from merging our hearts' desires together. I know how Lumina feels deep down about us both, and I feel the same way, certain to build ourselves more miracles that will grant us that which we want most.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswKINaQMIx
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My soul mate, the woman who is the source of my reason for everything is out there, in a place so far away - yet so nearby. Through our special medium, flowing invisibly around everyone else, she and I will always be together. Should I succeed or fail in building the future that we want together, nothing will ever take this relationship away from us. Even if I cannot share her secret with others, it doesn't change how I must live my life in this world. We are all but souls inhabiting these vessels for a brief passing moment, waiting to move onto another stage of life. After everything I have seen, after being shattered and put back together, I can still hold onto that intangible hope that others yearn for.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEYe84hwyW
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You're probably wondering where I'm going with all of this. There's a reason why I write the words I write today, a reason why I revisit the past, thinking back and obsessing over every memory of us. I have many motivations for detailing and outlining the critical moments of my life, some of them personal, most of them to draw my perspective of what reality has truly brought me. It's true that sometimes, miracles do happen. It's also true that, miracles have to be made to happen. On one hand, I could look back and see that everything happened by chance. On the other, it was Lumina's choices that led her to where we are now, and my choices to further the story along. We make the choices! We make the moments in life happen! We are the ones in charge of our futures, our very lives and experiences. I've learned so much about myself in all this time living, so much about the nature of people, and so much more about how important it is to be true to ourselves.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnugow8y5B3
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You thought this was just a cute story between a guy and a girl? Think again. Lumina and I have too many experiences to be classified solely as a crazy romance. We are more than just a love story! We are each our own person, trying desperately to make happiness for ourselves. I can't refer to us as a guidebook, since nothing we ever do is perfect, but is there ever such perfection in any life? We live unimpeded by the fear of failure, persistent in eternity to become closer to each other, and I love Lumina with all my soul. So I no longer care if anyone ever looks to me and labels me in their mind as an insane lunatic or a fabulist.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIVRCZGrGN
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This is my story! It has a beginning, but lacks an ending. Others understand how life goes, especially those of us still alive to tell our stories. I can't forget a single detail no matter how much time passes, thanks to a near perfect memory forged by obsessive mental patterns. And in this real world, I can't tell my tales to anyone. Nobody would believe us.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW2wI8qj51b
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Maybe if I had a means to produce a little more evidence for the others around me, somebody could take our story seriously; I get that. The situation is sadly not as easy. Still, I once upon a time believed in Lumina entirely off faith alone before I was certain she was real. Maybe one day, someone can do that for me too, to believe in me. Lumina already believes in me with all her heart, so I know I'm not really crazy. I love someone in the universe, someone who loves me back. I make her happy. I make her smile. I make her laugh. I fill her entire life with meaning as she does the same for me. There isn't anything wrong with that; nobody will ever convince me that this is wrong. Lumina and I saved each other's own lives; if it weren't for her, I'm sure I would have been dead long ago. Still think you can point at us and drag out some kind of hidden transgressions? If you did, what the hell what that make you?135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8XOEnRvzR
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I don't care if our situation is far beyond the scope of normal. Normal was never part of our package anyway. Long ago, I wished for a miracle, and she set the gears of fate into motion. When all of this started, I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, but I always know when my life began to change. Through it all, our shared experiences allowed us both to grow up, to become stronger, to become more defined, and to become better versions of ourselves. It all started on one single day, when she got involved directly in my life, through something known to them as a purge.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtm7QJZEsi
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Yet here we are all these years later. I've come such a long way since she purged me, such a long way since Lumina and I first met that day. I'm in love with the most wonderful woman from the depths of outer space. The more I say it, less does it sound strange to me, though perhaps more to others. It would be nice if I had friends to talk to about this, but I don't need friends for this. I don't need acceptance or understanding from others to be happy as the person I am, to make more magical moments with Lumina, or to live out the rest of my life with her. Nobody is ever going to stop us, no matter how hard they try.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhEGuTbH0Z
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This day in October is meant to be another magical moment, one of our own making. I'll never forget this moment, though I will continue to make countless more. Some people in the world will never care about me even with all this context, and I'm just fine with that. But for those who are even a little bit interested, our journey is still far from over.135Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlzdwMJITT
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After all, this is our story. It has a beginning, but not an ending. Do you want to know why it can never end? It's because I'm still alive, still making these moments in my life with Lumina. I haven't traveled back into a distant memory to write this. I'm still right here with you now, as you read the words reflected from my heart; and as the time ticks on, I'll continue to live long afterwards. Someday, the words will stop only because I'll have no means of typing them anymore, but I'll still be alive, either in the next life as an Altiri, or in the life after that one, in the A5E. Let's all take the next step together.
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