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Scene: One of the hills overlooking Sunnydale.

“I knew I’d find you up here,” a quiet voice came from behind Angel. He turned around to see the one person who knew him better than anyone else in the world. “Willow,” Angel breathed.

“There’s been a constant pressure in my head for a while now. At first, I thought I was just getting sick, but tonight, it became clear what the pressure was. You’re leaving me, aren’t you?”

“How did you.....?”

“How did I know? How could I not know when your feelings for me have changed?”

“I am so sorry for hurting you, Willow. It’s just too hard for me to stay here. If I don’t go now, I doubt I will ever be able to leave. And, we both know that us as a couple would never work out. If I stayed here, I fear that you would end up dead and I want you to have a long and happy life. You would never have either of these things if you remained with me.”

“I wish our lives could have been different,” Willow sadly whispered.

“So do I.”

“Maybe in another lifetime, we’ll be able to be together.”

“Maybe......”

I remember thinking

I'll go on forever only knowing

I'll see you again.

*****

Twenty years later

“I knew you’d come back someday.”

“It’s been so long, Willow.”

The touch of you is hard to remember

But like that touch I've known no other.

“Too long. Are you happy?”

“As happy as someone can be when they’ve given up the one person they ever loved.”

And I know you're the heaviest weight,

When you're not here that's hung

Around my head.

“I’ve thought about you every day since I left here twenty years ago. And, every day I wondered if I had made the right choice.”

“I wondered that, too. But, I knew you wanted to go and I would never have tried to force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

And in your eyes

The seeing of the greatest few.

“I did need to leave. Thank you for understanding.”

“I could always tell what you were feeling. Sometimes, I knew what your feelings were before you did. I’m just glad I got to see you one more time before I died.”

Do what you will always

Walk where you like, your steps

Do as you please, I'll back you up

“Remember how you told me that you felt a pressure when I had decided to leave?”

“Yes.”

“I started having that feeling a few days ago. And, I knew it only meant one thing: You were ready to leave me and the world.”

I remember thinking

Sometimes we walk

Sometimes we run away.

“I tried to hang on as long as I could. But I know the end is near. Seeing you again will make dying easier.”

“I don’t know if I can exist in a world without you in it anymore.”

“You have to. There’s so much more that needs to be done, so many more lives to be saved. I know that we’ll meet again someday. It’s just not meant to be in this lifetime. Promise me that you won’t give up.”

“I promise.” On hearing the words that she wanted to hear, Willow gripped Angel’s hand and closed her eyes for the last time.

Angel smoothed her hair back and whispered again, “I promise.”

*****

“It’s been fifty years since I last whispered those words to my Willow. And, I have been faithful to my promise since that day. Now, I can feel her calling me to be with her again.”

But I know

No matter how fast we are running

Somehow we keep

Somehow we keep up with each other.

“It’s been a long, hard road since the last time I saw her. I’m just glad it will be over soon.” Angel watched the sun rise from the place that he had parted from Willow so long ago. “I’ll be with you soon, Willow.”