just_1_word prompt twenty six [apology]
The silence was intense without the sound of another person filling the halls and the rooms of the house that she once called home. It didn't matter that she hadn't been there in years, the memories hadn't been erased; they were still there like ghosts clinging to the walls. It hurt that time hadn't helped them to fade at all and she was achingly aware of the fact that she clearly hadn't moved on yet.
Lifting a hand, she brushed her fingers slowly along the wall, feeling the rough texture of the wallpaper beneath the tips as she walked slowly down the hall and turned into the living room. At one time it had been filled with life and laughter; the sound of him laughing as the kids ran around and squealed excitedly during whatever game they were playing. She could also see the dining room table where the kids had sat to do their homework under her watchful eye and it was the same table where they had shared many meals together at different times of the day. It was where she sat with Hiro once the night was done and it was just the two of them left alone while the children were tucked into their beds. Where they would indulge in whatever dessert she had made and just talk about their day, the time they had spent apart. It was where she would talk with him while he went over some of his work or where they focused on their different familial finances.
As she climbed the stairs slowly, she touched the railing gently and thought of the time that Kaito's friend had broken his arm when they tried to use the banister as a slide of sorts. It lead to one of the first times when she had to explain to Kaito that she couldn't use her ability to heal everybody; that their abilities couldn't always be shared with someone else. That there had to be a certain level of trust and respect before they could share that part of themselves. He had understood, he had smiled the quiet smile that he shared with his father and nodded before going back to whatever it was that he had been doing at the time.
Life was cruel, Claire had decided that. Yes, there were a lot of joys and a lot of times that she wouldn’t take back but it was also cruel for taking all of those things away from her. But she was used to having her memories at hand, that she could return to the homes and the places where she had all her good memories and she could relive them just by being there but not anymore.
They had to leave Earth because their numbers were too great; the planet could no longer sustain them and survive. So they were escaping to Space, spreading out to explore and colonize on new planets. They would have to find a new way of living, a new way of being and new names to exist under. They would expand in different ways, mostly on ships and among the stars. It was something she had always wondered about, it was one of the ideas that Adam had used to make her see that being immortal wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, it had always seemed like a cool idea but she wasn’t so sure now that the time was here. It was daunting to consider they were going to leave the planet that she had known as her home since the beginning, the home that they all knew. She wouldn't be able to come back to her homes where she had memories, she couldn't come back to relive them and mostly, she couldn't stay to wait for Hiro.
He had been her everything for so long, even after he had disappeared. As the years wore on, he remained in her heart even as she tried to focus on other things to live for but he had always been there in the back of her mind like the memories that existed in the halls that she now wandered. A ghost that lingered nearby, stealing her attention at times and making it hard to move on but perhaps that was because she never really wanted to.
She wandered from room to room, recalling the different emotions that she had felt as she had grown in every way and where she had changed in every way but physically. She had watched their small family start, then grow and it was still growing though all her children were dead now. All gone and buried in the Earth that she had to leave and the idea pained her further.
The last room that she walked into was the bedroom that had been their own at one time, the last room they had spent time together before he disappeared. Their last night where they had made love and then spent a little while talking; never knowing and guessing that it would be their last time. Ever since he disappeared, all she had were her memories and now she would have to rely on photos, or little trinkets, to bring them back to her. After she left here, she couldn't come back.
She walked to their bed, reaching down to pull the thin white sheet that covered it and she tossed it aside in a flutter of material. The same bedding that she had put on years ago still adorned the king sized bed and she half wondered if maybe she could smell him on the pillow but a small sniff told her that it was only a certain degree of mustiness waiting for her. A sigh drifted out of her as she sat down on the edge of the bed, closing her eyes as she listened quietly to the home that had once been so loud.
Then she heard the soft sound of someone walking up the stairs, her heart tripping just a little as she opened her eyes and half expected -- half hoping as well -- to see him but it wasn't Hiro who walked around the corner. It was one of their great granddaughters, one that had gained Claire's ability which included the gifts and the curse of it as well. She was older than what she seemed; looking the same age that Claire looked which meant that the two of them looked barely into their twenties. Her granddaughter was tiny like Claire, built exactly like her though their coloring was different. Whereas Claire was golden, the young girl was pale with dark curls and pale eyes.
"Grandmother, we have to go. Uncle is calling for us." She murmured, keeping the tone of respect as she tilted her head to the side.
"You'll have to call me by my name instead of calling me grandmother." Claire reminded her, giving an attempt at a smile as she got slowly to her feet. "Is he being impatient?"
The girl's eyes twinkled as she nodded, "When isn't he?" She turned with a soft laugh, nearly bouncing out of the room.
Claire remembered the days when she had the same energy and the same excitement for the future but she wasn't sure she had the same drive as before. She looked around the room, half tempted to call after her great granddaughter to tell her that she had changed her mind and that she was staying on Earth but she knew it wouldn't work. Sylar would show up and drag her out; he would never leave her behind. Not even to wait for Nakamura as he still called the man who had been missing for so long.
As she got to the door to the bedroom, she turned a little to look over her shoulder and then she sighed. "I wish I could have waited for you." She murmured as though she were talking directly to him. A slight pause before she closed her eyes, "I'm sorry."
She kissed her fingers before pressing them to the door and walking out to leave her home. A few hours later she left Earth to start her new future, still alone and waiting.
Lifting a hand, she brushed her fingers slowly along the wall, feeling the rough texture of the wallpaper beneath the tips as she walked slowly down the hall and turned into the living room. At one time it had been filled with life and laughter; the sound of him laughing as the kids ran around and squealed excitedly during whatever game they were playing. She could also see the dining room table where the kids had sat to do their homework under her watchful eye and it was the same table where they had shared many meals together at different times of the day. It was where she sat with Hiro once the night was done and it was just the two of them left alone while the children were tucked into their beds. Where they would indulge in whatever dessert she had made and just talk about their day, the time they had spent apart. It was where she would talk with him while he went over some of his work or where they focused on their different familial finances.
As she climbed the stairs slowly, she touched the railing gently and thought of the time that Kaito's friend had broken his arm when they tried to use the banister as a slide of sorts. It lead to one of the first times when she had to explain to Kaito that she couldn't use her ability to heal everybody; that their abilities couldn't always be shared with someone else. That there had to be a certain level of trust and respect before they could share that part of themselves. He had understood, he had smiled the quiet smile that he shared with his father and nodded before going back to whatever it was that he had been doing at the time.
Life was cruel, Claire had decided that. Yes, there were a lot of joys and a lot of times that she wouldn’t take back but it was also cruel for taking all of those things away from her. But she was used to having her memories at hand, that she could return to the homes and the places where she had all her good memories and she could relive them just by being there but not anymore.
They had to leave Earth because their numbers were too great; the planet could no longer sustain them and survive. So they were escaping to Space, spreading out to explore and colonize on new planets. They would have to find a new way of living, a new way of being and new names to exist under. They would expand in different ways, mostly on ships and among the stars. It was something she had always wondered about, it was one of the ideas that Adam had used to make her see that being immortal wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, it had always seemed like a cool idea but she wasn’t so sure now that the time was here. It was daunting to consider they were going to leave the planet that she had known as her home since the beginning, the home that they all knew. She wouldn't be able to come back to her homes where she had memories, she couldn't come back to relive them and mostly, she couldn't stay to wait for Hiro.
He had been her everything for so long, even after he had disappeared. As the years wore on, he remained in her heart even as she tried to focus on other things to live for but he had always been there in the back of her mind like the memories that existed in the halls that she now wandered. A ghost that lingered nearby, stealing her attention at times and making it hard to move on but perhaps that was because she never really wanted to.
She wandered from room to room, recalling the different emotions that she had felt as she had grown in every way and where she had changed in every way but physically. She had watched their small family start, then grow and it was still growing though all her children were dead now. All gone and buried in the Earth that she had to leave and the idea pained her further.
The last room that she walked into was the bedroom that had been their own at one time, the last room they had spent time together before he disappeared. Their last night where they had made love and then spent a little while talking; never knowing and guessing that it would be their last time. Ever since he disappeared, all she had were her memories and now she would have to rely on photos, or little trinkets, to bring them back to her. After she left here, she couldn't come back.
She walked to their bed, reaching down to pull the thin white sheet that covered it and she tossed it aside in a flutter of material. The same bedding that she had put on years ago still adorned the king sized bed and she half wondered if maybe she could smell him on the pillow but a small sniff told her that it was only a certain degree of mustiness waiting for her. A sigh drifted out of her as she sat down on the edge of the bed, closing her eyes as she listened quietly to the home that had once been so loud.
Then she heard the soft sound of someone walking up the stairs, her heart tripping just a little as she opened her eyes and half expected -- half hoping as well -- to see him but it wasn't Hiro who walked around the corner. It was one of their great granddaughters, one that had gained Claire's ability which included the gifts and the curse of it as well. She was older than what she seemed; looking the same age that Claire looked which meant that the two of them looked barely into their twenties. Her granddaughter was tiny like Claire, built exactly like her though their coloring was different. Whereas Claire was golden, the young girl was pale with dark curls and pale eyes.
"Grandmother, we have to go. Uncle is calling for us." She murmured, keeping the tone of respect as she tilted her head to the side.
"You'll have to call me by my name instead of calling me grandmother." Claire reminded her, giving an attempt at a smile as she got slowly to her feet. "Is he being impatient?"
The girl's eyes twinkled as she nodded, "When isn't he?" She turned with a soft laugh, nearly bouncing out of the room.
Claire remembered the days when she had the same energy and the same excitement for the future but she wasn't sure she had the same drive as before. She looked around the room, half tempted to call after her great granddaughter to tell her that she had changed her mind and that she was staying on Earth but she knew it wouldn't work. Sylar would show up and drag her out; he would never leave her behind. Not even to wait for Nakamura as he still called the man who had been missing for so long.
As she got to the door to the bedroom, she turned a little to look over her shoulder and then she sighed. "I wish I could have waited for you." She murmured as though she were talking directly to him. A slight pause before she closed her eyes, "I'm sorry."
She kissed her fingers before pressing them to the door and walking out to leave her home. A few hours later she left Earth to start her new future, still alone and waiting.