Bishoujou Senshi Sailor Moon : Shadow Plays
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Vignette 2 : Autumn Leaves

	The last of the cool night breeze drifted softly across the 
lake, marring the perfect mirror surface with a sheen of tiny ripples. 
Above, the moon dipped low in the sky, half-lost in the fiery glow of 
the distant city.
	In the watery light of the false dawn, Rei sat, listening.  
Waiting.
	A bird began to sing nearby, sharp, bright tones echoing through 
the trees, a lone voice heralding the coming of the light.  In the dark 
waters of the lake, the shimmering reflections of the last stars began 
slowly to fade.  Her breaths hung for an eternity in the chill air, 
billowing clouds of mist rising slowly into the sky.
	From the distance came the muffled drone of the early morning 
traffic, a strange counterpoint on the edge of hearing.  Overhead, the 
scattered, wispy remnants of last night's storm scudded lazily through 
the air, lit from beneath in brilliant red, gold and blue.  Across the 
water, a lone runner dashed silently along the shore, catching her eye 
for a fleeting moment.
	Rei watched, impassively, as the world began slowly to awaken, 
the hard, cold wood of the bench pressing damply against her heavy 
robes.
	As the first hint of golden light began to suffuse the turquoise 
of the horizon, the rhythmic click of footsteps on pavement broke into 
her silent reverie.  She made no motion as the newcomer approached, the 
gentle whisper of her breath betraying nothing as the other came to sit 
beside her.
	"What are you looking for, Rei-san?"  A woman's voice, quiet and 
assured.
	"Change."  Rei's reply was little more than a whisper, her eyes 
still fixed on the nascent sunrise.
	"Change?  What change is there here?"
	"Everything is changing, Setsuna-san.  Every day, every moment.  
Look around you - night changes into day, the chill in the morning air, 
the colours of the leaves."
	In her mind she could feel the thoughts of the city, a million 
dreams fading into a million lives, their whispered secrets drifting on 
the wind.  A strange, mercurial mix of wonder and horror, just beyond 
her reach.
	Setsuna sat silently for a moment, staring into the placid 
waters. Reaching down, she took a stone in her hand and stood, flinging 
it in a graceful arc out across the lake.  It skipped briefly over the 
surface, a trail of ripples colliding in its wake, fading into nothing 
as they drifted towards the shore.
	"Does the stone change the lake, Rei-san?" she asked, softly. 
She walked away, the first rays of sunlight shimmering entrancingly in 
her hair.
	Rei sat in silent awe as the sun crested the distant hills, 
clouds and stars consumed in a red-gold inferno of light.  One last, 
translucent ghost of the storm glided slowly across the blazing 
surface; a fading memory, soon lost forever.
	"The lake is changed, Setsuna-san" she whispered to herself.  
"The ripples never truly fade."

FIN