"Back again." Lucius smiled, and started unfolding his chair. The night air blew chilly through his shirt, so he dug a blanket out of his small pack.
She leaned against a parapet on the keep roof. She shook her head at him as he prepared for his nightly ritual. "What are you doing, Lucius?"
"Same thing as every night. Counting." He smiled pleasantly at her question.
"You can't keep this up forever. You have to move on eventually."
"Eventually, perhaps. But not tonight." He sat in his chair, and reclined it back. His face was pointed straight up at the massive collection of stars swirling overhead. He pulled his blanket up to keep out the chill.
"She's not coming back, Lucius."
His head bobbed slightly as he began counting, one, two, three...
She wasn't sure he'd heard her. She was about to clear her throat when he spoke.
"Maybe not." His head continued to bob as he spoke, not ceasing to count.
"So why do you keep torturing yourself like this?" She stood from the wall, and stepped closer to him.
"When she left," He said, still not breaking his count, "She told me she would return when all the stars in the sky had been counted."
"I know, Lucius, we all know... but you must realize that she meant... that that doesn't mean..."
For the first time he stopped counting, and moved his gaze to her face. His expression was warm, a loving look of pity. Pity that she didn't understand.
"I know what she meant, little one..." And his smile wavered for only an instant. "And there is nothing I can do to change what she did." He took a deep, long breath. "But we all remember what she said, and that... that is something I can do. Or at least try." He grinned a mischievous grin, and turned his gaze back to the stars. His head bobbed as he returned to counting.
She watched him count for a while before she left, her heart broken by his dedication to the departed. She shed the tears for him, because she knew that he would not.
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