The Quiet of the Stars

She walked slowly out, staring at the clear summer night sky. The moon was waning; it was nought but a sliver now, and she could see the stars, winking faintly at the Earth. She inhaled deeply, and sighed. The stars were so quiet. Everything was quiet. A faint rustle caught her attention, and she whirled around. A tall man, clad entirely in black, stood in the shadowed doorframe. She relaxed.

"Amon."

The headhunter of STN-J stepped out from the shadows. In one hand he carried a pair of glasses, in the other, a gun. He stopped two paces away from her, and spoke one word.

"Robin."

"Are those my glasses?" the witch asked.

"Yes. You left them back at the office."

Robin stayed where she was.

"You're going to end it, aren't you?" she asked, her face unchanging.

" . . . Yes," he, too, kept an emotionless mask.

Robin spread her arms wide, leaving her chest unprotected.

"Then . . ."

She heard the gun cock.

"Please . . ."

Silence.

"End it . . . now."

A single tear slid down her cheek. Amon squeezed the trigger.

Bang.

Amon caught her falling body. Robin looked up, her eyes dry as her life slipped away. A thin line of blood leaked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Thank you."

Nothing.

Her eyes dulled, and she leaned her head against his chest. The shock in Amon's eyes was evident as Robin spoke her last words.

"Amon . . . I always . . . wanted . . . to tell you . . . I . . . love . . . you . . ."

Her words faded as she passed on. A single tear slid down Amon's cheek. And everything was quiet. Just like the stars that winked faintly in the clear summer night sky with the silver crescent moon on that fateful night.