He had been out looking for a store that took online orders and delivery. He wanted to get Mordred a gift and was looking for a nice sweater for the coming fall and moved past the boutiques and shops in finding something she might like.
And then she showed up.
It was surreal to see her, and his heart pressed against his throat as he stared in disbelief. She had vanished.
She never returned home after all the times he checked. Her dorm was always empty.
He knew nothing of where she went.
Where she had gone.
He heard nothing of anyone seeing her.
And because of that, he mourned what he thought was her death or her corruption.
He wept for days and caught himself through the following months freezing with the thought of her no longer there.
And here, now, stood her breathing ghost.
"There is no way." He whispered, slowly moving closer to her. Wide eyes tried to convince himself he was seeing a girl similar to her but not. But he felt energy from her. She smelled of her. She looked like her.
He moved closer to be beside her and gently tou hed her leg with one paw and she was real. Firm. "Phact."
Sirene Naiads
