„Look! The sun will rise soon!" she cried out and pointed at the horizon.

"I thought you hated sunrise. You know, the end of the night..."

"Yeah, that was before. Let's go watch it to the beach!"

Arthur looked at her, apparently confused. He raised one bushy eyebrow.

"Oh, come on!" Amelia grabbed his hand and ran downhill to the beach, dragging Arthur behind her. She didn't notice that he was fighting tears. The sky just fascinated her. It changed colours from dark purple to very light blue where it touched the sea. She never observed it this way before. If she could only paint or had a better camera...

"Whoa! I thought I had seen EVERYTHING tonight, but this... this is so much better than anything we saw tonight." She stopped at the edge of the water, then walked few steps into the waves. She was still holding Arthur's hand.

"Why have I ignored it until now? The colours are just wonderful, don't you think?"

Finally, she turned back to Arthur. His eyes were set on the purple sky, but Amelia noticed that something changed about his expression. The spark in his eyes somehow vanished.

"Arthur, are you okay?" Only now she saw tears streaming slowly from his eyes and wiped it with her palm. He smiled at her, but it wasn't a cheerful smile.

"You forgot what I've told you earlier. About the rules of the spirit world..."

"That you will disappear when the sunlight hits you, won't you?"

He nodded silently. Amelia imagined him fading away and shook her head. She won't let it happen.

"Then you just have to hide inside for the rest of your life like a vampire!"

Arthur busted into loud laugh. Then he noticed that Amelia was dead serious.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were joking. It doesn't work this way. I have to return, those are the rules. I cannot disappoint my country, my folk."

Amelia blinked in surprise. Not now, when they started to get along so well... Her heart was beating fast and her hands began to shake.

"But... I don't want you to go." She pressed his hand.

He looked at her again with that sad smile.

"I don't want to go either. This was the best day ever. You are an amazing girl, Amelia Jones. I will really miss you."

He slowly brushed her hair. She tried hard not to cry, but at this point she couldn't help herself.

"There must be a way, some spell or sacrifice or I don't know... ANYTHING!" She shouted the last words.

He didn't reply, only pulled her closer to him and wrapped her in a tight hug. She quickly hid her face in his shirt and breathed heavily. The smell of black tea and rain got into her nose, into her brain... his smell. Tears defeated her and started to stream down her cheeks. Arthur kept brushing her hair.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I don't know what I thought, interacting with humans... I just wanted to make you smile, just a bit. You looked so grumpy looking at the sunset and thinking about something far away. Unluckily, I don't know where I will appear next year so there is hardly a chance we will meet again..."

Amelia gasped. She felt a sudden pain in her chest she never knew before.

And in that moment, she realised.

"Arthur, I think I love you. For real." she mumbled into his shirt.

He didn't respond. Maybe he didn't hear her. She raised her head so she could see his eyes.

"I love you, Arthur." she repeated.

Arthur looked at her, puzzled. She could almost see the little wheels in his spirit head spinning for life. After a while, that seemed like eternity, he smiled again.

This time without the sad flavour.

"I love you too." he whispered as he grabbed her head from behind and pulled it closer to his face so their noses were touching. "I bloody love you, my dear. My Amy."

As their lips united, the time stopped. Everything that mattered to Amelia was to stay that way forever. His lips were warm and soft, just like him. And he was gentle, not like the drunk boys at parties she kissed before. This was so different. Her stomach burned and she felt happy. Endlessly happy.

Even with her eyes closed she could feel the sunlight slowly crawling up her leg, warming her more than she wished. Suddenly, the warmth of Arthur's lips and tongue started to fade. Amelia opened her eyes, thinking that Arthur ended the kiss for some reason and gasped in surprise.

Arthur was still there smiling at her. But she could see the forest behind him through him. Like a ghost.

"Goodbye Amy." he whispered, then took a deep breath and faded out.

Amelia blinked, hoping it was just her imagination, but he was gone. Really gone. For good. She desperately waved her hands through the place where Arthur stood a moment ago. She cried his name out loud on the lonely beach. Nothing changed.

She returned back to the shore, sat down and hid her face in her hands. Crying was too exhausting for her, so she just sat there in silence. How is it possible that only the sad things happen to her ? Why is she always crying in the end wishing nothing happened?

The sand was cold but the early sun kept her warm. She looked up at the horizon where the sun shined, bright like never before. Rage rose in her chest, for that sun took Arthur away...

But then she heard as the birds started to sing in the nearby forest. Some of them were flying over her head in the now pink coloured sky. The wind was gently playing with her long hair.

A thought crossed her mind. Arthur would never want you to cry. She tried to remember his exact words, but it seemed like an eternity since he was gone.

I just wanted to make you smile, just a bit.

Amelia stood up, smiled brightly and blew a kiss against the sun. "Thank you, Arthur." she whispered.

Even though the wind was quite cold that morning, she could swear she felt a warm breeze on her cheek. Almost like a kiss.