Late

I've been standing here for a long time, staring at his grave, at the headstone that says: Forever Living In Our Hearts. It was my idea -- I couldn't believe how he'd died so easily in the battle, when he had always been one of the strongest people I had ever known.

I still remembered the day we first met, inside the dark, long and trailing cave on Dewford; I the messenger, and he the recipient. He gave my letter no second look before he accepted it, and… Smiling, he gave me his number. Smiling, he left me his favourite TM. Smiling, he walked away and left me alone in my thoughts.

At times in my journey, I would give up. I would hate being so far away from the familiar place(or one of the more familiar places, being new to Hoenn), but he was there to encourage me. He was there to tell me to go on; I did.

I did, until we met again.

I did, until he told me he saw something different in me. He said things to me that no one ever told me before -- about how I appealed to him, how I was beautiful to him. He whispered sweet words, held me in his arms, smiled for me…

I didn't know I loved him.

He was there when the two Teams tried to wrestle control over the Legendary pokémon; he gave me a job, which I completed; he apologised for lying and I forgave.

But when Rayquaza descended and both Kyogre and Groudon struggled in vain -- that one final blast ripped him literally from my hands. I was not the only one to scream, but I was the last one to stop crying.

I haven't stopped yet.

I've been visiting his grave everyday, though his body lies somewhere else -- he had told me once how much he'd loved for his ashes to be scattered into the sea near Mossdeep, where he could spend eternity in; I told his father and his friends his wish, which they granted.

His was a sacrifice that saved the world -- his was a sacrifice that was needless, but he had done so anyway.

Steven left a letter for me in his house; I only found it as I prepared to ship his belongings back to Rustboro, for his father. Protruding in the middle of a book marked 'Diary', I read the entry he had written --

"I loved him too early."

I loved him too late.

owari.

Prompt: "I loved him too early."