For Rion’s Prompt “A hello in a goodbye,” along with some others for color.

“So this is goodbye.”

He lingered by the door, hand on the doorknob. Waiting for… he wasn’t sure for what. Something.

She nodded. That hadn’t been, not really, what he wanted, but he supposed it would have to do. “Goodbye. Sayonara. Hasta la Never. Au re-not.”

He flinched. “I get the point.”

“Are you sure? You’ve always been hard-headed.”

“I just don’t understand why.” He had meant not to sound plaintive, not to beg.

“And you never will. I could carve it in hieroglyphs on your forehead, and you would still not understand. Save us both the trouble, and leave.”

~
He left.
~

The door swung open, and he stepped out of her life. “Good-bye.”

She didn’t answer; he hadn’t expected her to. He turned his back on her, her room, and everything she entailed, turned around to face the hall and a new life.

“…Hello.”

She could have been the twin of the woman behind him, dressed in black instead of white, her eyes blue instead of brown, the same nose, the same hair, the same chin.

“Hello.” Her voice, too, was the same. “Can I help you?”

“I was just leaving.” He gestured at the door behind him, only to see that, where the door had been were only hieroglyphs on the wall. He looked back at her. “But this could be hello.”

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