13 years later

[[13 years later.]]

//Your hands//. Soft and wrinkly, especially around the knuckles. Long Dracular nails, soft and sturdy. Tiny fists, clenching, boxing the tight air. Your coreographies; an unpredictable spectacle. [[What were they fighting (for)?->remember 2]]

//Your feet//. Stronger than I thought newborn feet could be. Those mini calves. Well-defined and muscle-packed. Kicking through air, pushing against the ground. Bouncing your body up and down when you're on my lap. [[What dance were they dancing->remember 2]]?

Nico, you know what else I remember. I remember [[your eyes]]. I remember [[your teeth]]. I remember [[your lips]].

Another thing, Nico. I do remember [[your smell]]. I remember [[your skin]].

//Your Eyes//. Those dark blue eyes, oceanic. Blue like any newborn's, they say. They only open for proper sights. Like a dark ceiling, Or a flashing drop of milk. Falling close when you've seen it all. And you're [[done with the world->remember 3]].

//Your Lips//. Soft and warm and perfect. Forming a small "o" when you're about to yawn. Pulling apart when you're about to cry. They puff and blow, spit and suck. [[Until they're going all blue->remember 3]].

//Your teeth//. Or what felt as teeth. Gums they were. Avidly digging into my flesh, [[craving life->remember 3]].

I remember [[your name->name]].

Your name is Nicolas. Some call you [[Nici]]. Others call you [[Nico]].

//Your smell//. Fresh and known. Sweet and different. Like me, unlike me. The sterility of the hospital ward hasn't killed this memory. [[Nor has the livelessness of your corpse->remember 4]].

I remember [[your hands]]. I remember [[your feet]].

//Your skin//. So red and fresh at first, So blue and livid later. The shape of your birthmark on your eyebrow. The tiny fur covering the better part of your arms and back. Nothing will rip that away from me. [[And nothing will bring it back->remember 4]].

Isn't it funny, Nico? 13 years later, and I still remember the tiny pieces which once were you. In a world which can't but forget. But can't and won't [[as long as I'm here ->start]].

And you're too young, too long dead to have the world remember you. Let me try to [[remember you->Nicolas]] instead.

Your grandmother calls you Nici. I don't know where she picked that up. Because I never told her. [[But that's just how it is now. ->another]]

I do. Your father did. (Or still does, secretly.) [[Who knows ->another]].

[[Another thing I remember about you. ->hand and feet]]