"For me, it has been a bit over two centuries since then, or over three, depending. One to old age, the other to..."
He hesitates. Then, more quietly, he continues, "...It was an accident, but it was also my fault. She died young. She was only twenty-one. I was nineteen. The ship I have used for all this time was our joint wedding gift. But, she died before either of us could make it to the altar. She... was the only friend I'd ever known, and the best one I could ever ask for."
Shaking his head slightly, he looks towards the window.
"My memories have turned fuzzy in places, but... no. I could never let my memories of either of them distort."
He glances back over at Connor's face. It's uncomfortable to try to look him in the eye, but he tries. It's important to him.
"And if you are ever scared of that happening, you write your feelings down. You put them in your own words, so that should you ever falter, you can read them again and remember exactly how you felt. Sometimes, even how you felt when you wrote it down to begin with will spring back to mind. And in the future... it also lets someone new, perhaps, to one day come to know you. That you lived. And that those you love, also lived."
cw: death mention
He hesitates. Then, more quietly, he continues, "...It was an accident, but it was also my fault. She died young. She was only twenty-one. I was nineteen. The ship I have used for all this time was our joint wedding gift. But, she died before either of us could make it to the altar. She... was the only friend I'd ever known, and the best one I could ever ask for."
Shaking his head slightly, he looks towards the window.
"My memories have turned fuzzy in places, but... no. I could never let my memories of either of them distort."
He glances back over at Connor's face. It's uncomfortable to try to look him in the eye, but he tries. It's important to him.
"And if you are ever scared of that happening, you write your feelings down. You put them in your own words, so that should you ever falter, you can read them again and remember exactly how you felt. Sometimes, even how you felt when you wrote it down to begin with will spring back to mind. And in the future... it also lets someone new, perhaps, to one day come to know you. That you lived. And that those you love, also lived."