Smile

 Keep smiling you told me, plastering a fake semblance of a smile across your thin pretty face, that came nowhere near your piercing violet eyes, while your tall thin form shook.

 I'll see you in again in 500 years you said in a quivering somber tone that sounded like you were about to break down. You barely kept it together when I blurted out that I would wait for you forever, and gave me a bear hug so hard I felt my ribs crack.

Then you left.

 You turned on your heel and took two steps forward before a pair of wings burst from your shoulder blades and lifted you off the ground with a wing beat so hard it nearly knocked me on my ass. And then you were gone, the only thing left was the pain of my bruised ribs and the sweet lingering burning dragon's body heat that clung to me like a blanket from that final bear hug.

 I never once forgot you, or the majestic silhouette you painted soaring off into that clear blue sky on that fateful day. Your spirit stuck with me, and it burned, and drove me to better myself and become a man you could be proud of.

 I used that spark you gifted me to become an inventor and slowly but surely I became a household name. My products weren't anything ground breaking, but they were convenient, cheap, accessible, and easy to use so consumers ate it up.

 Because I didn't need to resort to raw greed, I could produce and manufacture the products at a loss, but because the prices weren't over inflated they were bought up nearly instantly, and I ended up selling enough to recover my losses and actually turn a profit.

 It was a unconventional business strategy, but it slowly gave me a strangle hold on my market and allowed me to rake in a silly amount of wealth. I got so caught up in the business game I never bothered getting a family, and quite honestly It never crossed my mind, since I was waiting for you after all.

I never made it past 80.

 I became so obsessed with work I neglected my health. I wasn't fat, far from it actually, I forgot to eat and drink. Only a parched throat reminded me to chug some water, and nearly fainting reminded me to scarf down a energy bar. I had no time for food though I had products to create and people to make happy. Despite my age I managed to stay spry and self sufficient to the very end, I stood tall and had perfect mental clarity, you would have been proud.

 I don't actually know how I died, I went to bed one night after feeling unusually tired, and when I woke up I was in a grave yard sitting floating next to my own tombstone. One day blurred into another, weeks began to pass like seconds months like hours, years like days. Until I had no idea what year it was, the only measure of time I had was my own eroded tombstone. I began to forget things, who I was, what I wished for, what I wanted to be. This was fine, because your memory and the promise I made to you still burned within me, and prevented me from fading completely.

 Then one fateful morning I heard the beat of a familiar pair of wings and you descended like a draconic winged angel, landing gently in front of my tombstone. A complex look of sadness and relief crossed your older yet still pretty face. Your violet eyes stared at my grave with such intensity I felt a slight thrill of fear. Then your head snapped up, and your piercing eyes locked onto mine.

In a fluid motion, before I could even react, you pulled me into a tight hug similar to the one you gave me before you left all those years ago. To my satisfaction I found that I could hug you back, and I did so to the best of my ability. After what felt like forever you pushed me away so you could look deep into whatever was left of my face.

You were crying.

Fat tears rolled down your thin cheeks, and pooled at the tip of your chin. Your lips quivered hard despite you biting down with your fangs so hard they bled. It was all you could do to not break down and ugly cry, but you were close I could tell. I reached up and wiped your tears away with my ectoplasmic fingers.

Smile motherfucker, I told you, holding your head in my palms, watching in interested as my hands began to grow transparent, to the point where I could see your cheeks through the back of my hands. A miserable smile crossed your face similar to the day you left, and It still did not meet your eyes, which looked helplessly at my now fully invisible hands and fore arms.

I found it hard to stand since my legs decided to vanish too. It thankfully didn't hurt, it instead felt warm and comforting, like being wrapped up in a blanket. A moment later I found myself laying on your lap looking up at your frantic face. I tried to lift my arms and touch your face, but my arms wouldn't work.

"Goodbye motherfucker" You growled, cupping my face with your hands.

Without hesitation you planted a needy kiss on my lips, and I began to feel a pleasant fatigue that grew with every passing second, till I couldn't keep my eyes open, and darkness washed me away to a sleep I knew I would never awaken from.