if you do not have shadows,
you are not in the light
He reassures her that there is no need to apologize, and after a brief second of feeling overwhelmingly bad, she relaxes. An exhale first, and then her heart rate recovers and her breath becomes less shallow. Everyone is so nice here.
“The mist is much thicker here, than in the field…” she agrees, looking off into the distance watching mist crowd around the redwoods and their obnoxious trunks. While she can hardly remember the field, she also cannot remember a mist this thick. It’s more of a rarity in the field with the dry air, but here with the ocean so close and the moisture so abundant… Well, it’s a lot.
It takes time for her to think about the right answer: how does she like Taiga? It’s nice. It’s big and there are a lot of strange horses and her mother isn’t one of them, but yes… Nice. Everything about the Taiga is actually great, except that her mother isn’t there.
“I like it. I have made a friend, which is good.” She nods, still thinking as she continues, “Kalil is nice. And now you, I guess. You are nice. It feels good to just live, especially when in the field we--I spent so long surviving,” Ruth feels awkward speaking for her mother, she isn’t sure her mother is done surviving yet.
“Pteron,” she mimics slowly, adjusting to the new name sounding more distinguished and mature, “you must have lived here awhile now. Why have you stayed?”
Ruthless
