12-06-2020, 12:10 AM
despite the overwhelming odds, tomorrow came
There is a moment where I could tell he sensed me behind him. I could see the tension that seizes his body all of a sudden. I can relate, for my body had tensed up the moment I saw him, too. I thought I had prepared myself for this moment. I had spent almost the whole journey here steeling myself for it, thinking of what I might say to him, imagining how the conversation might go. Still, seeing him was a greater shock than I could have imagined. I stand, frozen, staring at the back of him. Suddenly, I realize that everything I had wanted to say to him had disappeared in that moment.
For a time, we are both suspended in my emotions, tortured by them. Then he says my name, and as he turns to face me, a wave of shock and pain ripples through me. I have the sudden urge to turn tail and run away again, but as I turn my head to the side, I catch sight of Memorie. She stands, her big, blue eyes looking up into mine, unsure of what to do or even think, and for a moment, I can see my pain reflected back at me. The look would haunt me, for it is the first indication I have that she might share @[Yanhua]’s gift of empathic echoes, but right now, she roots me to the forest like an anchor.
Choking back tears, I look back to the stallion, swallowing the large lump in my throat. “Yanhua,” I whisper. Tears spring to my eyes, unbidden, and spill from my eyelashes and down my face. I close my eyes and shake my head, backing up at the same time. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can do it. I repeat the words in my head, backing up another step. Memorie brushes against me, a comforting touch, and I stop. I open my eyes to see him standing there, his eyes pleading with me to stay, and the words that drop from his lips echo that sentiment.
“I…” I choke out, “I don’t know if I can do this,” I say, breathlessly. At that moment, I would have turned and run away, but Memorie presses herself into me, and I stop. For a time, there is an uncomfortable silence between us, and then I shift my weight to steady myself and then look him dead in the eyes. “Do you love her?” There is anger in my eyes, now, mingling with the pain.
For a time, we are both suspended in my emotions, tortured by them. Then he says my name, and as he turns to face me, a wave of shock and pain ripples through me. I have the sudden urge to turn tail and run away again, but as I turn my head to the side, I catch sight of Memorie. She stands, her big, blue eyes looking up into mine, unsure of what to do or even think, and for a moment, I can see my pain reflected back at me. The look would haunt me, for it is the first indication I have that she might share @[Yanhua]’s gift of empathic echoes, but right now, she roots me to the forest like an anchor.
Choking back tears, I look back to the stallion, swallowing the large lump in my throat. “Yanhua,” I whisper. Tears spring to my eyes, unbidden, and spill from my eyelashes and down my face. I close my eyes and shake my head, backing up at the same time. I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can do it. I repeat the words in my head, backing up another step. Memorie brushes against me, a comforting touch, and I stop. I open my eyes to see him standing there, his eyes pleading with me to stay, and the words that drop from his lips echo that sentiment.
“I…” I choke out, “I don’t know if I can do this,” I say, breathlessly. At that moment, I would have turned and run away, but Memorie presses herself into me, and I stop. For a time, there is an uncomfortable silence between us, and then I shift my weight to steady myself and then look him dead in the eyes. “Do you love her?” There is anger in my eyes, now, mingling with the pain.
borderline
