08-22-2019, 05:43 PM
OPHANIM
If someone ever asked him just how he felt about Starsin, he would find his tongue useless in his mouth. How could he describe the way his ribs wanted to split open just to make room for all the warmth she pours into him? They don’t, of course, but he manages to make room for every drop of his adoration just the same. Her name is sticky tree sap on his lips and her kisses are a wine that get him drunk without ever feeling sick. When Malone was born, everything doubled and then doubled again. He calls her name in his sleep and dreams of waking up beside her.
Even at their worst, he would make the mountains kneel at her feet and drink the oceans dry if she only asked.
Her love has cut him to the bone, though, and he has stumbled beneath the weight of it. Ophanim plunged himself face first into the ocean waves and cursed his eyes for ever showing him a face so beautiful. She has crushed him in her palm and built him all over again, but he gave her the power in the first place. The crown of his love was always hers, after all. And he would do it all again if he had the choice.
But Adna doesn’t ask and so he doesn’t say that he would drag his belly over broken glass just to kiss her before he sleeps. He just curls close to her when she gives her broken laugh and nudges him. She tries so hard to be strong like her father but he knows she’s got a tender heart lurking in her chest. It can snap its teeth and play the role of beast all it wants, but it would die for a chance at happiness. He knows because he felt the same way back then.
“Except I did deserve that. I betrayed everyone who ever trusted me just to make myself feel better,” he says, still angry with himself over it even as the hear in his chest coos softly to him. “But you can tell me anything, Adna. There’s nothing you could do that’s so terrible that you couldn’t be forgiven.”
And he speaks from firsthand experience, he thinks. He tried to set fire to his future because he was afraid it wasn’t certain but Starsin had come running just to find him. Ophanim took advantage of Adna’s trust and her friendship and she welcomed him back with a smile. His children all forgave him for diving into a war and risking his life. If there is anything he has learned, it is that love devours any sin and still has room for joy.
“Your family is quick to protect you against even perceived threats. I don’t think your father and your sister hate me because it’s fun…I hope not, at least.”
And he laughs, and the sound is genuine this time.
Even at their worst, he would make the mountains kneel at her feet and drink the oceans dry if she only asked.
Her love has cut him to the bone, though, and he has stumbled beneath the weight of it. Ophanim plunged himself face first into the ocean waves and cursed his eyes for ever showing him a face so beautiful. She has crushed him in her palm and built him all over again, but he gave her the power in the first place. The crown of his love was always hers, after all. And he would do it all again if he had the choice.
But Adna doesn’t ask and so he doesn’t say that he would drag his belly over broken glass just to kiss her before he sleeps. He just curls close to her when she gives her broken laugh and nudges him. She tries so hard to be strong like her father but he knows she’s got a tender heart lurking in her chest. It can snap its teeth and play the role of beast all it wants, but it would die for a chance at happiness. He knows because he felt the same way back then.
“Except I did deserve that. I betrayed everyone who ever trusted me just to make myself feel better,” he says, still angry with himself over it even as the hear in his chest coos softly to him. “But you can tell me anything, Adna. There’s nothing you could do that’s so terrible that you couldn’t be forgiven.”
And he speaks from firsthand experience, he thinks. He tried to set fire to his future because he was afraid it wasn’t certain but Starsin had come running just to find him. Ophanim took advantage of Adna’s trust and her friendship and she welcomed him back with a smile. His children all forgave him for diving into a war and risking his life. If there is anything he has learned, it is that love devours any sin and still has room for joy.
“Your family is quick to protect you against even perceived threats. I don’t think your father and your sister hate me because it’s fun…I hope not, at least.”
And he laughs, and the sound is genuine this time.
you could drown in those eyes, i said.