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❝ i am still learning. ❞
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SMALL TOWNS ALWAYS REMIND ENOLA OF DEATH. Her hometown lies calmly amidst the trees, it is always the same, in summer or winter, with the dust flying, or the wind howling down the gorge. Just the other day someone died. In the dreadful silence they wept, looking at the sad wreath of tuberoses. Life and death—life and death—only the rituals remain permanent.
The river has a soul. In the summer, it cuts through the land like a torrent of grief. Sometimes—sometimes— it holds its breath seeking a land of fish and stars. The river has a soul. It knows, stretching past the town, from the first drop of rain to dry earth and mist on the mountaintops, the river knows the immortality of water. A shrine of happy pictures marks the days of childhood. Small towns grow with anxiety for the future. The dead are placed pointing west. When the soul rises, it will walk into the golden east, into the house of the sun. In the cool bamboo restored in sunlight, life matters. In small towns by the river, we all want to walk with the gods.
"What are we running? A marathon?" Matt panted, hands on knees.
"If you guys can't keep up . . . " Enola chuckled breathlessly.
"You can't outrun all of your problems," Elena warned.
"I can try," Enola shot back.
"I spoke to Bonnie," Matt informed.
"Is she okay?"
"What did she say?"
Both Enola and Elena stopped dead in their tracks. They had decided to go for a run that morning and Matt offered to join them. However, he spent a majority of the time complaining about everything and nothing. Not that they were listening, too stuck in their own heads after everything that had happened.
"They're at her mom's house," Matt said. "Abby is going to complete the transition."
"She decided to become a vampire?" Elena gasped.
"Yeah," Matt nodded. "Caroline is going to help her through it. Teach her control and stuff."
"Did Bonnie say—is there anything we can do?" Elena quizzed.
"She knows it's not your fault," Matt sighed. "She is just upset."
"Damon turned her mom into a vampire to save our lives," Enola muttered. "It is absolutely our fault."
"For what it is worth, Bonnie wanted to thank you." Matt said. "For being there for her when everything went down."
"You spoke to Bonnie after it happened?" Elena frowned. "She wouldn't even let me in her house."
