Leila
I had walked several paces from the boat toward my ex-husband. I watched him with intrigue as Sage wandered into Västerbotten. Jolts of old feelings came over me as I watched the man that had my heart so many years earlier. He sat lazily with a cup of lager at his mouth, drunken and dishevelled beyond recognition. His eyes glazed met mine but it was like he didn't really see me. He mumbled something and I sucked in a breath, waiting for this long awaited confrontation. "My wife." He laughed bitterly until he choked on his drink. I looked at him in disgust. "You are not the man I loved. I can't believe I left my daughter with you." I spat and he scoffed back at me, rolling over heavily on the ground. I marched back to the boat, shaking my head. I watched as Sage crawled back into it. "No way. You are not coming back to Sugarland." I hissed angrily. I paced hastily to the boat and jumped in, grabbing her arm as I did. "Get out of the boat, daughter! You are not coming with me. Your journey is here." I groaned as the heaviness of her body fought against me.
I pulled at her angrily until I had her at standing, shoving her out of the boat sobbing. She hit the ground with a thud and cursed me through tear stricken eyes.
I gritted my teeth. "You can not feel bad for her, Leila. You have always put your needs first and that needs to remain. If you let her in now, everything will change. You are finally back on your destined path. You will be the failure that you were becoming when you had her." I chanted to myself as I pushed the boat off land and into the rocking water. Sage stood, anger and fear in her face as she picked up a large pile of dirt and threw it at my boat, but I was too far up stream for her to touch me now. "It's for the best. She has her best friend, if not her father."
The waters were rough sailing back to Sugarland and so were my thoughts. Had I really just forced my daughter back into a life that I hated and with a father who I now knew not , being the worst version of himself? Who had I become? No. I was who I had always been... was that good enough? I stepped out of the boat and headed directly to my newly acclaimed throne. Surprisingly, it felt wrong, strange and uncomfortable. This wasn't mine. I bit my lip hard until it drew blood. Suddenly, I have no idea why, but I knew what I needed to do. "Lester, "I called. "I need to go and get my daughter."
"Oh?" He walked over to me on the tips of his paws.
"I need to bring her home." I told him as I realized it myself.
"I thought I'd never see the day when you put someone before yourself." He smiled with a nod of approval. "Come with me." I pleaded, "I need your support. She is going to hate me for dragging her back and forth."
