WHERE A STORY ENDS
is nothing more than a snapshot in time, a brief flash of emotion,
a pause. How and if it continues is up to us.
HUGH HOWEY
I hadn't know peace in a long, long time. Even after everything I had been through, I still wasn't sure if I was safe. It kept me up sometimes, the constant feeling of what if. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, I had been for years. But after watching my daughter be legally pronounced mine, after having a wedding with all my new family and friends attending, and getting ready to adopt yet another child, I had finally realized that there was no other shoe. I was safe in Wakanda, I was safe anywhere because Hydra couldn't hurt me anymore, I had moved on, and when I thought of how far I had come, it brought tears to my eyes. I was free and it was finally setting in.
"Let move," I abruptly spoke from my spot on the small checkered blanket. James and I were out on a picnic with Gracie, she was currently laying in my husbands lap, playing with his fingers as he stared at me, confusion and shock clearly evident on his face.
"What?" He finally spoke after picking his jaw up off the floor.
"Let's leave Wakanda." I smiled, shuffling closer to the loves of my life.
"And just where would we go, huh," James chuckled, but he looked at me with such love, adoration. He was proud of me and how far I had come. When James first remembered meeting me, I was a firecracker, harsh and hateful of anything and everything around me, but now, now I was soft, kind, and caring. I had found love and James had noticed it brought the absolute best out of me.
"Hmm... how about Austria," I smirked, picking up my daughter and laying her on my chest as my head took her spot in James's lap. "I heard Steve and his gal found a spot there. Maybe we can move, be closer to them. That way when they have kids Gracie might have some friends. My parents also raised me there, that's were I remember my childhood being the happiest," I elaborated, I had been thinking about this for a while and now seemed like the right time to finally do it. James laughed at how prepared I was, looking down at me with the largest smile plastered on his handsome face.
"Okay," he whispered, softly flicking a piece of hair from my eyes. "Let's do it today, I already have a place lined up." His smile stayed as yours dropped.
"What?!" I screeched, wanting to jump up and pummel him, but I stayed still as Gracie had taken the liberty to use my breasts as pillows, and promptly passed out. "You knew," I questioned, lowering my voice when my daughter started to stir.
"We've been together for over seventy years, baby. How did you expect me not to know when you were getting ready to go," he cockily smirked, the proud bastard.
"Okay then, let's go." I smiled, gathering my daughter up in my arms while James cleaned up your picnic. Then the three of you headed home to pack, gathering up all our thicker clothes, and packing up all the memories we wanted to keep of Wakanda.
"We should say goodbye." James zipped up the bag he had finished packing while speaking, I already knew I would have to head into the city to catch a flight back to the states so I figured stopping at the palace on the way wasn't the worst idea.
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"You're sure," Shuri asked me for about the thirtieth time since I told her we were leaving.
"Yes! We promise we'll visit, but we're ready to get back out there, maybe start finding the families of people we-" I stopped myself not wanting to continue the sentence. I had tried my best to acknowledge all the lives I had taken, but when directly thinking about it, it hurt, so I tried my best to move on, leave the past in the past.
"Okay, just call if you need anything," Shuri reluctantly replied, pulling me into another hug and slipping a beaded bracelet onto my wrist. "Tap it twice and an army will come running." She nodded firmly, placing her hand on mine in a final goodbye. Then James and I switched, I walked over to T'Challa and Ayo while James walked over to Shuri with Gracie in his arms.
"Stay safe, remember your breathing, and to block it out," Ayo sternly reminded, keeping a stern and professional face, but I could tell she was sad to see us go.
"I will Ayo. You stay safe as well." I smiled warmly, pulling her into a hug she didn't expect but returned nonetheless. Then I turned to T'Challa. "Call us if you need us, we won't hesitate," I ordered, looking at T'Challa sternly for a moment before breaking out into a smile. He pulled me close, squeezing me tight, and I felt a few warm tears land on my shoulders. T'Challa and I had grown especially close, him becoming my best friend and I his, he confided in me more that anyone else so I knew my leaving would be especially hard on him.
"Don't go where I can't find you. Keep in touch, we aren't finished yet." He tearily smiled, pulling me out of the hug for a moment.
"I love you, nerd." I smiled, a few tears of my own spilling down the apples of my cheeks.
"I love you more, loser," he chuckled, pulling me into another hug. I gasped in his arms, pulling away once again.
"Not possible," I sniffled, T'Challa wiped the tears from my eyes before sending me on my way, and sending me a wink following my departure.
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James and I now stood in front of the window in my childhood home, Gracie's now childhood home. Holding each other as our daughter slept, watching the sunrise over the mountains in early hours of the morning. Our shadows reflected onto the backsplash of the kitchen, colors of orange, pink, and yellow painting every surface in color. It was peaceful, beautiful, and I had truly never felt happier than here in the arms of the man that I loved, the man I had saved and he me in return.
"I love you," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss into my hair.
"You have my heart and soul." I beamed, tilting my head up to look into his crystalline eyes.
"And you, my Dahlia, are my forever and always." He returned, that being the last thing we said to one another before our lips locked into a long, loving kiss that portrayed everything we couldn't say. A kiss of pure, unconditional love, a love that wouldn't be broken even after death. Mine and James's love wouldn't be torn, tattered, or taken from us, not anymore, we had survived enough together to know that much. It wasn't our love for each other that would be challenged when a large grape with a gauntlet and a fucked up sense of mercy showed up. No, it would be our will. The only question that would remain would be that of, will you survive?
—
To be continued in 'A Stressed Soul'...
( 1236 )
( July 22nd, 2022 )
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A Troubled Mind
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