POWER MANIACS (girlxgirlxgirl)

53. Epilogue

🎆

"I couldn't just let them do it. I tried to build up confidence... when I said those things upstairs. I didn't actually mean it, I tried to be as mean as possible but- well I guess that has never truly worked with you, has it?"

Irie smiles to herself, but it almost looks sadder than a cry. Dahlia frowns, looking away too. Irie shakes her head pretty quickly, her smile disappearing and the cold expression returning. She, too, recognizes the fear that Enya feels. She knows what the price of this can be.

"Forget about it-"

Irie clears her throat, standing up from the bed.

"We'll come get you tomorrow morning, and I'll give you some better clothes. It wouldn't be appropriate to let you leave now, in the middle of the night"

Dahlia wakes up, her eyes fluttering open and shut. She feels the rays of morning light shine through the open doorway, and feels the early spring breeze against her cheek. Slowly, a smile appears on her face. You'd think it'd be a sad memory, but Dahlia can't help but smile. She's been dreaming of that moment for a while now. Practically every second night for the past two weeks. It's always the same thing. Irie and Enya come to the room where she is being held, Irie apologizes, Enya sits there and watches, and then they begin to bid her their goodbyes. Dahlia used to be sad when thinking of that memory, but now she is quite the opposite.

She doesn't see it as the day Irie and Enya let her go from her short-lived (and quite nice) captivity. Rather, she sees it as the day they finally said goodbye to the grievances of the past, and talked about their feelings for the first time in five years. Now it's all over, and they can enjoy the fact that those troublesome days are behind them. The wind that blows from the open door is the same wind that she felt exactly one year ago, when they stood in this forest for the first time, and relished in their freedom. Since then they have lost that freedom and gained it back again, and now they sleep in peace from sunset till sundown.

"What are you doing?"

Dahlia rolls over, so that she lays on her side, her eyes following a groggy but sweet Irie. The ice powered opens her eyes and looks at her, something so very gentle and sweet in her gaze. Dahlia thinks that she falls in love all over again. She has fallen in love with Irie so many times. She doesn't know which way is more special, falling for someone once (like her with Enya) or falling in love with someone again and again (like her with Irie). But what Dahlia does know, is that both feel equally as good in her heart.

She first fell for Irie when they were kids, when the tall black haired girl stood up and punched her bully in the face. The second time Dahlia fell for her, was after she apologized, that moment she keeps dreaming of. The third time, the weeks they spent outside of the company after having escaped it for the first time, when she finally saw her real personality shine through once again. And now, probably for the hundredth time, she looks at Irie in this beautiful spring morning light and falls in love with her again. This time it's even more special, because there is nothing out-of-the-ordinary about the situation. It's just her, and Irie, and the morning light, reminding her of the summers they used to spend together, bathing by the lake and laughing with their friends.

Dahlia looks at Enya, who sleeps on the other side of Irie, as peaceful and as heavy asleep as always. She thinks about that day she fell for Enya, for the first and last time. (Last time because, well, because they'll be in love forever until the end of time). And the funniest thing is, Dahlia can tell exactly when this fluttery feeling started in her heart, she can pinpoint the exact moment she fell for Enya.

"I'm here to deliver this"

Dahlia swallows her fear and shows the woman her box. The lady doesn't move, but her eyes scan the contents in her hands. Dahlia tries not to shake too much.