We're The Ones Who Live | The Walking Dead (2)

Part 31 - The Life We Always Wanted

Daryl felt a wave of sadness wash over him as he found himself walking through the familiar area of the woods. He could hear the river flowing a bit in the distance, having to strain to hear it. Slithers of sunlight were seeping through the gaps between the soft white clouds, and the wind could barely be felt, only leaving a cool chill in the air. 

Two weeks had passed since the war came to an end, and Daryl had found no other signs of his wife anywhere. No more tree markings, no trails, nothing. 

That's two weeks of going to bed alone, not that he ever slept. He couldn't without her. Two weeks of non-stop searching. Two weeks of crying whenever he was alone. Two weeks of trying to assure Judith and RJ that he would find their aunt, no matter what.

It was getting harder and harder to try and keep an open mind, but he refused to let himself close off completely. He had to find her. He had to.

On this morning, he had left Alexandria to continue his search. Carol had offered to come with him, and he had said yes. He was really trying to get passed what she did because he could see how sorry and regretful she was about what she did in the cave. Some days were better than others, but a lot of the time, he struggled to talk to her without being reminded of everything he lost because of her actions.

 "Hey, you okay?" she asked softly when she realised he was falling behind her.

"Mhm," Daryl nodded. "Just thinkin' about stuff."

"We're gonna find her, you know," Carol tried to assure him. "CJ and Connie, they're out there somewhere. Maybe together, maybe not. But we'll find them either way."

"Yeah, I know." Daryl noticed the way how it sounded like Carol was trying to convince herself rather than him, but he felt it best to keep quiet. "If not today, then tomorrow."

"We'll keep searching," Carol offered a thin smile. "For as long as we have to."

Dog, who had been sniffing around for a while, suddenly started barking as he sprinted ahead, and the pair started running after him. 

"Dog!" Daryl called out. "Dog, stop! Hold up!"

Carol was slightly ahead of him as Dog stopped barking, and Daryl caught up a few moments later. His heart dropped a little when he arrived in the small clearing of the woods where an old cabin was stood falling apart.

His old home with CJ.

Carol didn't think much of the place, having no idea of what it used to meant to Daryl as she followed Dog up onto the small rickety porch. Daryl had to take a moment to just look at the place. The outer walls used to be painted a pale green that used to flake off the wood. Now, any signs of that soft colour were gone, and the wood was damp and disintegrating.

A small moment from years ago replayed in his head, to the point where he could see it happening before his eyes. 

The sun was a little brighter, the cabin was cleaner and well taken care of. It was early in the morning, and birds could be heard chirping up in the distant trees. The flowerpots at the bottom of the two porch steps were filled with fresh compost, small sprigs starting to sprout over the dampened surface.

Standing up on the porch, leaning over the low fence, was the woman he fell in love with so many years ago. The smile on her face was slightly hidden behind her long wavy hair as she threw a tennis ball to Dog, who gave an adorable, playful bark as he sprinted to catch the ball before settling down on the ground to play with it.

Daryl stepped out onto the porch with a blanket in his hands. He went up behind CJ and draped the blanket over her shoulders, and she smiled as she grabbed the ends and wrapped it around her more. Daryl rested his hands on the porch fence, standing behind his wife with his arms either side of her and his chin rested on her shoulder, trapping her in as they watched Dog running around.