Respite

From Dirt Grows The Flowers (Part II)

They met in the woods. Eyes red. Cheeks wet. Strangers, at first. Two sole survivors seeking out each other like abandoned fawns.

Both of them were victims of tragedy, but neither were casualties of war. Not yet.

Her name was Alea.

They've been together ever since.

...

Two girls now orphans walked together in the forest on shaky legs and unsteady feet.

Aya had never felt the warmth of another person's palm before. She had never felt the tightness of someone else's fingers wrapped around her own.

She had never been so scared in her life.

Between the moment of her losing everything and meeting Alea, Aya had felt herself falling apart into so many pieces that she could never be whole again.

Alea had been the one to hold her together; to pick up the shards of her shattered self, and in turn, Aya had done the same.

They mourned by the river bank. Expressions reflected and mirrored by grief.

Aya glanced at her, catching a lingering gaze. Something small but mutual passed between them, binding them through their loss and sorrow.

I'll stay with you if you stay with me, their eyes said.

No one else will know. No one else will understand them like they do.

They made a solemn promise that night. An oath to the stars. They were young and helpless. But they both had each other.

Lost as they were, they found themselves in the other. Two halves divided. And together, they were one.

Aya never knew what it was like to have a sister. But on that day, she finally found something close to an answer.

...

There had been a time before them. A time when neither of them knew the other or what it meant to lose someone. Now, they couldn't remember a time without each other. And Aya could no longer remember what it felt like to be a daughter.

Two women now warriors walked through the woods, wading through a sea of verdure. They were girls no more, but they will always be children of the forest.

They had grown together, lived together throughout the changing of the seasons.

Sisters in all but blood. Elves of Elenoir. Lances of Dicathen.

And then the order came.

...

Half of her was covered in shadows. Half of her was bathed in sunlight.

She would remember that moment and regret it for the rest of her life.

Aya had never known what it was like to lose a sister. Later that day, she would soon find out.