☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ Tales From a Time Far Away ✦••┈•

The Leaf and the Puppet

The puppet didn't know what to do in such a huge world.

He was free.. But was he?

No. He wasn't. He wasn't free from agony or sins. Because deep down, he still felt it raging.. In his.. heart..

The wanderer didn't believe it. A puppet doesn't have a heart. A puppet that committed such foul sins was made of rotting wood and rusted metal. He himself was not built of human flesh, and would never ever hold such human qualities.

The dendro archon was unfazed by his beliefs. She brewed a cup of tea, sitting down in the gazebo far away on a hill from the people. The wind blew through, and the weather was bright. "Dear wanderer, do you remember what I had told you that day?" Nahida asked him.

"I don't believe someone such as me holds a heart," he hissed flatly. "I never will."

Nahida took the information in, with a sad smile. A cruel place this world was. But, that was how it was.

She knew. With time, the puppet will learn. He will learn, and his heart will grow.

She stood up from the table and approached the puppet at the balcony. She took his fragile hands into her small ones. "This world was made for us to fall into despair, but then to grow. Some of us don't recover, but instead, develop, like a leaf sprouting from a branch."

"Tell me, Buer," the puppet lifted his head, sudden tears brimming in his eyes, "why must I suffer so much? Why to the point where I was willing to erase myself from.. here."

"Not all questions can be answered in this world. Not yet." Nahida squeezed his hands tighter. "But we can only find out with time. You will learn eventually. Someday, you will."

"Right now, your heart is fragile. It needs time to mend itself again before you can discover answers."

"And.. if it never does..?"

The small child-like figure shook her head. "That is not how the world works." For a second, she gazed deeply into his amethyst eyes. Despite his past, he still had the resemblance of a lost, young child. The analogy caused a soft smile to blossom on her face.

She released the tension on his hands. "I'll brew you some tea."

A hesitant, but quiet, "Thank you," could be heard. Silent as the wind, but as thoughtful as poems.

How much you've grown, dear wanderer.

Inspiration: 4Dango (Webtoon)