CLIPPED

CLIPPED (HIM)

AN: This is it! The last part!

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RJ doesn't know the feeling of how it is to fly.

He doesn't have wings. He finds no purpose for the pair of elaborate, gentle mesh, which has the ability to bring a soul onto its favored destination, along with the feeling of lightness and the taste of freedom. He doesn't know it feels to spread one's wings, and then allowing it to glide with the wind or even against it. He doesn't know how it feels to maneuver a pair of massive woven feathers attached to one's back as he mingles with the clouds and breathes everything in. He doesn't know how it feels to synchronize the movements of his limbs with the flap of his wings.

All he has ever needed in his life is a pair of legs. Legs that can help him carry the load that he has willingly carried on his back for years.

And he used to not care.

Until he catches sight of a wing carrier from his post on the ground. And RJ just finds himself captivated by the sight.

He loves how the rhythmic flutter of the wings synchronizes with the dance of the wind. He is amazed by the shadow the figure casts upon the shrouds of white, a touch of gray that heightens the feel of realness amidst the realm of the reel.

And then the shadow suddenly starts to fall. And in haste to catch it, he changes the direction of his feet.

RJ feels the fall. He is the one who catches, but he still feels the impact of the fall.

The reckless descent robs him of his breath, leaving him gasping for a much needed air that is neither granted nor felt. He feels helpless as he flails, trying to clutch at a saving grace that will break his fall.

He never finds it.

Yet, he feels like he never hits the bottom ground. He remains suspended in a cloud of ambiguity, the fine line between two clashing yet complementary forces---the purgatory of a truth and a lie.

At the moment, he is not sure which he prefers---the truth that can destroy him or a lie that can temporarily save him?

How to fall. He never did learn the basics.

So he's clueless, emotion-less, on what to exactly do now that she is in front of him. She is looking at him with those expressive eyes that never fail to render him momentarily useless and numb.

RJ's mind is a vessel of unguarded, unanswered questions.

What is she doing here? Why did she come back?

Maine just left a couple of days ago, leaving him with a hollowness that he has not once felt. And now she is here. And he is scared to know the answers she might have with her.

Yet, he is unable to stay away.

RJ walks closer until he's standing just a foot away from her. Her who seems to have frozen in place. RJ would have laughed at the expression on her face if neither of their hearts are on the line.

His movement seems to have woken her up from her temporary daze. She looks startled, caught by her unexplainable action. She blushes and bows her head even before he can read her eyes.

RJ remains quiet and doesn't say anything. He is afraid to utter a word, worried that it might chase her away even before she states her purpose.

So RJ waits. He waits for her to say the first word.

And she does.

"I... visited my family," she says.