notion • john murphy

7 - TRAGEDY

[ TRAGEDY ]

ANY NEEDED TRANSLATIONS WILL BE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER IN THE AUTHOR NOTES.

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   "Miss me?" Sayah questions as she places some food in front of Murphy. He chuckles a bit, digging in without hesitation.

   "If that means 'worried I'd have a new guard', then sure." He replies. Murphy hoped she wouldn't pick up on the fact he was actually worried about her.

  "How is Lincoln?" He questions.

   "He's okay," She replies, taking a seat beside him. "The healers say it's not that bad of a wound, so. . ."

   "That's good." He nods. It goes silent.

   "I hoped the meeting would go well for many reasons," Sayah begins. Murphy didn't question her sudden change of topic. He liked talking to her, and listening to her, and he liked the way she would fidget with her fingers when she was thinking really deeply.

   "I hoped that eventually," She shifts in her spot. "One day, you and I will meet outside of this cave, where you're not chained up—"

   "No fun," Murphy pouts.

   "Let me finish," She rolls her eyes. He smiled involuntarily. Murphy couldn't deny it. There was something there. Something inside him which grew more and more each time they spoke and each time she looked at him and even each time she said his name.

   "We'll meet and we'll walk." She continues. "Wherever we want. And we won't have to worry about anything. No spears, no guns, no traps. We can just, talk, I guess. Even visit our ledge in daytime so you can see what it's like."

   Murphy hides his smile at how she used words "our" without hesitation. "We'll get that." Murphy tells her, meeting her eyes. "Someday." He nods slowly.

   "What makes you so sure?"

   Because I can feel it. Because I know that you and I are meant to have that. Because I know you want it as much as I do and I know that the world doesn't give us whatever we want, but at least it gave me you — even under these circumstances — and that's enough reason for me.

   "I just am." Is all he says.

   She stares at him, her eyes searching his. "I am too."

   Murphy swears he feels his previously forgotten cold, dead heart smash through his ribcage in that moment and he doesn't even have to ask when it came back alive again. He has a pretty good idea.

   "Thank you." He whispers.

   "What for?"

   "Everything."

   A part of him doesn't know what he means either. Who knew getting kidnapped might've been the best thing that ever happened to him?

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   Sayah never thought she'd meet someone like Murphy. Sayah never even thought she'd meet a someone. But now she understands how Lincoln feels.