Secret in the Heart ||Descendants|| (♡Ben)

11

Kara began to sing, her voice trembling with emotion as she took a few steps toward the lake.

"First things first,
We start the scene in reverse,
All of the lines rehearsed,
Disappeared from my mind." A memory began to flood her mind, a sharp reminder of the fight she had with her father just before he vanished.

"When things got loud,
One of us running out,
I should have turned around,
But I had too much pride." The argument had been about their dwindling medicine supply and his insistence that she steal more. She had wanted to help him get better, but that morning, when she was caught stealing a loaf of bread, she had been chased around half of the island. Her fear of getting caught again had made her reluctant to go out, but her father had not understood. The confrontation had ended with her storming out, leaving without looking back.

"No time for goodbyes,
Didn't get to apologize,
Pieces of a clock that lies broken." When Kara had finally worked up the courage to steal some medicine, she returned home to find it empty. She had turned the house upside down, desperately searching for him, thinking he might be hiding, trying to get back at her.

"If I could take us back,
If I could just do that,
And write in every empty space,
The words I love you in replace,
And every time would not erase me." Kara wished she had turned around, that they had reconciled. The regret weighed heavily on her. Every day, the absence of her father reminded her of the unresolved issues and missed moments.

"If you could only know,
I never let you go,
And the words I most regret,
Are the ones I never meant to leave,
Unsaid Stilt." She had searched for him everywhere, climbing roofs, looking for any sign he might have left. But he had vanished without a trace, and the realization that he had deliberately erased his tracks was crushing. Her father knew her too well; he had disappeared entirely.

"Silent days,
Mysteries and mistakes,
Who'd be the first to break,
Guess we're alike that way." After his disappearance, Kara had fallen into a deep silence, mourning the loss of her father. She had loved him dearly, and his absence left her feeling empty. It was only when she met Jay that she began to find a glimmer of hope.

"He said, she said,
Conversations in my head,
And that's just where they're gonna stay forever." Kara often replayed their argument in her mind. She blamed herself for reacting with paranoia and for not being braver. If only she had been able to handle the situation differently, perhaps things would have ended differently.

"If I could take us back,
If I could just do that,
And write in every empty space,
The words I love you in replace,
Then maybe time would not erase me." She longed to go back to that fateful day, to be braver, to avoid the fight, to get the medicine, and to cherish her last moments with him. At least she would have known when her last chance to say goodbye would come.

"If you could only know,
I never let you go." Kara walked over to a tree in the forest and placed her hand on it, leaning her head against the bark. Tears streamed down her face as she remembered her father's comforting presence.

"And the words I most regret,
Are the ones I never meant to leave,
Unsaid Stilt." She imagined her father's face before her and smiled through her tears, missing him deeply.

"If I could take us back,
If I could just do that,
And write in every empty space,
The words I love you in replace." She sang softly.

"Then maybe time would not erase me." Her voice grew stronger.

"If you could only know,
I never let you go." She turned back towards the lake.