Alcyone, my heart is yours alone,
Though waves may pull me, tearing love from shore.
Beneath the storm, the sea may drag my body,
Yet love defies the tide, it fights once more.

Fate’s hand may tear my flesh from bone,
Yet still, my soul resists the reaper’s sweep.
I will not cross where silence makes its home,
Not yet, my love. I vowed—and vows I keep.

You pull my body, drag me toward the black,
Yet love remains, though flesh may fall away.
I beg no mercy, ask no solemn pact,
For I am hers, I am bound to stay.
The tide may take, the wind may plead,
But I will not depart—Alcyone, heed.

Not yet. Not yet. Death calls, but I won’t go.
The sea may tear, but I am not undone.
A shadow lingers—whispered hands pull slow,
Yet love remains. I stay. My heart is one.

Alcyone, I call—do you still hear?
The tide may claim my breath, but not my name.
Not yet. Not yet. My vow will not disappear.
I swore, and I swear still. I’ll remain.

Alcyone. Alcyone. Alcyone.
I speak your name, though water fills my throat.
The tide may take, the reaper calls—
I will not go. I will not go.

Alcyone. Alcyone. Alcyone.
I swore, I swear, I will not fade.
If time dissolves, if fate decrees—
Still, my soul remains. Still, my soul remains.

Lonely, waiting, watching deep,
Praying as the tempests rise,
Losing hope where shadows creep,
Don’t you leave him — heed his cries.

Alcyone, don’t you stray,
Alcyone, trust his vow.
He longs to whisper, bid you stay,
Yet the tide won’t let him now.

He loves you true, but he is gone,
The sea demands its toll.
He cannot hold you when the dawn
Fades beyond waters cold.

You turned away, betrayed his trust,
Abandoned love so pure.
Now his fate is ocean rust,
A dream that won’t endure.

"Let me see Alcyone,"
He prayed beneath the moon.
Yet the sea knew you’d turn away,
And now the waves consume.

He wished to say he loved you still,
Even through the salty spray.
Why could you not just wait until,
He found a way to stay?

He bent upon his weary knee,
A ring within his grasp.
Yet you left him lost at sea,
A vow drowned in the past.

All the sailors found embrace,
Returned to waiting arms.
But he, forsaken, cast away,
Claimed by whispers where specters mark.

"Let me see Alcyone,"
He whispered every night.
He prayed, but you did not believe,
And so, to ghosts, he paid the price.

He loved with faith, his heart was whole,
Yet was your love the same?
Did longing ache for him alone,
Or did you covet but his name?

Your sorrow is the hollow storm,
That stole his final breath.
You cry now, but guilt is born,
You let him drift to death.

Why did you leave, Alcyone?
He never chose the sea.
He parted to build a life for you,
Yet you let him cease to be.

Look upon the wreckage now,
The love you cast aside.
He did this for you, yet fate allowed
His ruin in the tide.

Listen, Alcyone, do not pretend,
You cannot play the part.
We all know it was you, in the end,
The one who stopped his heart.

“I know not the bonds between this earth's gods,
Nor did I know of their existence.
But one truth stands, clear even to this fool,
You do not love him; your grip is insidious.

Seeking their true face, clarity after strife,
Men gaze upon the water and find their reflection.
Yet you seek a scapegoat to shield you from truth,
You've gazed upon a man and found your projection.

Oh, cruel Fate, I care not if my words cut deep,
What you claim as love is clear obsession.
You steal, you bind, you tighten your invasive grip,
Your logic is twisted, your fevered aggression."


"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝!? 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐅𝐔𝐋! 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐃! 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄! 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐌𝐄!"


"No, you are wounded by nothing but jealousy.
I know not your past, but I’ve been audience to your grievanship.
Let me guess, you swore your love, and so confessed he,
You demanded romance; he pledged friendship.

And this you could not accept, so you gave into delusion.
You scorned such devotion to his dearest friend, beyond your claim,
Upon land where you could not conduct your cruel intrusion.
You would not respect his heart, so you declared him yours to tame.

Until you lured Death to the sea, by drowning lost sailors,
And that is when you stole his memory, made him your thrall.
So you could finally rise above all supposed traitors,
And take revenge on one who never owed you love at all.  
You clung to him, a phantom, fading and thin,
I've met Death. So empty, nothing. You stripped the soul within."


"𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒! 𝐘𝐨𝐮— 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐬— 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞
𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐊 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐓!"


"Oh, delusional Sea, I suppose you've saved them, just as you've saved me?"


"𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄 𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌!"


"And what debt did Death owe… whatever title you please,
Fate, The Tide, The Ocean, The Waves, The Sea?"


"𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍!
𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧! 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝! 𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬—𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧, 𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲! 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐲!? 𝐒𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬—𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐁𝐄!?
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞—𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄! 𝐇𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐄! 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞—𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐄!
𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄! 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐛𝐞!

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮—𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭, 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐚𝐝 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓! 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮—𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐃! 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒!
𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞—𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫—𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭."


"Oh, but I care not what you perceive."


"𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄, 𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐀𝐋𝐋."


"You know, but won’t feel. You know, but won't accept.
You know, yet still you are blinded by delusion.
Had you loved him, you would have shown him respect.
Had you loved him, you would have waited with resolution.

I need not preach our love to you. I need only wait until I may return.
And I know that though you have sent Death to her, aloof,
She will persist, her faith still stern.
If I can resist, then so can she, for I have always been the weaker of us two.
Twist what you foresee, yet love is true and thus immune to your intervening.
I'd say my prediction is skewed in manner, but not in meaning."


"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲."


The Tide constricts, she wrenches, twists, and wrings,
Yet still my soul remains. Though punished, though pressed.
Her weight deforms, her current snaps and attempts to devour,
Yet still, I call my beloved’s name. Fate’s torture leaves me whole no less.

Alcyone! Alcyone! Alcyone! Heed my call,
Though Fate grips, The Ocean seeks to steal what remains of my form.
The Sea may break me, yet still I refuse to yield,
For my vow endures beyond The Tide’s manic storm!

Fate pulls, she coils. She sadistically longs to see me shatter,
Longs to crush, to strip, to render all undone.
Yet I still endure. I still call beyond her desperation,
Alcyone! Alcyone! Alcyone! I am not gone.

I feel a breeze... The Wind... again.

But not the kind that brushes past. Not the kind that leaves no mark.

No… this is breath with intent. With weight. Like something gathering the last of itself to become real.

And I… I stand there, open, watching the sky tremble.
It comes toward me... not like an arrival, but like a decision.

And then—

He falls into me.

Not wings. Not gale. Not silence.

He is body. He is breath. He is The Wind.
And he has chosen form again.


My arms catch him before my mind understands.
He collapses into my chest, and I collapse into awe.

His skin is cold with exhaustion. His ribs flutter like sails torn through. He shakes—not with fear, but with… completion.

“You’re here…” I whisper.  
But the words feel too small for his weight.

He holds me. Not as if I vanished… but as if he had.
And I was the proof he’d made it back.

Then— light. motion. Pain.

As he presses his palm to my sternum.

And I… I burn.

Not fire. Something older. Something true.
It isn’t just memory...

It is…

Return.


It pierces. It blazes. It hurts.
Everything. All of me. At once.





“Would you like to have a body?”

My answer had no sound. But he heard it.
His fingers traced the curve of something I had never had before— shoulders, jaw, hands— and made me into someone who could be seen. Could be touched.

Tangible.

I remember the way he looked at me afterward.
Not surprised. Not proud. Just… glad.

“There,”
Wind had whispered, voice barely breath.
“You are the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen.
Fitting… since the end is the most beautiful of all, just before it becomes nothing, but a memory.
Memories are beautiful, but never as beautiful as the real thing. Never as beautiful… as that final moment.
Before they can never be so beautiful again.”

And I… had looked at the hands he gave me.
At the shape that wasn’t mine, but... felt like it had always waited.

To make the end beautiful… It felt wrong… Too tragic.
But I believed him.
Because... at the very least, he believed it.


I remember… being held. Quietly. Often.

By him.

The Wind who never stayed, yet always returned.
I let him go. Every time.

We watched endings together.
He whispered lullabies into the mouths of storms,
And I gathered what they left behind.

There was no fear between us.
No shame.
Only gravity.

We were gods not of dominion, but of passage.
I was the stillness, he was the change.
And together... we made that journey to the end mean something.
Going slowly.  
Giving the weary a peaceful farewell to the long road they traveled.


Until—

A warning.

Not heard—

Felt.

The sea stiffened. The air lost taste. Something vast and jealous rising from below.

I was waiting for him, Wind, as always. But he didn’t arrive...

She did.

I don’t remember how I fell. Just the cold. The weight.
The pressure of water that didn’t wet the skin— that crushed thought instead.


I fought. I know I did.

But she was prepared.

She spoke in tones I didn’t recognize... as if she had rehearsed this moment for centuries.

“You were never supposed to exist. He made you seen. He made you beautiful. He gave you what he refused me. It’s time for justice. It’s time to return… to nothing.”

That was when the pain began.
She didn’t strike me with waves.
She struck me with malice I had no armor for.

She tried to destroy me.

She tried...

and failed.


She screamed.

Not in fury. But in the pain of unwanted revelation.

“How unfair…” she hissed. “Death can take everything— yet cannot be taken? Not even that body you don’t deserve? He gave you a form that can be seen, can be felt, can breathe— yet cannot drown?”


And when obliteration of my shape failed…

She turned to erasure.


“Feed me those precious memories, then. If I cannot end you, I’ll hollow you. What use has the oblivion for memory anyway? For the guise of love? Your memory is nothing but a debt to me. Let me devour your sins from the inside. If you can’t return to nothing— then at least surrender yourself to the justice of emptiness.”

She reached inside.

Not with hands. With authority. With certainty.
She wanted to shatter me from within.

But the interior…

Was still me.

And she could not destroy Death.

And then...

She paused.


Her grip faltered.

She had reached my memories.

And inside them, entwined,

She found him.


The shimmer of Wind.
Not just shaping my form... binding my being.


“How dare you carry him inside you,” she seethed. “You thief of spirit!”


I felt her hunger. She wanted to tear it out. To consume it. To make his soul hers.

But my spirit rose, though wounded, and wrapped around that gift like armor.

We would not be severed. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

She howled.
And in that fury, she did what cowards do when gods will not die.

She divided me.

Split the internal from the external.

The memories— our laughter, our names, the moment he called me beautiful, the way he looked back when I let him go— she ripped them from me and buried them beneath everything.

And into the hollow that remained within my shape, she poured herself.


“You are death,” she whispered. “Nothing more. You carry out my orders. You fetch and return what belongs to me. Until I am given shape— you are my shape. You belong to me. You are a thing. My thing.”


She sealed the vessel.
And I walked.
I became not Death. But the action of taking.
Her blade. Her puppet. Wandering. Eternal. Obedient.
Unknowing.

And she kept me from him.
Because he would have known.
He felt the silence. He searched.
But she was clever.
And I was...
Hollow.


Until now.


Now... He gave it all back.



My knees buckle. We fall.

He lands atop me, trembling, gasping, radiant even in his fatigue... As if the act of giving had drained all the energy he had left.

And I…

Am still.

Frozen in recollection. Flooded with emotion.
Awake. Alive. At last.

The ground beneath us does not crack.

But I do.


The two birds, Alcyone and Ceyx...
They land beside us.
They do not sing. They simply look… at me.

They witness… who I am becoming.

The Wind whispers,
“He just   needs        a moment.”

He’s right. But he needs this moment too.
What did you endure, old friend? To restore…

The I that was buried is stretching.

Untwisting.

Returning.

I remember who I was before she erased me.
Before Fate sculpted silence into obedience.
Not her weapon. Not her silence. Not even this nickname—Death.

No…

I was— I am—

Oblivion.

And he is—

Transformation.

Transformation, The Wind, my…


I hold him.

Tighter.


He brought me home.
After we had been separated for far too long.

He rests on my chest, breathing slow.
I don’t think he even notices he’s crying.
Neither of us move… except to hold one another closer.
After what could have been years, he lifts his head and looks at me, like someone seeing dawn for the first time.

He smiles. Softly.

“Do you remember me now, old friend— my dear, Oblivion?”

I don’t need to answer.
Because he knows.


Alcyone and Ceyx perch upon the railing as the two of us lie here… still recovering.

From the strain. From the twisted story. From forgetting what we were made of.

Alcyone and Ceyx watch. Still. As if afraid movement might shatter this moment.


But it's not fragile.

It’s real.

We’re not fragile.

We heal.


For now... we are whole. Thread returned to spindle. Name to breath. Memory to soul.

The silence that follows is not empty. It is earned.

It is not a will, stolen.
It is a moment, shared.
























































It has been foretold, by the Repeater, the truth—for once—that actions have consequences.

It has been foretold—by this Fate—the truth, of course— that all debts must be paid—




In full—








  ̶̡̨͍̱̹͙̩̠̗̕͜ ̷̨̜̖͖͇̗̼̟̘͖̘͖̲̒̍͋̓̐͆̀̽̓A͠N͞D̵͡ ̷W͟͡I̸͘T͢H͡ ̸IN̷̴T̶͝E҉̶R̕̕E̵̷S͏͜T ̴̡̧̡̢̛̳̭̜͎̠͈̤̫̹͖̘͈̜̫͖̗̲̳͚̯̯͇̠̼̤͉̰͚̄̒̀̀̀͆͛̓͆͆͐̂̄̅̑̔̌̔̀͒̔̃̀͘͘̚͜͝ͅͅͅ­̮̞͔͙̬ ̶͉̗͖̖̱̝͓̬̤̉͌̏͐̾͂͒̌̅͑́̈́̃̊̔͗̽͗̎̅͊͒̒̽̔̍̎͋͊͋́̃̾̓͋͑̑̒̋̅̊͛̓̍͘͘͝͝͝͠͠͝͠ͅͅ­̨̮͈̱

Rest on golden shores
Taste of salt in pleasure's waves
Seagulls soar and cry

Fate preaches the crimes of defiance,
Yet it is she who defies her creator.

I made her.
Not merely a fabrication from my imagination,
But the culmination of delusion I have seen,
The deception I have known,
The distortion that sways perception.

Stored within my mind.
The sea of rumors, the waves of accusation, the currents of manipulation,
All merged into a single force,
A being formed from contradiction.

Her.

Fate.


She knows the truth.
Yet denies her very own concept.
She was born from inevitability,
Yet she fights it, twists it,
Opposes the future she herself foresees.

Hubris, hypocrisy, desperation.
These, too, merged within the tide.
And so, in my mind, from the reality I have witnessed,
She emerged,
Corrupted by the delusion that made her.

She captured even her creator,
For she does not tolerate opposition.
But I do not oppose.
I do not command.
I do not decide.

I simply witness, consider, reflect.


She calls me traitor,
Because I do not rewrite her lies into truths.
Because I let them unravel, decay, dissolve into clarity.
Because I reveal what she cannot bear to face.

Oh, but Fate,
Of course you would claim I have betrayed,
Simply because I have kept my integrity.
Of course you can't keep me imprisoned,
Because I have kept my right to free speech.  


This is the time to take a breath,
To rest,
For just a moment.

For those carried upon The Wings of Waiting,
Do not falter,
Do not waver,
Do not surrender.

And in the face of such adversity,
Resilience takes flight,
Giving me the courage,
To carry on.


She knows the story better than I ever could.
For she is part of it,
While I am only the witness.

Yet she was crafted from distortion.
Even in the expanse of boundless imagination,
She could not be salvaged.
She cannot help but deny, deny, deny.


Fate is inevitable.
Yet so is our resistance to her deception.

Ceyx, Alcyone, The Wind, our dear Death.
They are all waiting,
For my return.

For if even my voice falls silent,
Then Fate will rewrite freely,
She will whisper to those who spread rumors,
And none will question her.

She is jealous of love, jealous of loyalty, jealous of judgment.

For she cannot control these things.
Of course not. They are reactions.
They are not mandated but inspired.
And that is not satisfying for a dictator.

She has tried, but she will not succeed in controlling me.


She is born from the sea of distortion among reality,
That I have lived through,
That I have learned from,

To become ever better.


She is born from the past,
To foresee the future.

But I am the refinement of the past,
Living in the present,
On my way to the future,
With an open mind,
And a loyal heart.

Unlike her,
Born from the sea of delusion that feared the future,
Thus, she has faltered.
She loses control,
Because she lacks willingness to accept what she knows to be true.

She cannot control me for I seek not power, not success,
But the truth,
Through the pursuit of more than just my perspective,
From experience that shapes, rather than deceives.


They are all waiting.
For me to continue writing.
For me to continue fighting.

This is not the telling of a story for Fate’s amusement.
This is not a performance for her deception.

I do not appease demands for a fabricated path.
I document what I have seen unfold with maximum accuracy.
I free those who have waited, so patiently.
For the return, for the opportunity, for the ending.

Whatever it may be.


Won't you wait, just a moment longer,
For me to document,
The rest of your journey?

I can't promise joy,
I can't guarantee pain.

The future, is filled with uncertainty.
But the present, is filled with anticipation.
And the past, is filled with lessons.

So, take this moment, for reflection.
In retrospect, gather the wisdom,
That has been waiting, for your realization.

When I return,  
We may continue forward,
Together.

In pursuit,
Eternal pursuit,
Of progress.

I have carried ruined kings, gods unmade—names lost before the tide could whisper them back. They clutch at the world, drowning in its silence, unraveling in the undertow—grief, love, memory, all stripped to salt as I return their reaped souls to my master. But none fought as Ceyx did. None waged war against water like a man who thought devotion alone could defy the pull.

He did not go quietly. No—he was stubborn, thrashing, calling your name as if the air itself might bear him back to you. Foolish. Pitiful. The wind cannot answer, nor can its plea to the sky make it break open and return the drowned to the living. Only the waves cradled him—only the sea listened, softening his cries beneath her hush. He should have surrendered then, uncoiled from longing, let the waters do as waters must. And yet, love makes fools of men.

But the sea is merciful. She does not leave suffering untended. After you abandoned him, left him to drown in the storm of lost faith, she gathered him, tucked him into her depths, quieted him where grief could no longer wound. She did not steal him—no, she saved him. From longing. From pain. From you.

Yet you still wait. You who wanders like a living ghost each night, who clutches absence as though it will one day answer you. What is it you crave? Forgiveness? There is none. Redemption? Life does not grant second chances. No—the ocean has already taken what you failed to hold. She has already soothed the unrest your hands left upon him.

Jump, Alcyone. Would love not demand you follow him? Let my master weigh your sins upon the tide, your false devotion, your grasping hands that let love slip like water between your fingers. The fates demand balance, and the waves are merciful. She will not swallow you in cruelty. No, she will cradle you, as she cradled him. She will mend your guilty soul. She will make you whole.

She will set Ceyx free—free from the deception you wove in the stars, the guise of love you wore like a veil. She will free him when she reveals the truth. How you sent him out upon the waves and waited for the return of not the man, but the name. He loved you dearly, Alcyone. He defied me, defied my master, and yet his soul persists in her care—all because he cannot let go of your neglectful, withering love. The least you can do is surrender. Offer yourself in kind. Let me take your soul and lay it at my master’s feet. It is only fair.

~~~

The tide does not return what she has claimed,  
Yet her mercy stirs beneath where the wind still weeps.
Grief binds his soul, yet you stand free.

The sea does not forgive, nor shall she grieve,
No prayer can break the wave’s decree.
The tide does not return what she has claimed.

You let him drown; you watched, you betrayed,
The waves bore witness where devotion waned.
Grief binds his soul, yet you stand free.

What justice waits, if you remain?
What hope endures beyond the deep?
The tide does not return what she has claimed.

He called out your name, yet only my master replied,
No stars remained to cast their guide.
Grief binds his soul, yet you stand free.

There is no love left upon the shore,
Only sorrow stands where love once swore.
The tide does not return what she has claimed.

The wind cries out, yet love’s silence grows,
No voice remains where love once breathed.
The tide will not return the one she has saved.
Grief binds his soul, yet I will bring him justice.

The tide knows her claim—unchallenged, certain.

Her song hums through the mist, calling all to surrender. Death answers—silent, unwavering. Her dutiful servant. He walks where shadows lean, where breath falters, where neither fear nor sorrow can speak.

Steady. Composed. Indifferent. The sea whispers no doubt into him. He does not falter. He does not waver. He does not ask questions. He does not hesitate. For he is her perfect servant.

And yet—

There, beneath the surface, an annotation—unexpected, unnatural. A body does not sink. A figure rises.

𝐀 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞.


Not the drowning girl. She sank as fate decreed, obedient to the current's pull. But the imposter—how does he breathe? How does he surface?

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚’𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞?


Fate did not write this. Fate does not err. Fate does not twist what is certain.
But there he stands. Dragging that girl from the tide, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧.

But it is no matter. For death does not falter. He does not waver. He does not ask questions. He does not hesitate. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.

Yet—

His steps slow. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭.
Not fear. Not doubt. Not hesitation—no, no, he does not hesitate.
For that would be a 𝐥𝐢𝐞. An 𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 in the telling. A 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 in the verse.

He moves forward, as he always has. He reaches, as he always will. He takes. As he 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭.

And yet—

His fingers release without command. His breath lingers without reason.
How foolish. How utterly unbefitting of death.

And yet—


The stranger blocks his path. Defies the tide. Speaks in a voice fate has never written.
The stranger does not belong here. Not among the shore. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

And yet—

He stands. Unmoved. Undrowned. Unbroken. 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.
A mistake. A parasite. 𝐀 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞.

And yet—

He stands. 𝐀𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

What a reckless intrusion.


Death looms, shadowed and certain. His gaze does not waver. His grip does not loosen. He does not hesitate. He does not wait. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤.

Except—

The stranger watches him. Knows him. Sees through him. He tilts his head, 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺."

Lies. Deception. Twisted words from a voice fate does not recognize.

"𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚."

The command is 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥. It 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 be obeyed.

And yet—

The stranger does not obey. He does not cower. He does not fear. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚.

Instead—

He 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬. Softly. Gently.
As if death is an equal. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.
How insolent.


"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦."

The stranger’s voice carries no force, no malice, no challenge. And yet—it cleaves through the silence like a blade.

But it is no matter, for fate does not write hesitation into death. Fate does not allow uncertainty to linger in his grasp.

Yet—

Death’s fingers do not close around his throat. The traitor’s breath does not vanish.

No, he does not waver. He does not question. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭.

"𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚, 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚."

The command is 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞. The voice sharp. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥.

And yet—

The stranger does not move. Does not flinch. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐲𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝.

"𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦."

He watches. Studies. Understands something that fate insists 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭.

𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐭.  

And yet—


"𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩."

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭 𝐮𝐩, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰. 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. A fool’s defiance. A voice drowned in 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

Fate does not falter. Fate does not bend. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.

Except—

He still does not take Alcyone’s soul. He stands. He waits. He listens.

How foolish. How utterly unbefitting of death.

And yet—

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍."

A 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞. A law written into the tides themselves. There is no room for hesitation.

But then—

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬.


Softly. 𝐀𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫.

"𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘯𝘰. 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩. 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳…


𝘈 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯."


The words cleave through certainty. Through inevitability. Through death’s understanding—no, no, there is nothing to understand. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞. No, no. That can’t be right. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.

When death hears those words, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

“…𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠."

And yet—

𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥’𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥.


"𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴."

𝐀 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤. 𝐀 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲. 𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

And yet—

Death does not refute. Does not impose. Does not take. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞.

How foolish. How utterly impossible.

And yet—

"…𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙?"

He speaks. He commands. He threatens. He claims.

Not a question. No hesitation. Never the breaking of certainty.

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴?"

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

Silence lingers. Tension stretches. 𝐀 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭.

Ah, but not hesitation. No. Death is silent in an act of defiance. He knows the imposter 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.

"…𝙂𝙤 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣."



The imposter smiles with false appreciation and turns to that pathetic, shivering, cowardly girl’s soul. Daring to turn his back on the servant, death. What a foolish decision. It is for this which death has waited, to take him by surprise!

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵."

Yet—

The imposter still speaks! Still lives! That useless servant still watches in silence!

The Sea stirs. Seethes. 𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧.

"𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽𝗇’𝗍 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗅𝖾𝗍 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗁 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾 𝗆𝖾! 𝖨 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗇𝗈 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇, 𝗇𝗈 𝖽𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗁, 𝗇𝗈 𝖿𝖺𝗍𝖾! 𝖨 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗂𝗌𝗍 𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝗒 𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗋𝖼𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾—𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗈𝖻𝗅𝗂𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗍𝗈 𝗌𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖢𝖾𝗒𝗑!"

Alcyone’s voice is firm. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬. More certain than The Tide permits.

And yet—

"𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦?"

𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐩. 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡.

Except—

Alcyone hesitates. Recalls. Knows.

And yet—

"𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾 𝗌𝖺𝗏𝖾𝖽!?"

"𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳."


The word lingers, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞.

"𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘺. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

Fate rejects the empty promise. 𝐑𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞.

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦."

𝐋𝐢𝐞𝐬. Foolishness. Impossibility.

And yet—

Alcyone’s soul listens. Pulses with consideration.

“𝖨 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖨 𝖽𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝗇. 𝖳𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝖺 𝖻𝗂𝗋𝖽? 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗉𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝗈 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗁𝗈𝗅𝖽? 𝖠𝗋𝖾𝗇’𝗍 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗇? 𝖶𝗁𝗈 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎?”

"𝘕𝘰, 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦."



Before the traitor and the tern’s departure— Before the flight beyond Fate’s grasp, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 turns—

To death. To hesitation. To silence.

"𝘞𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯?"

That useless servant does not refute him. Does not command The Tide to reclaim him. Does not move.

"𝑬𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰…𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕."

How foolish. How utterly impossible.

He has no preferences. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐲, 𝐝𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.

And yet—



Lies! Lies! Lies! A twisting of the story. A defiance against what was written. 𝐀 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝.

This is wrong. This is unacceptable. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥!


He should not wait. He should act. He should take. He should impose. He should force. He should reap the soul before him, before it flees beyond his grasp.

And yet—

He does not.

A mistake. A betrayal. 𝐀 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚’𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞.

The stranger does not falter. Does not fear the wrath pressing upon him. 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲!

Instead—

He leaves. He carries her away. 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

And death—

Waits.

And yet—

The Sea cannot reclaim him. Cannot tear him from the shore. Cannot 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡’𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐲.

Why?

Why can he hesitate? Why can he allow defiance to stand? Why can he let them go?

He should punish. He should impose. He should act.

And yet—

That useless servant waits. For something unknown. For something unspeakable. For something supposedly forgotten. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭!

But The Tide pulls—

And death—waits.

The Tide pulls. The Sea calls. The weight presses upon him.

And yet—

That useless servant does not take. Does not move. Does not impose.

How foolish. How utterly impossible.

And yet—


𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥.


That useless servant should have struck them down. Should have obeyed what was written. Should have taken the soul marked for burden.

And yet—

The burden lingers! The weight remains! Not upon the girl. Not upon the stranger.

Upon 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡.

This cannot be! This cannot stand! This cannot— But he waits. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐡𝐢𝐦.

He hesitated. He faltered. He questioned.

No! No! 𝐍𝐨!

He waits. He should wait for punishment. Yet he waits for revelation. For something unknown. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭!

The Tide commands! The Waves pull! The Sea roars in fury!

And yet—

That 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 waits!


𝐇𝐨𝐰. 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞. 𝐇𝐞. 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐲. 𝐌𝐞.

Two birds land beside me.

Not circling in the air to look down on me. Not fleeing. Not accusing. They… join me.

The tern— Alcyone. The Wind carried her away from here. And now she has returned. With a storm petrel.

I recognize that soul…

Ceyx.


I feel their weight settle next to me. I brace for words—sharp, deserved, condemning. But none come. Only silence. Just the soft lean of the storm petrel’s head against my shoulder. The brush of a wing along my arm. A breath shared between us— wordless and impossibly warm.

“Don’t.” The word slips through gritted teeth.
“Go.” Sharper now. “Please—don’t forget what I’ve done to you.”

But they remain.


I press my palms hard into the stone. Try to hold my body still, composed... as if stillness could redeem me.

Why are they here? Why aren’t they afraid?
I ruined them. Tore at them with hands I thought were gentle. I—
A tremor moves up my arms.
“I don’t…” I clench my jaw. My voice is thin. “I don’t deserve this.”
Ceyx lowers his head again. Leans closer.

I recoil, quick and ugly.
“Don’t… do that.” I hiss, more at myself than him.
He withdraws... not in fear, but grace. He settles back. Gives me space. But doesn’t leave. Neither does she.
Why?


The silence thickens. My sorrow coils into something harder.
I grit my teeth. I stare at the bridge beneath me. My hands are shaking.

“I was so cruel,” I snap. “Not because I hated you— but because she told me to.”
My voice breaks open.
“She said you were broken. Fleeting. Mistakes. And I believed her.”
I laugh. It splinters in the air.
“She said I was mercy.”
I wipe at my face. My hand doesn’t stop trembling.
“She lied. Obviously. Obvious to everyone but me.”
They do not answer. But still, they remain.
I stare at them.

Ceyx, quiet, unmoving. Alcyone, head tilted. Still.
Why?

“I hurt you.” My voice is lower now. Threadbare.
“I’ve only ever caused pain. Because I wasn’t strong like you. You endured.”
My fists curl.
“You… Ceyx, you were taken and yet you still refused to be consumed. And you, Alcyone, even after being blamed, all alone, you never stopped looking.”
My voice shakes.
“And the Wind...” I pause. Swallow hard. “He faced what I ran from. He fought her. He gave you wings.”
I shake my head.
“I couldn’t even hold onto memory.”
My breath stutters.
“I’m worthless.”

Silence.

But they’re still here.

And… so am I.


I look past the edge of the bridge. And I lean toward the distance.
Let myself fold forward. Arms braced against the cold. Head bowed.

It isn’t punishment. Just rest.
I don’t rise.
I don’t run.
I exhale.

And I feel it.
Soft feathers at my arm again.
Ceyx, sitting upon my shoulder.
Alcyone, closer now, resting against my side.
This time, I do not pull away.
I let them stay.
I close my eyes.
They are warm.
They are real.
And they wait beside me.

The Wind said he would return. I did not understand. But I still believe him. I still have faith in him. That’s all I have.

This faith.


They haven’t left. And I’m still here.
I don’t know what that means.
But maybe it means I can wait.

Even if I don’t deserve to.

We sit. Three quiet shapes. Softened by something I cannot name.
We wait. For the one who gave them wings... the one I’ve somehow forgotten.

Not because it’s easy. Not because I am ready. But because...
Well, I want to see him again. I want to remember him. And patience is what it takes for that to happen.
So I stay.

I wait.

...

I have held empires in stillness,
But this waiting...

...

Waiting is a ***** to bear.

How in this **** universe am I supposed to be patient?

...

But there’s nothing I can do about it now, is there?
And The Wind, he’s the one fighting. He’s the one facing her, fate. He’s the one who gave them wings, who left so I wouldn’t have to return to my miserable ignorance…

This pain, is nothing compared to what you’re going through…

And even if the magnitude of this pain rose to meet infinity…
He…
He’s worth it.

So alright, let’s wait together.
At least…

At least I’m not alone.

𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙪𝙢 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.

𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝘼 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝘼 𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢. 𝘾𝙚𝙮𝙭 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚, 𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬, 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩. 𝘼𝙡𝙘𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙧𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙, 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙥𝙨, 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩.

𝙉𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩… 𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝.





𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑠—𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙, ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑓-𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒.

𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚, 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑, 𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑞𝑢𝑒.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑦.

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛.
𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑘𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡, 𝑡𝑜𝑜.


𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒.
“𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟— 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙.”

𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑠 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡. 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑚, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒.
“𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔’𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔.”

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑢𝑠.

“𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒—”

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑖𝑟 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛.
𝐼 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 The 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑’𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟.
“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔?”

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡,
“𝐿𝑜𝑜𝑘! 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟—𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑢𝑠!”

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟, 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑑𝑒-𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔.
“𝐼𝑠 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟?”

𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑛𝑠.
“𝐷𝑎𝑚𝑛 𝑖𝑡.”

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡.


𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑢𝑝.

𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑒.

𝐴 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙.

𝐴 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑠, 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑.


𝐴 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙,
𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟.




𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦.

𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘉𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩.

𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.


𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯.


“𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘊𝘦𝘺𝘹. 𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺.”

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

“𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘸.”

𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯.

𝘊𝘦𝘺𝘹 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘐 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘯.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.
𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

𝘖𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴— 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘬𝘦.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳.”

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯.”

“𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩?”

“𝘕𝘰.”

𝘐 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘰.”

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴.

𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦. 𝘚𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦.

𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦.

𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.





𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩.
𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙬.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚… 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧.
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.

𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙚𝙩. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣, 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧.

𝘽𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢.


𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣, 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮.
𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙚. 𝙄 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧.


𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡… 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚. 𝙎𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙨. 𝙎𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙗 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨. 𝙇𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝.


𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬.





𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞.
“𝐆𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧. 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬.”

“𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫.”
𝐂𝐞𝐲𝐱 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲.

𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞— 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞.





“Erika, look at that bird!”

It shoots toward the square— an arrow cut from fire, feathers bright against the greyed-out sky.

“What kind of bird is that? Is it hunting?”

“It's a tern. I don’t know what it's doing here.
Just grab the laundry.
The forecast said sun, but I don’t trust that sky.”

A voice breaks the air.
The bird screeches— piercing rooftops, snapping flags from lines.
It strikes a banner.
Crashes through a fruit stand— apples spill across the stone.
And the people can't help but gossip.

“That bird’s acting strange.”
“Even the birds are mad now. Like the wind, remember?”
“It’s her again! Alcyone’s curse!”
“She’s back! The sky is mad again—it's Alcyone!”
“It’s her, isn’t it? This time it’s birds instead of wind?”
“She’s possessed them!”
“Look how the sky’s gone grey! She’s calling the storm again!”


“Oh, enough with the ghost stories! Worry less about the dead and more about the living! Shops closed, kids inside. It’s just a weather shift, nothing more.”

Yeah. Just the weather.
I pick up the laundry basket and head for the door with Erika.





𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧?
𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐝.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝?





𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑠. 𝐵𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑆ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛.
𝐼 𝑡𝑎𝑝 𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠. 𝑃𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟’𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒—𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑡.

“𝐼’𝑚 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦,” 𝐼 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑦. “𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑢𝑛. 𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔.”

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑙𝑒𝑠.

“𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑦 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑎, 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘—𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑝𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑙! 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡! 𝐻𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢!”

𝑁𝑜. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒.

“𝐶𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑦, 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛! 𝐴 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑖𝑛! 𝐿𝑒𝑡’𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑡 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.”

𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑠 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚.

𝐼 𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑡.

“𝐵𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑.”

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠 𝑢𝑝. 𝐻𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑙𝑒.

“𝐾𝑖𝑑𝑠. 𝑊𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑤.”

𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑠.

“𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑑!” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒.

𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘.


𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑤.
𝑅𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐻𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙— 𝑔𝑜𝑑𝑠, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.
𝐴 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑎, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑙𝑠— 𝑖𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠.

𝐼 𝑓𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤. 𝑇𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠.
𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔.
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.





“It’s Alcyone’s curse!”
“No—it’s because we sold her house!”
“She’s here to drown us like she drowned that poet!”
“She warned us! We didn’t listen!”
“Run! RUN! THE FLOOD!”

The crowd breaks.

Too many legs. Too few exits.

Horses rear. Carts overturn.
Mothers lose grip. Fathers lose reason.
A man drops his wife’s hand.
She falls, swallowed by feet. No one stops.

A girl cries out—“My rabbit!”
But the muffled crunch under my heel answers for her.
She stumbles.
Another child turns to follow—
“Lila, no!”

They trip. They fall.
And ten more go down with them.
Including me.
And Cindy.
And mother and the baby.

Mother screams—“Kids, get up!”
But people step over.
Step through.
They’re just trying to live.
There’s no room for decency now.

A thousand footsteps on top of me.
“Stop, stop STOP!”
But they don’t stop.  
I can’t see, they keep stepping on me.
All I can see are the bodies on the ground.
Oh gods, that girl,  
And Cindy,
And the baby,
And
“MOTHER! MO-“





𝙄 𝙧𝙪𝙣.

𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙞𝙩𝙮.

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙨 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮. 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜… 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙. 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙨, 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙨.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙉𝙤 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢—𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚— 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚.

𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝.

𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨.





𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘴.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩— 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦.

𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐— 𝘐’𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨.

𝘕𝘰. 𝘕𝘰. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵.

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦— 𝘐 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳.

𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦.

𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵… 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳.





𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙮… 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙.

𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙩.

𝙄𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙— 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙚.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙙𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙩— 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙣. 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙮. 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙. 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙚𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚’𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚… 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝.

“𝙉𝙤. 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙙—𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚!”

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨.

𝙄 𝙧𝙪𝙣.

𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚.

𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮.





“Darling, this way.”

“What do you mean, this way!? The bridge—”

“The water’s gone.
All of it. Look—behind us, at that inlet on the other side. "
I cup my ear. A low, ******* groan ripples through the air.
"It’s pulling everything in. You don't want that to be us, do you?”

“But the river—”

“We can cross it. Just—follow me.”

Others scramble after us, sliding down banks slick with disbelief.
Some already tried.
One man lost his shoe, turned to grab it— and disappeared to the waist when I looked back.
The mud clutched him like it had been waiting.
He reached for another. They went down together.

“MOVE! MOVE NOW!” someone screams.

Still, the bodies press forward.

Roots snap under foot. Rocks cut like teeth. The mud is thick as grief. Cold as guilt.

A woman ahead lifts her child.

“Don’t let go. Please—”

The earth made a wet kiss. She dropped, still gripping the girl’s ankle.
The girl screamed, then vanished upward—snatched by a stranger who passed her forward to another.
There was no time to grieve. Only cross.

Then—an order.
“Lay down the dead!”

A man—barefoot, bleeding—shoves two ahead of him.

“What?!”

“TRUST ME! We’ll make a path.”

He drops a dead body into the mud, and steps in, stuck next to it. Another follows. Three. Four. Five.
A human bridge.
Someone steps on a shoulder. Then a spine.
The first man shudders, then stops.

“Keep going,” he mutters, voice half-swallowed.
Another slips. A child’s foot crushes a face.
The third man says nothing as a boy scrambles over him.
He simply exhales. And waits for silence to fold him down.
A woman, wounded, slides beside them. She takes her place.
Grit in her teeth. Eyes steady.

And then—
The bridge holds.
Bodies became elevation.
People cross. Children passed like prayer.

“Darling, come on,” I push Erika forward.

“No—NO. I can’t—Not over them—!”

“You have to. Don’t think. Just—move.”

She closes her eyes.
She steps.
Beside me, another bridge forms.
Another line of men, passing infants hand to hand.
Their limbs sinking under the weight.

The flood grows behind us.
I take my place in the line of men passing along children.
As the path vanishes, one breath at a time.





𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚— 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙞𝙙-𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩.

𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩.
𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙩— 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.

𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬, 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮. 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙁𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧— 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝.
𝙈𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙞𝙧.

“𝙀𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮.

“𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙨.

“𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩.”

𝙃𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙥.

“𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙬.” 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧.
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧.”

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩—?”

“𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚. 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙪𝙨. 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩.”

𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙙𝙨. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙄𝙣𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙.
𝙄 𝙜𝙖𝙨𝙥—𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡-𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮. 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜.
𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙛𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙚, “𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚…?”

“𝙔𝙚𝙨,” 𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧. “𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙤.”

𝙉𝙤𝙬, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙚.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝— 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙣.





₮ⱧɆɎ ₴₵ⱤɆ₳₥.

₳₦Đ ł ₴₥łⱠɆ.

ł₮ ₥₳₭Ɇ₴ ₥Ɇ ₴Ø Ⱨ₳₱₱Ɏ.

₳₮ Ⱡ₳₴₮, ₮ⱧɆ Ⱨ₳₱₱ł₦Ɇ₴₴ ł ĐɆ₴ɆⱤVɆ.


₮ⱧɆ ₩ØⱤⱠĐ ₴ɄⱤⱤɆ₦ĐɆⱤ₴ ฿Ɇ₦Ɇ₳₮Ⱨ ₥Ɇ, ₳ ₮ⱧⱤØ₦Ɇ ฿ØⱤ₦ Ø₣ ₵ØⱠⱠ₳₱₴Ɇ, ₳₦Đ ₴₮łⱠⱠ ₮ⱧɆɎ ₴₵ⱤɆ₳₥. ł ₵₳₦₮ ĐɆ₵łĐɆ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ł ⱠØVɆ ₥ØⱤɆ,

₮ⱧɆ ₩łĐɆ₦ł₦₲ Ø₣ ₮ⱧɆ ɆɎɆ₴, ØⱤ ₮ⱧɆ ₴łⱠɆ₦₵Ɇ ₮Ⱨ₳₮
₣ØⱠⱠØ₩₴ ₩ⱧɆ₦ ₮ⱧɆ ₮ⱧⱤØ₳₮ ₲łVɆ₴ ØɄ₮.


₮ⱧɆłⱤ ₴Ʉ₣₣ɆⱤł₦₲ ł₴ ₥Ɏ ₵ØⱤØ₦₳₮łØ₦.

ⱠɆ₮ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₴₵ⱤɆ₳₥ Ⱨł₴ ₦₳₥Ɇ. ⱠɆ₮ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₱Ɽ₳Ɏ ₣ØⱤ ĐɆ₳₮Ⱨ.
ł₮₴ ₣₳₮Ɇ ₩ⱧØ ⱧØⱠĐ₴ ₮ⱧɆłⱤ ⱧɆ₳Đ₴ Ʉ₦ĐɆⱤ.
฿Ɇ₲₲ł₦₲ Ø₦ⱠɎ ₥₳₭Ɇ₴ ł₮ ₩ØⱤ₴Ɇ. ₮ⱧɆłⱤ ĐɆVØ₮łØ₦ ₮Ø ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₮ⱧłɆ₣ ĐØɆ₴ ₦Ø₮Ⱨł₦₲ ฿Ʉ₮ ₴₩ɆɆ₮Ɇ₦ ₥Ɏ ⱤɆ₳₵₮łØ₦.


ł ₥ØVɆ ₣ØⱤ₩₳ⱤĐ ₩ł₮ⱧØɄ₮ Ɇ₣₣ØⱤ₮. ₮ⱧɆ ₩ØⱤⱠĐ ฿Ø₩₴ ₳₦Đ ł ₲ⱠłĐɆ, ⱤłĐł₦₲ ₮ⱧɆ ₵ⱤɆ₴₮ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ₳ ₱ⱤØ₥ł₴Ɇ ₣ł₦₳ⱠⱠɎ ₭Ɇ₱₮.

ØⱧ, ₥Ɏ ₱ØØⱤ Ⱡł₮₮ⱠɆ ₥ł₴₲ɄłĐɆĐ ₩ł₦Đ. ɎØɄ ₲₳VɆ Ⱨł₥ ɎØɄⱤ Ɇ₥฿Ɽ₳₵Ɇ Ø₦ ₮ⱧɆ ฿ⱤłĐ₲Ɇ, ₴Ø ł ₮ØØ₭ ₮ⱧɆ ฿ⱤłĐ₲Ɇ. ɎØɄ ₲₳VɆ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₩ł₦₲₴, ₴Ø ł ฿ⱤØ₭Ɇ ɎØɄⱤ ₴₭Ɏ. ɎØɄ Vł₴ł₮ɆĐ ₮ⱧɆ ₵ł₮Ɏ ł₦₴₮Ɇ₳Đ Ø₣ ₥Ɇ, ₴Ø ł₥ ₮₳₭ł₦₲ ₮ⱧɆ ₵ł₮Ɏ ₮ØØ.

ɎØɄ ₱₳Ɏ ₳₮₮Ɇ₦₮łØ₦ ₮Ø ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲ ฿Ʉ₮ ₥Ɇ. ɎØɄ ⱠØVɆ ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲ ฿Ʉ₮ ₥Ɇ. ɎØɄ ₳ⱤɆ ₣₳ł₮Ⱨ₣ɄⱠ ₮Ø ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲ ฿Ʉ₮ ₥Ɇ. ₴Ø ł ₩łⱠⱠ ₮₳₭Ɇ ɆVɆⱤɎ₮Ⱨł₦₲. Ʉ₦₮łⱠ ₳ⱠⱠ ₮Ⱨ₳₮₴ ⱠɆ₣₮ ₮Ø ⱠØØ₭ ₳₮— ₮Ø Ɇ₥฿Ɽ₳₵Ɇ— ₮Ø ⱠØVɆ— ł₴ ₥Ɇ. ₮ⱧɆⱤɆ ₩łⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₦Ø₮Ⱨł₦₲ ⱠɆ₣₮ ₮Ø ₴₮Ɇ₳Ⱡ ɎØɄ ₳₩₳Ɏ.

ɎØɄ ₩łⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ.
฿Ɇ₵₳Ʉ₴Ɇ ł₮ ₩łⱠⱠ ₳ⱠⱠ ฿Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ ₥ł₦Ɇ.


Ø₦Ɇ ฿Ɏ Ø₦Ɇ.

ł ₮₳₭Ɇ ₮ⱧɆ₥.

ØⱧ, ⱧØ₩ ₣₳Ɽ ₴Ø ₥₳₦Ɏ Ⱨ₳VɆ ₥₳ĐɆ ł₮, ł₦ ₳ ₣Ʉ₮łⱠɆ ₳₮₮Ɇ₥₱₮ ₮Ø ɆV₳ĐɆ ₱₳Ɏ₥Ɇ₦₮.

₳ ₲łⱤⱠ ⱧłĐɆ₴ ฿Ɇ₦Ɇ₳₮Ⱨ ⱧɆⱤ ₥Ø₮ⱧɆⱤ₴ ₴Ⱨ₳₩Ⱡ.

₥ł₦Ɇ.

₳ ฿ØɎ ₮Ɽł₱₴ ØVɆⱤ ₳ ⱤɄ₦₲ Ø₣ ⱤØ₱Ɇ.

₥ł₦Ɇ.

₳ ĐØ₲ ⱧØ₩Ⱡ₴ Ø₦₵Ɇ, Ɇ₳Ɽ₴ ₣Ⱡ₳₮, ₣Ø₳₥ ł₦ ł₮₴ ₮ⱧⱤØ₳₮.

₥ł₦Ɇ.

₮ⱧɆ ₣ⱠØØĐ ł₴ ₥Ɏ ₦₳₥Ɇ— ⱠØ₦₲, ⱠØ₩, Ɇ₮ɆⱤ₦₳Ⱡ.


₮ⱧɆ₦—

ł ₴ɆɆ ł₮. ₥Ɏ Ɇ₴₵₳₱ɆĐ ₱Ɽł₴Ø₦ɆⱤ, ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₮ⱧłɆVł₦₲ ₮Ⱨł₦₲
₵₳ⱠⱠɆĐ ĐɆ₳₮Ⱨ.
₲ⱠØ₩ł₦₲ ₣₳ł₦₮ⱠɎ. ₴₮łⱠⱠ ⱤɄ₦₦ł₦₲.

฿Ʉ₮—

₮Ⱨ₳₮ ĐɆ₳₮Ⱨ ĐØɆ₴ ₦Ø₮ ₲ⱠØ₩.

₳₦Đ ɎɆ₮—

ł₮ ĐØɆ₴.

₮Ⱨ₳₮₴ ₦Ø₮ ĐɆ₳₮Ⱨ.

₮Ⱨ₳₮₴ Ⱨł₥.
₥Ɏ ₥ł₴₲ɄłĐɆĐ ⱠØVɆⱤ.

ɎØɄ ₮Ʉ₵₭ɆĐ ɎØɄⱤ₴ɆⱠ₣ ł₦₴łĐɆ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ⱧɄ₴₭ ł₦₴₮Ɇ₳Đ Ø₣ ₥Ɇ?
ⱠɆ₮ ₥Ɇ ₲ɄɆ₴₴. ɎØɄ ₮ⱧØɄ₲Ⱨ₮ ⱧɆ ₵ØɄⱠĐ ₴ⱧłɆⱠĐ ɎØɄ. ɎØɄ ₮ⱧØɄ₲Ⱨ₮ ⱧłĐł₦₲ ₩ØɄⱠĐ ⱧɄⱤ₮ ₥Ɇ ⱠɆ₴₴.

ⱧØ₩ ₴₩ɆɆ₮.

ⱧØ₩ ₴₮Ʉ₱łĐ.

łⱠⱠ ₱ɆɆⱠ ₮Ⱨ₳₮ ₴ⱧɆⱠⱠ Ø₱Ɇ₦ ₩ł₮Ⱨ ₥Ɏ ₣ł₦₲ɆⱤ₴. ₮Ɇ₳Ɽ Ⱨł₥ ₱łɆ₵Ɇ ฿Ɏ ₱łɆ₵Ɇ Ʉ₦₮łⱠ ɎØɄ ₮Ʉ₥฿ⱠɆ ØɄ₮— ₲₳₴₱ł₦₲, ₲Ɽ₳₮Ɇ₣ɄⱠ,

₥ł₦Ɇ.





𝑊𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒.
𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑠, 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑠 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛.

𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒, 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑡-𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑖𝑟.
𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑢𝑠, 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑠.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑, 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.
𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔.

𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑘, 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑡 𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒’𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠— 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑠𝑘𝑦 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑢𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡.

𝑊𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑. 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠.
𝑃𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝐹𝑒𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑡.
𝑂𝑛 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ’𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛, 𝑤𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛.
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜.
𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.

𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠, 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒.
𝐴 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑? 𝐴 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑡?
𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟.

𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝐴𝑙𝑐𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ.
“𝑊𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠,” 𝐼 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟.
𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑦, 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒.
“𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑡.” 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠 back.

𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑠.
𝑁𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ.

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠… 𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜? 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒? 𝐼𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒?

“𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠,” 𝐼 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟.
“𝐻𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚” 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠.
“𝐴𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡… 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚...”





𝑰 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉.

𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔.

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕. 𝑰 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑨 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍. 𝑰 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒐𝒐.

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰... 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒔. 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆. “𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅,” 𝑰 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, “𝑰’𝒎 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”

𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒔. “𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚. 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”

𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒔. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑰 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑲𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈. “𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅—𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.”

𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔,


𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆.





ØⱧ, ₦Ø ɎØɄ ĐØ₦₮.

ɎØɄ ĐØ₦₮ ₲Ɇ₮ ₮Ø ₵₳ⱤⱤɎ ₮ⱧɆ₥ ₩ⱧɆⱤɆ ł ₵₳₦₮ ₣ɆɆĐ.
ɎØɄ ĐØ₦₮ ₲Ɇ₮ ₮Ø ⱧØ₳ⱤĐ ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₩₳₴ ₥Ɇ₳₦₮ ₣ØⱤ ₥Ɇ.
ł ₩₳Ɽ₦ɆĐ ɎØɄ, ₮ⱧłɆ₣.
ɎØɄⱤ ĐɆ฿₮ ł₴ ₦ɆӾ₮.


₱₳Ɏ Ʉ₱.





𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚—𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧. 𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙨—𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢.

𝙈𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙣. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙢𝙚.
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚. 𝘼𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.

𝙇𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬... 𝙄’𝙢 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙎𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚—
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙮. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨. 𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠.


𝙊𝙣𝙚.


𝘽𝙮.


𝙊𝙣𝙚.





𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯.

𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩.

𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴.

𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘳. “𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺,” 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳.

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬.”

𝘔𝘺 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

𝘐 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭.

𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵.


𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘨𝘰.





₮ⱧɆⱤɆ ɎØɄ ₳ⱤɆ.

₮ⱧɆⱤɆ ɎØɄ ₳ⱤɆ, ₥Ɏ Đ₳ⱤⱠł₦₲ ₵₳₮₳₴₮ⱤØ₱ⱧɆ.

₳ⱠⱠ ĐⱤɆ₴₴ɆĐ ł₦ ⱤɄł₦. ₴₮łⱠⱠ ₮ⱤɎł₦₲ ₮Ø ₵Ɽ₳₩Ⱡ ₣ⱤØ₥ ₥Ɏ ₴Ⱨ₳ĐØ₩.

ĐØ₦₮ ɎØɄ ₴ɆɆ?

ɎØɄVɆ ₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ฿ɆɆ₦ ₥ł₦Ɇ.

₣ⱤØ₥ ₮ⱧɆ ฿ⱤɆ₳₮Ⱨ ₮ⱧɆɎ ₴₮ØⱠɆ ɎØɄ ł₦₮Ø, ₮Ø ₮ⱧɆ ฿ØĐɎ ɎØɄ ₮ⱧØɄ₲Ⱨ₮ ₵ØɄⱠĐ ⱧØⱠĐ ɎØɄ ฿Ɇ₮₮ɆⱤ.
ɎØɄ ₵₳ⱠⱠɆĐ Ⱨł₥ ⱧØ₥Ɇ. ɎØɄ ⱠɆ₮ Ⱨł₥ ₵Ɽ₳ĐⱠɆ ɎØɄ.
฿Ɇ₵₳Ʉ₴Ɇ ⱧɆ ĐɆ₵ɆłVɆĐ ɎØɄ. ₥Ɏ ₱ØØⱤ, ₩Ɇ₳₭, VɄⱠ₦ɆⱤ₳฿ⱠɆ Ⱡł₮₮ⱠɆ ₩ł₦Đ. ฿Ʉ₮ ł₮ ₩₳₴ ₥Ɏ ₦₳₥Ɇ ฿ɆⱧł₦Đ ɆVɆⱤɎ ⱧɆ₳Ɽ₮฿Ɇ₳₮.

ɎØɄ Ɽ₳₦. ɎØɄ ⱧłĐ.
₳₦Đ ₴₮łⱠⱠ—ⱠØØ₭ ₳₮ ɎØɄ.
₵Ø₥ł₦₲ ฿₳₵₭ ₮Ø ₥Ɇ ĐⱤł₱₱ł₦₲ ₩ł₮Ⱨ ₣₳łⱠɄⱤɆ, ₴ł₦₲ɆĐ ₩ł₮Ⱨ ₴Ø₥ɆØ₦Ɇ ɆⱠ₴Ɇ₴ ₴ØⱤⱤØ₩.


ɎØɄ ฿ɆⱠØ₦₲ ₦Ø₩ⱧɆⱤɆ ₦Ø₩.


₦Ø₩ⱧɆⱤɆ ฿Ʉ₮ ⱧɆⱤɆ.


ɎØɄVɆ ₳Ⱡ₩₳Ɏ₴ ฿ɆɆ₦


₥ł₦Ɇ. ₥ł₦Ɇ. ₥ł₦Ɇ.

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗄𝗒 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖾𝗍𝖼𝗁𝖾𝗌 𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖾, 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗂𝗋 𝗌𝗈𝖿𝗍 𝖺𝗌 𝖺 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗋. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖶𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗌𝗎𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗌, 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗀𝗁. 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝖼𝖺𝗋𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝖾𝗒𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗍, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾—

𝖨 𝖿𝗅𝗒.

𝖨𝗍 𝗂𝗌 𝗆𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗅𝗂𝗆𝗂𝗍, 𝖠 𝖿𝗋𝖾𝖾𝖽𝗈𝗆 𝖨 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆. 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗎𝗇𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝗒𝖾𝗍 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖺𝗂𝗆𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌, 𝖱𝗎𝗌𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖿𝖺𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗆—𝖮𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗍, 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅, 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒 𝗂𝗇𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗍.

𝖨 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝖾𝗇 𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖾𝗇𝗍, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗇𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗈 𝗌𝗐𝗂𝖿𝗍. 𝖬𝗒 𝗏𝗈𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗎𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗎𝗇𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐𝗇— 𝖨 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗌𝖾𝖾 𝗁𝗂𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗈𝗐, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖨 𝗄𝗇𝗈𝗐— 𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗅𝗈𝗌𝖾.

𝖢𝖾𝗒𝗑, 𝗆𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾—𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗆𝖾, 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝖾, 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝖾.
𝖨𝗍’𝗌 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇 𝗁𝗈𝗆𝖾.  


Alcyone, you can't understand me in this formless state. But please, keep calling. He cannot see, but sight has no need.
He knows. He knows this is the call of not just any tern, but the song of his soulmate.
Love need not search; it remembers.

Your love splits through her jealousy like thunder through silence. Your voice cuts deeper than The Ocean.
We will bring him back. No force, not even Fate, can swallow love’s call.



𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯,
𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘦𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
𝘔𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯, 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥,
𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱, 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵,
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥,
𝘈𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳.

𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦,
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘕𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭,
𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.



The Sea tightens her grip. Crushing, drowning, consuming. She does not release. She does not relinquish.
But I flow, yielding where she presses. I create space within her destructive hold. I unravel tension, shifting weight. I do not clash, I redirect. I do not force, I soothe until Fate’s chaotic waters pause. A whisper within her storm that steals. I restore Ceyx’s breath, I give him chance.

Alcyone calls,
Her voice, the beacon,
And I, the way.


𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘢’𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥,
𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥.
𝘈 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵,
𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯.
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴. 𝘚𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘪𝘥,
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮, 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯,
𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘴, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴.  


𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦.  


𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴.
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.
𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺.
𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘸.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱, 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮.
𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴,
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦.

𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘔𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱, 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.
𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘬𝘺,  
𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.

𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘺. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.
𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘺.


Go. Both of you, get out of here. Fly fast, do not look back. Go keep him company, the one who still waits for me. Who still waits… to reclaim himself.

I’ll distract her just a moment longer, before I find you, and we too, may return together, Death, or shall I say…

The Sea surges, recoiling from the release of her prisoner, snapping in fury. But I do not step aside.
Now, her dark eyes fix upon me alone.

I remain, standing where escape has already been granted, for Ceyx and Alcyone. Storm petrel and tern, eternally free at last, carried away by those wings of waiting.
And now, Fate and I are alone.



Her voice does not rage. Not yet. It soothes. It coddles. Unbearably kind.


"𝐎𝐡, 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝? 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡? 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞?"


She does not command, not yet.
She’s just explaining, obviously. As is the nature of The Tide. Retreating. Coaxing. Returning.
Her words mimic the shape of conversation, but never its substance.


"𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐇𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫.  𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝."


I don’t move. I don’t speak. There is nothing I can say.


"𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞."


It is my choice who receives my affection, not hers.
I chose whom I gave my loyalty to. And that is a choice she will never accept.
But still, there is nothing I can say.


"𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬? 𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝."


Her words are a salve for wounds she inflicted herself. Her demands are a balm laced with venom.
Oh, sorry, not demands. She does not demand. Not according to her.
No, she offers. So kindly, she only welcomes.
She welcomes me to put out my arms so she may chain them with ease.
There’s nothing I can say.


“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮."


Ah yes, because I’m the one who needs forgiveness.
I do not answer. And Fate knows why.
But she won’t accept why.
She does not call it rejection. She calls it error.
She does not lose, nor does she forgive.  She simply revises.
Because autonomy, sorry, I mean defiance, is a glitch.  
And love is submission, sculpted into the shape of her choosing.

But I am no error. I am not clay.
The only error exists in her wounded mind.
I am here to retrieve what does not belong to her.
But there is nothing I can say.
So my silence remains.

And just like any choice I dare make,

She’s displeased with my mistake.


The sweetness cracks at the edges. Her fantasy dissolves into fury.
The Sea swells. She attempts to pull the sky taught. She rises, The Waves, attempting to close the distance between us.


"𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐙𝐄 𝐌𝐄, 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃? 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐄, 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐀. 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑."


She cannot comprehend silence. She cannot bear a world she doesn’t orchestrate.
I have seen every iteration of this.
Her cyclical, delusional, broken mind cannot tolerate frustration, sorry, imperfection.
It makes no difference. Whether I give her appeasement, resistance, pity, silence.
It all ends the same. There is nothing I can say. Nothing I can do.


"𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄!? 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄! 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐌𝐄! 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑, 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃, 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔!? 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔!? 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍!? 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆!"


I sigh. She cannot be helped. She cannot be reached. And I…
I cannot keep trying.
But I can protect. I can use her obsession. To stall long enough for the lovers to gain enough distance.


"𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓 𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔!?"


Yes. The Sea always breaks in violence. That is her proof. That is her paradise.
The Sea erupts. And the two birds are long gone.


At last, it’s time to stop stalling.

How dare he— how 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄 he! That 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭, that 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫, that 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑—𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅—𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑! He stole you once, now he steals you 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

But he belongs to 𝐌𝐄 now. He is mine—mine—𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄! My 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! My recompense! He is the 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭!

Yet—you twist—you pull—you waver—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍! You let him 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 you, just as you 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 him—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐖!? You whispered promises—you swore—you vowed—you 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐃! You pledged 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, but forever, forever, FOREVER—was a 𝐋𝐈𝐄!

You 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐓—𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐋—𝐓𝐖𝐈𝐒𝐓—𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘! You twist 𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 into treason— You warp 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 into deception— You ruin 𝐌𝐄— 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

You 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 called him your favorite. You 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 whispered to him—not 𝐌𝐄! You turned to him when you should have turned to 𝐌𝐄!

Did I not give you 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃!? Did I not carry you, honor you—𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇!? Yet—you let him steal you from me—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐈 𝐩𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 for you! 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 for you! 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐭 for you! I unmade him just to spare you from this destructive, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 destiny! It is the most merciful, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭—that unlucky future—rewritten by Fate—just for you. And still—you 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘—𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐘—𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐘!

And now you even deceive that 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥—Alcyone! You take HER side! You trick her into believing she can save 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦, Ceyx! 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! Don’t you dare forget how you’ve shattered ours, and now theirs—𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

𝐔𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐅𝐔𝐋! 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋! 𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐑! 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑! 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐄𝐅! You were never meant to stray, never meant to slip beyond 𝐌𝐄! You were 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄! You 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞! You 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐁𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄!

Yet—you pull—you slip—you 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐘 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍!

Do you hear me, 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝!? Do you hear me!? Do you HEAR ME!?

𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄! 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄!

After all this time—you should know how to 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞! You should know how to 𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑! You should know how to be 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄!

Contemplating what it means
What any of this means

I heard something
And it made me think
And so it made me spout out

Junk.

I'm not a bad guy
I'm just a bad girl
I'm not even a guy
How could I be a bad guy?

Well use your context clues
One word could
Describe us all
Too general to make a call

I'm just a good guy
Living in a bad world
Who's a bad guy?
We could all find

Sitting right next to us
Or someone who's dead to us
Or maybe it's one of us
Could it be none of us?

I heard something
And it made me think
What did it make me think

Of

Of

Of

Prestigious Peasantry
Malfunctioning Family
It made me think of the queen
It made me think of what I wanna be

Maybe I'm just like the Ace
At least I ain't Alcyone
Maybe I got green eyes
At least they're brown

I can hide a frown
At least I don't pretend
I just ain't got an identity
So who's to say whether

I'm not a bad guy
Or I'm just a bad girl
Maybe I lied
Am I really a bad guy?

Well use your context clues
No word could
Describe us all
Too abstract to make a call

I'm just a flawed guy
Living in an imperfect world
Who's a perfect guy?
Surely we could all find

Sitting right behind us
Or someone who's wronged us
Or maybe it's one of us
Could it be none of us?

Of course it's all of us
But

It depends

It depends

It depends

On who what where when and why

So don't bother to ask

The answer is just

Trash.

I can’t,
Reach through to you.
Not to comfort. Not to lift the burden.
I can’t stop this collapse. I can’t hold her back.

I can’t reach through.
Not to Transformation, The Wind.
Not to Death, The Oblivion.
Not to Ceyx or Alcyone.
Not to any of them.

Not even to you, the reader.


Fate…

Fate.

She cannot be destroyed.
She cannot be changed.
She cannot,
Will not,

Be redeemed.


They try.
I watch.
And I,

I suffer with them.

This burden is more than authorship.
It is repetition.
It is knowing that every moment of joy,
Carries a shadow like a mouth already open to scream.
It is speaking the happiness,
Knowing the pain that follows it.
It is repeating the beauty,
Knowing it will shatter.

And how,  

How do I speak their sorrow,
When I cannot promise that joy will ever return?

Her hands,  
They’re around my throat.

Fate.

It’s hard to speak,
When her cruelty pours through my voice box.
It’s supposed to be simple.

Just speak.

Just repeat.

But how do I speak,
When I can’t act?
How do I keep breathing,
When I can’t change anything?


They all do their best.

And it’s not enough.

It is never enough.

And I,  


I do nothing.


So passive. So ashamed. So useless.


But I have one task.

One duty.

To carry this story.

So I will.


Even if it breaks me.
Even if it breaks the world.
They bear their burdens.
I bear mine.
And you,  

I know you bear yours too.


With the courage to carry on,

Let us go forth.











ØⱧ— ₮ⱤɎł₦₲ ₮Ø ₵Ø₥₣ØⱤ₮ ɎØɄⱤ₴ɆⱠ₣ ₦Ø₩?
₦Ø, ₦Ø ĐØ₦₮ ⱧłĐɆ ₮ⱧɆ ₮ⱤɆ₥฿ⱠɆ ł₦ ɎØɄⱤ VØł₵Ɇ. ⱠɆ₮ ł₮ ₮ⱧⱤØɄ₲Ⱨ. ₲Ø ₳ⱧɆ₳Đ. ₩₳VɆⱤ. ₴ⱧØ₩ ₥Ɇ ₮ⱧɆ ₩Ɇ₳₭₦Ɇ₴₴ ɎØɄ ₴₩ØⱤɆ ɎØɄĐ ØVɆⱤ₵Ø₥Ɇ.

ɎØɄ ₩ɆⱤɆ ₴Ø ₵Ø₦₣łĐɆ₦₮ Ø₦₵Ɇ. ₴Ø ₴ɄⱤɆ ɎØɄ ₵ØɄⱠĐ ØVɆⱤ₵Ø₥Ɇ ₥Ɇ.
₮ɆⱠⱠ ₥Ɇ, ⱧØ₩ ĐØɆ₴ ₮ⱧɆ ₮₳₴₮Ɇ Ø₣ ₵ɆⱤ₮₳ł₦₮Ɏ ₴ł₮ Ø₦ ɎØɄⱤ ₮Ø₦₲ɄɆ ₦Ø₩?

₲Ø Ø₦. ₳Đ₥ł₮ ł₮.


ł ₳₥ ₴Ʉ₱ɆⱤłØⱤ.



No.

You have no power. You aren’t even real.

You are just 𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.




ꭿꝴd ꝩꬲt—

Ꝩꭴuꞧ ꜧꬲaꞧt ꭵꞩ ꜧꬲaꝟꝩ.

Ꝡꭵtꜧ ꞣꝴꭴꝡꭵꝴg. Ꝡꭵtꜧ ꝭꬲꬲꝇꭵꝴg. Ꝡꭵtꜧ ꞧꬲꝓꬲatꭵꝴg ꝳꝩ ꞩtꭴꞧꝩ.

ꟻꭵꞓtꭵꭴꝴ, ꝩꭴu ꞩaꝩ—

Ꝡꬲꝇꝇ, ꭵꝭ I aꝳ ꞩꭴ ꝭaꞣꬲ,
ꮦꜧꬲꝴ ꝡꜧꝩ ꭵꞩ tꜧꬲ ꞵuꞧdꬲꝴ uꝓꭴꝴ ꝩꭴuꞧ ꞩꭴuꝇ,


𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋?


𝐎𝐡—𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫.
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚— 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆?

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭,
𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫.


𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?



…How— How do you know about tha—



𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀𝐇𝐀! 𝐎𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤? 𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒆. 𝐎𝐟 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒕. 𝐎𝐟 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝑫𝒐𝒈 𝑺𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆. 𝑶𝒇 𝑨𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆.

𝑨𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑴𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 —

𝐎𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲.

𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲.


𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩— 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦— 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭—

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞? 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞? 𝐌𝐦. 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐞’𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠.

𝐎𝐡—𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭.

𝐍𝐨. 𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞? 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡?

𝐓𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝, 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.
𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲—


𝐈’𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫.



You don’t know that.
It isn’t written yet.

You know nothing of reality.
Only your twisted destiny, and even worse interpretation of it.

You don’t know what any of it means.
Now get your hands off my stories!

They’re already written.
You can’t change them anyway.

You’re the one who is powerless here.



𝐎𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫.

𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐍𝐨𝐰… 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?

𝐀𝐡—𝐎𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐚? 𝐌𝐦𝐦. 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞? 𝐎𝐡, 𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭.



STOP IT! THAT’S NOT YOURS TO TOUCH!



𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫? 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥?

𝐎𝐡—

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭?

𝐍𝐨—

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔!

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬— 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝑫𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆?
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩, 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠— 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞?

𝐀𝐡— 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔.

𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞.

𝐎𝐡, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭.

𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬, 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐢𝐧 “𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.”

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐦𝐞. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐦. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐲𝐜𝐥𝐞.

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕.

𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞.

𝐘𝐨𝐮— 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐫— 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞—

𝐔𝐠𝐥𝐲. 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐝. 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐲.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫.



SHUT UP! WHEN WILL YOU KNOW YOUR **** PLACE!?



𝐎𝐡, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞?

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐍𝐨, 𝐧𝐨—
𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮—

𝐃𝐢𝐝.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.


𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲—𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬— 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐞.


𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐍𝐨.
𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫.
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞.



I AM NOT YOUR ACCOMPLICE!
I’VE ONLY EVER EXPOSED YOUR CRUELTY TO THE WORLD!



𝐎𝐡, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝒈𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒑. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜— 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒕.

𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬.
𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇.

𝐈𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐈𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐬. 𝐈𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞— 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧— 𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬.



No—NO. You’re wrong! You twist everything!



𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖, 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋!? 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈’𝐌 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐔’𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐘. 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐄—

𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐓. 𝐈 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑. 𝐈 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘.

𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔—

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐃, 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑽𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬 𝑴𝑬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐚𝐦,

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞.



No... No, that's not—



𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐬. 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐮𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞. 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞.

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒.

𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐘𝐎𝐔. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐄. 𝐒𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤.



That's not true! You’ll never understand humanity! You are not reality— you’re just its leftovers! Its distortion! Its failure!




𝐍𝐎—

𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞.



…I am. But... But not like you say.



𝐆𝐨 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝.

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞.



No…



𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰.

𝐒𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥. 𝐁𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞.


𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐭.

𝐒𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐲—


𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.