she had taken the torch .... now ablaze. with nairobi’s passing monica had quickly taken her mantle for smelting the gold. it kept her mind busy and thoughts distracted from the lack of her friend, and her mess of a relationship. despite weeks of thoughtful planning her mind cracks; she misses cincinnati in this moment.
with tears in her eyes and sweat dotting her forehead, she sniffles, allowing herself a moment of humanity. unfortunately it crashes over her quite effectively, because soon enough she’s wiping at her eyes with large tears racing down towards trembling lips. smearing blackened soot further around on her glazed cheeks which are slick with a mixture of tears and sweat. familiar light footfalls enter her line of sound and she perks up, turning away slightly to rub at her face more in a quick cover up. she doesn’t face him just yet, but instead faces at the wall. her eyes sting further and she pinches the bridge of her nose, trying to ground herself. ‘ rio, ’ her greeting fails her, voice cracking. she had to be strong for him. he had endured so much under alicia, what kind of comfort could she be to him if she couldn’t comfort herself? further pressure is applied to her nose. ‘ i was just taking a minute to try and clean myself up. ’ she lies partially. however; monica was never good at shielding her emotions. she wore her heart on her sleeve, always. ( @chmpgneflwrs )













