‘ i don’t have a family anymore. ’
don’t starters: still accepting :p
he broaches a touchy subject. she knows it from the way his burdens threaten to swallow him whole, hunched on his shoulders like a mass that is a part of him. she averts her eyes, feigning interest in some twinkling lights up ahead. she’s not one to bring up the subject of relatives, avidly avoids it if possible. there is a decision to be made: tell him what he wants to hear, or tell him the truth. she tends to coddle, wants to protect from the suffering and pain of it all, but now a days she’s come to learn that its normal and entirely unavoidable.
“me neither,” saying it out loud doesn’t make it feel any realer. its been years without a semblance of a clue to guide her in the right direction. nothing but sheer hope drives her to continue searching for her lost brother. sometimes it wanes, snuffed out like a candle light before reigniting. if she did not live for him then she had no reason to. regardless, she was alone, has been for all this time, and should at least acknowledge that. “its not very fun, sometimes.”
the night is bitterly cold, numbing the ends of her fingers. she flexes her fingers, trying to relieve the stiffness that has settled in her bones. “but sometimes, family isn’t just a mother and a father,” her gaze settles on something far away, beyond either of their comprehension. “or a sibling. sometimes it is the people you choose to have in your life.” she offers him a tepid smile, perhaps an invitation of sorts, though she couldn’t afford to have another life lost in her hands. this was for comforting purposes, she assures herself. brief and concise, she promises, and when he needs her the most she’ll be gone without a trace before the devil could seize him as their own.
