05-07-2019, 10:46 PM
Liv laughed, touching the book's open page absently. "Kinda a long story. Still working it out myself." She looked at Sterling. The girl was earnest. And hungry for answers. For a moment, Liv felt old. She hadn't felt hungry in....she couldn't remember when.
But now that she thought about it, well, she was human. And yet she had just been living in limbo. For months even. And now she was stumped. What did she want? What was she hungry for? Friends, yes. She had kept them at arms length for a while. She wasn't ready to admit everything. Not yet. To face the scorn or disappointment she knew would be there. She had her family, too. They were her rock. The only reason she lived.
This girl hungered for family. Anyone. And so she was seeking it.
Liv looked out the window again, seeing all the students. This guy sitting next to his boyfriend, both lost in their own wallets. A girl in a pretty sundress, laying back with her boyfriend's head in her lap, both napping in the sun. Those two girls under the shade of a tree, one hunched over her textbook and reading aloud while the other writes in a notepad. Her vision shifted and she saw something else. A pulsing golden cord seemed to emanate from each of them, twining ad twisting with the other's, the braid disappearing off into the distance.
She stared, trying to comprehend the image she saw. What it meant.
And she did feel a hunger pang, then. A real one. A raw ache, as if she had been starving to death and hadn't noticed it, sharp and stabbing.
She couldn't help but smile as she felt a burning behind her eyes, a relief so powerful that she didn't trust herself to speak or be around others. She wasn't dead. Not yet. She had thought....she had come to believe it, that she was a burned out husk. An empty shell. But no. The flame was not out yet. A small flickering spark still smoldered in her yet.
Of course, she wasn't sure what to do about that. But it was something.
She looked back at the girls. They were unaware of what had transpired. What had happened today. But that was ok. She smiled at them, bringing herself under control. "I can't. I have class soon. But thanks Sterling. Good luck on your search."
She left the book on the table. It was the libraries anyway and the staff preferred to put things away themselves.
The sun was bright and the air cool. And Liv was alive.
But now that she thought about it, well, she was human. And yet she had just been living in limbo. For months even. And now she was stumped. What did she want? What was she hungry for? Friends, yes. She had kept them at arms length for a while. She wasn't ready to admit everything. Not yet. To face the scorn or disappointment she knew would be there. She had her family, too. They were her rock. The only reason she lived.
This girl hungered for family. Anyone. And so she was seeking it.
Liv looked out the window again, seeing all the students. This guy sitting next to his boyfriend, both lost in their own wallets. A girl in a pretty sundress, laying back with her boyfriend's head in her lap, both napping in the sun. Those two girls under the shade of a tree, one hunched over her textbook and reading aloud while the other writes in a notepad. Her vision shifted and she saw something else. A pulsing golden cord seemed to emanate from each of them, twining ad twisting with the other's, the braid disappearing off into the distance.
She stared, trying to comprehend the image she saw. What it meant.
And she did feel a hunger pang, then. A real one. A raw ache, as if she had been starving to death and hadn't noticed it, sharp and stabbing.
She couldn't help but smile as she felt a burning behind her eyes, a relief so powerful that she didn't trust herself to speak or be around others. She wasn't dead. Not yet. She had thought....she had come to believe it, that she was a burned out husk. An empty shell. But no. The flame was not out yet. A small flickering spark still smoldered in her yet.
Of course, she wasn't sure what to do about that. But it was something.
She looked back at the girls. They were unaware of what had transpired. What had happened today. But that was ok. She smiled at them, bringing herself under control. "I can't. I have class soon. But thanks Sterling. Good luck on your search."
She left the book on the table. It was the libraries anyway and the staff preferred to put things away themselves.
The sun was bright and the air cool. And Liv was alive.