04-21-2016, 06:03 PM
“You're lucky. Not everyone gets adopted.” I know it, too. I still think Isle must be an angel, sent to save me from wasting away into nothing. And the wistful note in Lieschel's voice confirms my earlier suspicions. The lonely yearning in her touch made me wonder, but behind those words is the truth. She has not yet been so lucky. Oh, she doesn't say it, but I know the feeling behind those words. She sidesteps my question with more of her own instead, asking about my family.
My family. It's still so new, believing those words to be true instead of just a possibility I can't quite let myself reach out and touch. I close my eyes, resting my head on Lieschel's withers as I picture them each in turn. “Isle is the one who found me all alone in the den, curled up in the shade of one of those big old trees.” And I know she'll know the ones, lovely old things whose branches reach out for what feels like forever.
“It was the luckiest moment of my life, her finding me there. I was sleeping, and she woke me up so softly, gentle little brushes of her lips and her nose coaxing me to open my eyes and be hers.” Isle is the kindest, most loving person I have known in my life, short as it has been so far. And I wonder. She made room in her heart and her life for me. Could she, would she, if I asked...maybe make room for one more?
“And Offspring, he is. Um. Very, very big. Dark, all black, with these red eyes that should be scary. They should, but...he isn't scary at all. Because as big as he is? That's how big his heart is too.” I've seen his heart in his eyes when he looks at Isle, love flowing effortlessly between them. I've seen it when he smiles at Mari, and when he soothes nightmares from Argo's restless body while he sleeps.
“Maribel is sunshine and rainbows, and innocence unshaken by her start. I haven't heard that story yet, what brought her into their lives. They adopted her before me, and...and she seems so happy, I don't want to bring up anything that might make her sad.” Still, Mari would understand what it was to need a home. And how, with as blessed as I have been, I cannot turn away from a heart as lonely as this little girl's, especially one hidden behind such a brave face.
“And Argo...” I draw in a deep breath, searching for words to tell this lost girl about my not-quite-brother, because what can I say? When I'm around him, even when my heart hurts for him, I still feel...unbroken. But I don't know how to say that out loud, so instead I go with “He has his parents' kindness and boundless capacity for love. He's my best friend, and I would do anything for him.
“For all of them.”
My family. It's still so new, believing those words to be true instead of just a possibility I can't quite let myself reach out and touch. I close my eyes, resting my head on Lieschel's withers as I picture them each in turn. “Isle is the one who found me all alone in the den, curled up in the shade of one of those big old trees.” And I know she'll know the ones, lovely old things whose branches reach out for what feels like forever.
“It was the luckiest moment of my life, her finding me there. I was sleeping, and she woke me up so softly, gentle little brushes of her lips and her nose coaxing me to open my eyes and be hers.” Isle is the kindest, most loving person I have known in my life, short as it has been so far. And I wonder. She made room in her heart and her life for me. Could she, would she, if I asked...maybe make room for one more?
“And Offspring, he is. Um. Very, very big. Dark, all black, with these red eyes that should be scary. They should, but...he isn't scary at all. Because as big as he is? That's how big his heart is too.” I've seen his heart in his eyes when he looks at Isle, love flowing effortlessly between them. I've seen it when he smiles at Mari, and when he soothes nightmares from Argo's restless body while he sleeps.
“Maribel is sunshine and rainbows, and innocence unshaken by her start. I haven't heard that story yet, what brought her into their lives. They adopted her before me, and...and she seems so happy, I don't want to bring up anything that might make her sad.” Still, Mari would understand what it was to need a home. And how, with as blessed as I have been, I cannot turn away from a heart as lonely as this little girl's, especially one hidden behind such a brave face.
“And Argo...” I draw in a deep breath, searching for words to tell this lost girl about my not-quite-brother, because what can I say? When I'm around him, even when my heart hurts for him, I still feel...unbroken. But I don't know how to say that out loud, so instead I go with “He has his parents' kindness and boundless capacity for love. He's my best friend, and I would do anything for him.
“For all of them.”