And so she decides….
“I can’t keep living like this,†Sian muttered to herself as she studied the brush handle with a critical eye in the light of the camp fire.
.
Nodding at her handiwork as if satisfied that it had heard what she said, Sian tucked the reclaimed arrow into the reeded basket along side her chair and poured water on the fire.
.
It would be a long day and an early start in the morning.
~~~~~
She woke with a start. The nightmares had ended, but today was really happening.
.
His departure had plagued her throughout the night. Visions of his unexpected arrival that fated day played over and over in her head, each iteration slightly different. Each ending regretfully the same.
The air had been still, and yet the flesh on the back of her neck pimpled as she bent low to retrieve the discarded byrnie from the porch. She did not hear, but rather felt his uncanny presence standing aloof behind her.
.
Dread wadded itself up in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong… The game was always the same: who could catch the other unawares? His arms should already wrapped around me before I… Even as she was turning, their gaze connected and she froze. Oh, no no no, she begged, but the dawning horror had already stolen her breath away.
.
Please don’t tell me…
.
“It’s over,†the words tumbled from stone lips.
.
She had known it as surely as she could read the set of his stance, or the bow of his head before a single word fell. Without ever looking at her directly, he waited, noting her imperceptible nod before turning on his heel. Sian stumbled into the house at dusk, the byrnie long forgotten as she stood on the porch, willing him to turn around well after he was no where to be found.
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