A loop in time
Daryl stopped in the once elegant marketplace of the small town. He looked around at the abandoned shops and restaurants, at the grass growing through the stone pavement, at the wooden benches now starting to fall apart. He gazed a little upon what was once a peaceful life in a suborn town, now empty and ghost empty. And that silence, as much as he needed it, definitely didn't do him any good. It only made his mind scream it out louder, scream out what he couldn't understand. Where was she now, to face her, to ask her how she could have done what she did. Daryl clanged his hand on his crossbow; those emotions only angered his mind.
"Hey there, stranger" Daryl herd her voice and felt his body quiet down instantly.
He turned in an instance and faced her. She was sitting down at one of the remaining tables of a long time, closed cafeteria. She was just sitting there as she would in the morning, after she had fed everyone, or as she would after a long day, enjoying a little silence. She was there in flesh and bones, like a loop in time.
Daryl approached and also sat down. He placed his crossbow on the chair next to him, as he would place a grocery bag and folded his hands, looking up at her. They looked like old friends having met for a cup of coffee in the middle of the day. Just that there was no coffee, no waiters to bring it, no music to accompany, no pretty memories to laugh at. There was just him and her and the distance that had settled between them. Yet they were there and time stopped for a moment, as there was nothing in the world each of them needed more.
They stared at each other long, in perfect silence.
"Come back, Carol" Daryl finally spoke. The words had slipped his mouth, like they were sitting there all the time, waiting to be spoken.
"You know I can't…" she smiled bitter-sweet. "That life has ended for me."
"There are always second chances, ya taught me that."
"They don't want me back there. You don't want me back there."
"Ya were my humanity; ya made me understand what it means to belong. Ya took all that away from ya and ya expect me to still have it?" he looked down at his hands.
"That's not true, Daryl. You made up your mind about who you are and what you are. You don't need me for that; you don't need anyone for that. I grew up, Daryl. I found myself, but so did you. I found out who I am and you found out what you need" she smiled again.
Daryl looked up at her and searched for tears in her eyes, but there were none.
"There might be more that I needed, but time ran out on me" his thick voice cut the air.
"I guess it always does. It was not meant to…" she silenced herself down. "You are one of the reasons I managed remaining alive. You'll always be, but we both have to keep walking."
"Why, Carol? Why ya had to do what you did and…"
"It was my way of protecting the group I love so much. It was a sacrifice I was prepared to do for everybody else. You think I am proud of it? It led to nothing, it didn't stop the infection. But I tried and there was nothing I would have not tried. Nothing, Daryl!" she felt her eyes water and looked up at the foggy sky to stop the tears from coming.
Daryl watched her long and placed his palm on her hand.
"Why ya here, Carol; if not to come back?"
She squeezed his hand and smiled.
"To ask you to forgive and go on. Understand Rick. Continue waking up every day and surviving. Your place is there, where you belong" she spoke, her voice becoming strong again.
"What about ya?"
"I'll survive. I'll always will. So, somewhere in this world I am around. And you'll always be in my mind" she took a long breathe in. "Promise me this. Promise me you will go on, as you have until now" she smiled.
"Carol…"
"I don't belong there anymore, Daryl. And you know it. It's better like this" she spoke and the two looked at each other again. He wanted to say something; he wanted to hold her from going. He would have promised her anything; he would have given it up and would have left with her. But he couldn't, because she was right.
"If I'll promise ya that, what ya gonna promise me in return?" he asked.
"What do you want me to promise me?"
"Ya'll be back one day. Promise me that."
She nodded shortly.
"And then time won't run out on us no more."
"Just don't forget I was the first one to like you" she joked as she stood up. "Good bye, Daryl."
She looked at him down, but he didn't release her hand.
"And ya don't forget that even if I never told it, ya where my hope. And ya'll be my reason. One day, Carol…"
"One day, Daryl…" she smiled a last time and he released her hand.
She turned and he looked at her walk slowly away, vanishing, like a chimera does on a sticky, foggy day.
Author's note: We still don't know how Daryl will react after finding out Rick sent Carol away, but for this story it was irrelevant. I hoped you enjoyed and let's all believe Carol will be back!