For anyone I have had the honor of calling "Friend". Whether in real life, online, or one who has gone from an online acquaintance to one of my best friends in real life, this is for you. Enjoy!
So it had all come down to this.
This event, this one brief moment in time, a single blink of an eye in the grand scale of her life, was proving something much more defining to her than anything had before. Right now, in the present time, she was discovering something that she felt she must have secretly known all along, but was much to afraid to admit to anyone, even herself.
The thought scares her. Having been alone for the great majority of her life, the thought that she could care about another person so deeply out of something other than obligations is nearly foreign. The fact that she could care for two individuals with the same depth causes her head to reel and her mind almost refuses to process the truth of it.
The first person is one that she loves more than life itself. She remembered their first encounter, tinged with disgust and distrust and is floored by the fact that such a rough beginning could lead to a love affair such as theirs. In one night in his arms, she became a woman worthy of love, a person rather than thing, and it is a memory that she will forever hold in her heart. He can not be with her right now, a small part of her fears he never will be, but she pushes the nagging thought aside and clings to the fragile thread of hope that he will come for her when this whole ordeal is over.
The second person is one that she cares for just as much, but it is an entirely different type of love. With a slight smile, she thinks back to their beginning and is amazed of how it much it mirrors the first, only to come with unexpected consequences of its own. She was sure that it was nearly impossible for two people to loathe each other more. Every spoken word and angry glare that passed between them was tainted with some flippant remark of sarcastic reply and every day was counted with pain-staking accuracy until the days when they could leave Shiz-and each other- behind so they would not be forced to tolerate the others presence
A green hand suddenly reaches up to steady the pointed hat she now wears as a symbol of her supposed wickedness and yet she feels nothing but joy as her fingers gently run over the tattered fabric. Had it not been for this foolish hat, perhaps they would have never moved past their petty first impressions and formed the bond that they now share.
Her mind drifts further back in time to the moment when their paths diverged, each taking on a completely different direction. Events took place and decisions were made that would led each of them opposite ways. One was the path of adoration and praise, the other to risk and wickedness, but both led to the lives they were destined to live. No mistakes were made the night, both are able to acknowledge that, and, looking back, both know they are exactly where they are meant to be, be it of their own choosing or not.
And yet, she swears that Fate posses the strangest of humors, for it has only sought to lead her back again, to the one person she thought she would never see. As happy as that makes her, her heart clenches with the sadness of knowing that this can not be forever. As much as she wants to, she can not remain in Oz, not if she wants to live. The plans have been made, the journey has been set into motion, and she must face the rest of her days without the woman who stands before her now.
With her hands clasped tightly within her own, she speaks the words she knows she must. "Good-bye, Glinda." Her voices echoes with an impending finality.
The blonde woman, eyes brimming with unshed tears, does not answer, only pulls her into a fierce embrace, surprising strong for her small size. "'Bye, Elphie." A small hiccup accents her words, causing the green girl to smile slightly.
Leaning her head against the other woman's shoulder, she cherishes the moment, squeezing tightly in a rare show of affection. She knows it must be done this way and she takes a small measure of comfort in know that her story has been, in part, rewritten because of her.
This part of her "life" may be over, but it is ending much differently from how it began.
With a friend.