A/N: Originally written for the JBNP 500 Word Drabble Challenge #9 : Steps by Hermann Hesse – How will you interpret his poem?
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The Decisions We Make
Yes or no.
It was not difficult to utter the one syllable answer to the question posed. It was the choice of answers itself, the options they represented, that paused Leah's tongue from speaking.
Yes or no.
"Will you go with me?" He had asked her only minutes ago. Her voice had been paralyzed as the weight of the decision pulled on her, staring at him mutely in response.
To stay meant clinging on to her life as it was – her mother, her brother, her soon to be step-father, and all the day in, day out happenings around La Push – the only painfully familiar life she had ever known.
To leave would be exciting, scary, and uplifting as well. She would face a path where her decisions were made by her and her alone. They would not be swayed because of some ancient tribal curse thrust upon her shoulders. Her support system - composed entirely of her mother and brother- would not be with her if she chose this path. Her only companion would be the man who had posed the question to her.
Yes or no.
Fear of an unknown future wasn't the only reason Leah hesitated. It was his other words that forced her to consider her decision carefully.
"I can't stay here. Nothing ever changes and there's no future except the pack. But I can't leave if my one regret is not asking you to go with me. I love you. I always have."
Could she trust her heart to him? It had shattered and bled once, when the imprint curse tore it to bits. Treating it more fragile than the thinnest glass, she had carefully wrapped the broken pieces of her trust and love inside herself, shutting them away from those who could hurt it. He was asking her to let it out. He was asking her to take that leap of faith. He was asking her to trust him. Trust him not to hurt her.
Yes or no.
He was waiting for her to answer; watching her, his deep brown eyes searching her face with a hope shining in them that her response would be positive. If she said yes, there may be an entirely new set of complications in her life, but saying no meant she'd still be dealing with the same problems she handled now.
Did she dare take that chance with him; make such a huge change by trusting him? Does she stay or does she go? Does she always wish she could turn back time protecting her young self from heartache or does she start to love and trust again, with just a little bit more wisdom to guide her choice?
The moment was passing by, their eyes boring into each other's until she glanced away to look at the floor, unable to withstand the intensity of emotion she perceived in his eyes.
How does she choose her future?
Yes or no.
Leah lifted her face towards Embry, her decision made.