Sark dreamed as he slept with Sydney, something he hadn't done in a long
time, and he dreamed of her, something he hadn't done in years..
*
Sark met Kora when he was five, though he had no recollection of their meeting. Kora was only three and a half when she was handed over to him to watch over, while their parents spoke outside the café where they had chanced to run into one another.
He stood awkwardly next to her at first, not sure what to make of the girl or the situation. He was accustomed to being the youngest, the one always taken care of, no one had been left in his care before. Then Kora smiled at him, and he took her small hand in his own, and guarded her from the world.
Their parents saw, and laughed that the two were destined to fall in love.
Sark and Kora were playmates from then on, their friendship slowly building into something more. They spent most of their time alone together, running wild, even when they were much too old to do so.
But suddenly, at fourteen, Kora was wretched away. Her family left, with no explanations, no means of contact.
Sark did not see her again for four years. Until he was twenty, and had been recruited by Q1, a top secret branch of British Intelligence, unmatched by any other organization the world over. Or so he thought, at the time. His superior marks in school had set him apart from his peers, and unbeknownst to him, he had been watched for years, and approached soon after his graduation.
One February day, with the same suddenness with which she had departed, Kora came back into his life. At the pub on a Friday evening shaping up to be like any other, she appeared across the tables and came walking toward him. She was even more beautiful now, tall and slim. Sark would never forget her brilliant smile and her eyes- an icier blue than his own- made more so by the contrast of her dark black hair.
In no time, they picked up right where they left off, as is the case with two close souls. Time does little to affect their bond. Kora explained how her father was relocated to Moscow, how he thought it best for her to make a clean break, and she relented, knowing she'd come back soon.
Sark didn't dwell on the past, she was here now and that was enough.
He knew he'd marry her that night.
And he would have. If she hadn't betrayed him. If he hadn't caught her betrayal, more specifically.
But everything that happened couldn't be undone, and he wouldn't want to. Even though that day, that second he made his decision, changed his life, changed him unalterably forever.
*
Sark met Kora when he was five, though he had no recollection of their meeting. Kora was only three and a half when she was handed over to him to watch over, while their parents spoke outside the café where they had chanced to run into one another.
He stood awkwardly next to her at first, not sure what to make of the girl or the situation. He was accustomed to being the youngest, the one always taken care of, no one had been left in his care before. Then Kora smiled at him, and he took her small hand in his own, and guarded her from the world.
Their parents saw, and laughed that the two were destined to fall in love.
Sark and Kora were playmates from then on, their friendship slowly building into something more. They spent most of their time alone together, running wild, even when they were much too old to do so.
But suddenly, at fourteen, Kora was wretched away. Her family left, with no explanations, no means of contact.
Sark did not see her again for four years. Until he was twenty, and had been recruited by Q1, a top secret branch of British Intelligence, unmatched by any other organization the world over. Or so he thought, at the time. His superior marks in school had set him apart from his peers, and unbeknownst to him, he had been watched for years, and approached soon after his graduation.
One February day, with the same suddenness with which she had departed, Kora came back into his life. At the pub on a Friday evening shaping up to be like any other, she appeared across the tables and came walking toward him. She was even more beautiful now, tall and slim. Sark would never forget her brilliant smile and her eyes- an icier blue than his own- made more so by the contrast of her dark black hair.
In no time, they picked up right where they left off, as is the case with two close souls. Time does little to affect their bond. Kora explained how her father was relocated to Moscow, how he thought it best for her to make a clean break, and she relented, knowing she'd come back soon.
Sark didn't dwell on the past, she was here now and that was enough.
He knew he'd marry her that night.
And he would have. If she hadn't betrayed him. If he hadn't caught her betrayal, more specifically.
But everything that happened couldn't be undone, and he wouldn't want to. Even though that day, that second he made his decision, changed his life, changed him unalterably forever.