"And now my heart stumbles on things I don't know;
My weakness I feel I must finally show." -Awake My Soul, Mumford and Sons
Aeron wandered the city until the old city clock began to strike six; he traveled in the direction of home. He walked up the gravel driveway as the sun began to sink in the west. The remains of the light were dim and faded - the sunset itself was tired. Aeron felt the exhaustion in his very bones.
His mind was blank. The hours had passed colorless and shadowed as the words flashed before his vision again and again.
AMYS DEATH NO ACCIDENT.
Did he want to know? Wasn't it hard enough that there had been a funeral at all? Somehow, the only thing worse than his aunt dying by some freak accident would be her dying on purpose somehow, as if she'd been targeted.
I cannot take this…
Aeron took off running, fueled by a sudden burst of pure, clear emotion. Hate. He hated the man who had given him this message; he hated the message with his whole soul. He hated the position he was in.
But most of all, he hated that, despite how much he had fought to be strong enough, he wasn't. He was still just a kid that missed his aunt and his mommy and his daddy.
Aeron sank to the ground, his head in his hands. But wasn't it his duty to his family to find out what had happened, if indeed there was some dark agenda behind his aunt's death?
No. They had not asked this of him; they had no right anyway.
This was his decision; his choice.
"No," he whispered.
At that second, a bright light exploded from the nearby house and flooded the yard and fields around in one blue flash of light. It was gone an instant later, and the darkness found Aeron running as fast as he could, back to the house and to his cousin.
The light had come from Keala's window.
iliveinalibrary: Thanks! Some food for thought: I won't be able to finish the story if you kill me...