I was gonna rite a one-shot for the heck of it when I opened up word on my computer. But then I decided to write the next chapter for the story. Not much else to say. Read.

Chapter 7: Equanimity

Finally, I fold my legs beneath me and levitate in the air. I chant my mantra of "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos" out loud, and I don't need to open my eyes to know Starfire has just pulled herself into the lotus position. My prediction is affirmed when I hear her voice ring out next to mine, her mouth relaying the sacred mantra out loud, and I feel better.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Hey, Star?"

"Yes, Raven?"

"Would you like to go for a swim?"

"Why, certainly."

We had made the rooftop our new hangout. We would spend our time meditating, thinking or absently staring, liberated of thought.

Robin was a thing of the past. Well, for Starfire. She didn't care; she hadn't allowed Robin to harm her. And yet, I had. For some insane reason, I almost felt that if I spent more time with Starfire, some of her unusually committed and steadfast invulnerability would rub off on me.

And so it would be that Starfire and I would go for a warm, summertime morning swim.

The absoluteness of the dawn's silence suited our meditation well. During the day, it was as if the morning's accompanying solitude and meditation had not afflicted us in the least, and we both seemed to believe it.

With that in mind, I stripped myself of the cerulean cloak around my form and removed the matching azure boots from my feet, allowing my bare toes to indulge in the crisp morning sun. Starfire followed suit by removing the silver glove-like pieces from her slender arms, doing the same with the long, mauve boots, placing them next to each other in content simplicity. And from our lofty perch on the rooftop, we dove down, without a thought, to the almost carpet-like ocean beneath us. And thus we bequeathed ourselves upon the limitless reaches of the oceanic hands.

The plummet down was endless but so calm and peaceful. I looked over to Starfire. A serenity of the most majestic and dominant nature shrouded her worries in a veil of simple grace. Her eyes were closed, the tan skin of her eyelids shielding her wide orbs from the world of pain and loss. She had her arms out reaching to both sides, stretched out to their full capacity, reaching out to the pure hearts of the world. Her long, slim legs were pulled pin-straight behind her, tugged close next to each other. Her feet pointed perfectly straight, too, the heels aimed upwards and her toes straight and as aerodynamically positioned as her legs.

Her garnet colored hair streamed behind her like thousands of shiny, red ribbons and reflected the sparkle of the sun with effortless poise. The rounded, shorter hairs of her bangs framed the sides of her face, obliviously enhancing her delicate features.

I turned to face the oncoming sea below me, and I waited with eagerness until I heard the resounding echo of a splash as our bodies hit the water as the people of two separate worlds collided with yet another world—the simple marine world of the vast ocean that lay so unaware of the worry-riddled life around it.

But then again, when most of the world was this breath-taking pacific place, the ocean's vast expanses had little to say, simply, "Come on in, the water's great!"

And it was true.

I realized I was losing oxygen and I clambered up for the surface. Starfire still had yet to resurface so I waited with patience until she returned, breaking the liquid barrier with her head.

We giggled at the sight of each other—our hair plastered up against our faces, our skin glowing with that wet shine. A moment more of thinking deeply, and we each lunged forward and down for another date with calm cleanness unaware of the festering world of the people deprived of happiness.

I refuse to call happiness anything other than just that. Not "joy", not "pleasure", not "glee" or "bliss". Just…happiness.

With unfaltering relief my thoughts slipped away and left my mind void of pestering emotions and relentless thoughts. No, today, the onslaught of thought has yielded under the penetrating vision of the breadth of the churning sea.

I consent to the yearning to swim for the purpose of swimming only, and I allow my body to smoothly glide through the water, cutting through the flourishing waves with my figure.

Starfire and I finally bring our morning swim to a close, as the sky noticeably brightens, signaling the termination of the dawn.

We make our way to shore, and permit the foamy waves to tickle our feet as we squeeze the water from our hair. The constant 'drip, drip' of the water beads against the graying stone below allows the calm peace to continue. There is a melody, almost, to the way they crash against the ground, where even then, they trek onwards, where they drip past each rock and reunite with their home—the ocean. That bittersweet rhythm is so depressingly uplifting and beautiful; I find my breath hitch in my throat, trying not to disturb the unruffled silence required for these stirring performers.

"Raven?" Starfire's charming voice intrudes with a gentle kindness that I accept with a plain nod.

This is a difficult time in our lives. For all of us.

Arriving at the untimely plight of birthdays, all of which recently passed, we found ourselves at the current ages of 16, 16, 17, 18, and 19.

Star and Beast Boy—they were at the prime and blindly perfect yet fault-riddled age of sixteen.

Cyborg had officially passed the exam known as year eighteen with flying colors. That right of passage had allowed him to enter the stage in his life referred to as year nineteen, but that brought with it, new responsibilities.

Robin—he was now taking that wonderfully difficult year of eighteen; made almost to test if one can handle adulthood. That left me at the age of 17—sort of in between the two ages most commonly thought of as the "prime of life". I was stuck between those two important stepping stones, precariously hovering above the water, hoping to land safely on the next stone.

Yes indeed, we were all dealing with inconceivably difficult times in our lives.

So, as it has come to be, I have come to the rather abrupt decision that I will not fall into the water between the two stepping stones. Oh no, no, no, I'm going to make it. Sometimes, loneliness is my only companion, but if that's what it takes to make it through, I'll deal with it. I will survive. The line is as unavoidable as it is clichéd.

Yes, there is a time in every person's life—human or no—where they must endure long, brittle hours of torture and inner turmoil before succeeding once more. This is a make it break it point of time in one's life, and I refuse to be swallowed down into the woeful and merciless pits of twisted, contorted fate where you are scoffed at and ridiculed by all of society. I will not fall into that horribly excruciating period of moments, counting them off with every finger, toe, strand of hair and fall into a ruthless state of wallowing and self-pity. No.

No.

No, no, no.

I will remain who I am.

I will stay simple and pure in my heart with a teetering, but determined path to victory.

And I realize that I am not the first person to have to search for a foothold on this rocky mountain climb upwards towards the heavens. In this home, I am actually the third. And having just exited this difficult point in life is…

…Robin.

And I realize something else, too.

I forgive him.

And in that moment, I decide that my hair is as dry as I can get it to be at the moment, and so I fly back up to the rooftop with Starfire in tow.

And all the simplicity in the world has been restored and all is well again.

I will hold myself with equanimity.

This chapter was kind of…weird, but I pretty much explained why Robin was so weird, but not very well, I guess. But if you let yourself think about it a little more than normal, you'll find out how descriptive it truly is. You'll see.

Til next time,

.Spunksterdawg.