I hope this chapter is better than the last... it was kind of hard to write. This one felt more natural than the last. I always kind of thought of Mist as a poet, and here she is! Review please! I own nothing! The song is a modified version of 'Home to stay' by Josh Groban.
Mist bent over the blank book Titania had given her for a diary in an attempt to comfort her. She put pencil to paper, looking for the words that had always been so easy to set down. Ike... she thought. When will you come home? Words began to flow, and she put down:
I know you're gone
I watched you leave.
I always thought
that it was me.
You made it clear
with that last kiss.
You couldn't live a life
with 'maybe's' and 'whatif's'
He was gone. He had hugged her, kissed her on the forehead like he had done when they were children, turned, and left. Ike had always been happiest travelling, but she loved their home in Crimea. And it was still her home. The young healer had stayed with the Mercenaries, along with Rhys, Titania, Boyd, Oscar, Rolf, Mia, and a couple of others. They didn't do much, mostly fighting off bandits, so Mist had taken up poetry as a hobby. Ike, though he had a home here, had chosen to travel, see places beyond Tellius. When would he come home? She wrote again.
When every boat
has sailed away,
and every path
is marked and paved.
When every road
has had its say.
Then I'll be bringing you back home
to stay
'Don't worry, Mist,' Ike had said. 'It'll seem like no time at all.' But she hadn't believed him, and she had been right not to. Three years he had been gone. Only one letter, sent from Beignion right before he left the continent. And she had wondered. What was happening out there?
I have the card you sent to me.
You wrote of ships and ancient galleries.
This spring you'll draw
canals, and frescoed walls.
Look how far your dreaming's gone.
"Mist?" Titania said, coming into the room. "Are you alright?" The older woman, like a mother to Mist, looked over her shoulder at the poem in her notebook. "Oh. Still missing Ike?"
"Mmhmm." Mist said. "When do you think he'll come back?"
"I... don't know," said Titania. "I don't know. You're not the only one who misses him, Mist. But think, when he comes back, think of all the stories he'll have to tell."
Mist wordlessly continued writing.
When every town looks just the same,
when every choice gets hard to make,
when every map is put away,
then I'll be bringing you back home
to stay.
"I have to go," Titania said. "There's a pack of giant wolves bothering a town, and they're hiring us to get rid of them. You and Rolf stay behind with Oscar, alright?"
"Fine," said Mist. As Titania left, she asked, "Titania... why do you think Ike left?"
"Mist, Ike is a warrior, a traveller, a wandering soul. He's like your father was. I don't think he could be happy staying here and fighting off bandits and wolves. He needs to see new things, and you know how he always wondered what was outside Tellius. He's a free spirit, and he'd be recognised everywhere he went now. I think he just wants to be mostly forgotten here, and to see new places. He'll be back. Remember? He promised."
And now I know why you had to go alone.
Isn't there a place between?
After a while, Oscar called her name. "Mist!" he said. "Dinner's ready."
Mist picked up her notebook and pencil, carried it down to the big table. It felt empty with only three of them there. She added to her poem.
When every boat
has sailed away,
and every path
is marked and paved.
When every road
has had its say.
Then I'll be bringing you back home
to stay.
"What are you writing, Mist?" Oscar asked as he brought in plates of food.
"A poem," she said.
"What are you calling it?"
"... I'm not sure."
"Can I read it when you're done?"
"Sure." As Oscar put a steaming plate in front of her, she added one last bit to her poem.
Reach out to me,
call out my name,
and I would bring you back again...
today.
Review! See, it's right down there... If anyone can spot the connection in this to what was happening in the last chapter, cookies for them! Actually, cookies for anyone who will review! :D
