They wait for yes. They wait for unceasing determination, for unflinching optimism. They wait for refusal to break apart and shatter. They wait for resistance on a molecular level, on a level on par with the world itself, resisting the edges of their own defeated spirit, the fragments pooling back together to form something strong and impenetrable that refuses to die.
They wait for no. They wait for the calm skipping of dialogue, the lateral sweep of a dust-encrusted Glove or a Ballet Shoe or a Toy Knife's plastic blade. They wait for the snapping of a Burnt Pan closing a door on the final enemy, the emptiness that would forever follow in their gray-puddled wake. They wait for the silence that means nothing for the do not that means that forgiveness is not requisite, or even possible.
They wait.
Their fingertips dig into the scuffed brown skin of one arm, swiftly, and let go in a movement just as immediate.
"I'm scared." It's quiet. It's so, so quiet. "I'm scared all the time. And I'm too afraid to try, because I'm scared I'll just mess it up again."
no subject
They wait for yes. They wait for unceasing determination, for unflinching optimism. They wait for refusal to break apart and shatter. They wait for resistance on a molecular level, on a level on par with the world itself, resisting the edges of their own defeated spirit, the fragments pooling back together to form something strong and impenetrable that refuses to die.
They wait for no. They wait for the calm skipping of dialogue, the lateral sweep of a dust-encrusted Glove or a Ballet Shoe or a Toy Knife's plastic blade. They wait for the snapping of a Burnt Pan closing a door on the final enemy, the emptiness that would forever follow in their gray-puddled wake. They wait for the silence that means nothing for the do not that means that forgiveness is not requisite, or even possible.
They wait.
Their fingertips dig into the scuffed brown skin of one arm, swiftly, and let go in a movement just as immediate.
"I'm scared." It's quiet. It's so, so quiet. "I'm scared all the time. And I'm too afraid to try, because I'm scared I'll just mess it up again."
Can we fix this?
Is it too late?
"I don't know."