KOA
"No---"
Later, in the after, Koa will hate himself for this. He'll hate the way his heart clenches and stutters, the loathsome cracking of his voice. Fury will fill him as he reflects on how he placed his pride aside, swallowing down his sense of worth to beg - beg - her to change her mind. But in this moment all he can think about are the words I can't said over and over, reverberating like thunder through his thoughts.
Reflected in the glass of another memory, another girl, another heartbreak.
"Flora, please, you don't mean that--" His head's still shaking, the smile of denial a mocking grimace on his handsome face. "Just give me a chance. Whatever it is, we can fix it." Her face is burning beneath his hand, hot enough, he thinks, to scald the skin, but he cannot pull away. Why does love have to hurt like this? Why must everything be so hard?
There's one more mistake to add to the after. Three more words to seal his fate. He hasn't said them to her yet, too worried about breaking something fresh and new and good. But now he cannot choke them back; they spring into his mouth unbidden, a final desperate plea. "Please, Flora. I love you."
It's the first time he's told a girl he loves her, and it's already too late.
Later, in the after, Koa will hate himself for this. He'll hate the way his heart clenches and stutters, the loathsome cracking of his voice. Fury will fill him as he reflects on how he placed his pride aside, swallowing down his sense of worth to beg - beg - her to change her mind. But in this moment all he can think about are the words I can't said over and over, reverberating like thunder through his thoughts.
Reflected in the glass of another memory, another girl, another heartbreak.
"Flora, please, you don't mean that--" His head's still shaking, the smile of denial a mocking grimace on his handsome face. "Just give me a chance. Whatever it is, we can fix it." Her face is burning beneath his hand, hot enough, he thinks, to scald the skin, but he cannot pull away. Why does love have to hurt like this? Why must everything be so hard?
There's one more mistake to add to the after. Three more words to seal his fate. He hasn't said them to her yet, too worried about breaking something fresh and new and good. But now he cannot choke them back; they spring into his mouth unbidden, a final desperate plea. "Please, Flora. I love you."
It's the first time he's told a girl he loves her, and it's already too late.
With each love I cut loose, I was never the same
Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame
Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame
