The far side of the line

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

Maybe, Soh thought to herself as they continued on in awkward silence, it would be better, in some ways, to just have it out - to rip the bandage off, as it were, and reveal the open, gaping wounds beneath. But she wasn't quite sure she was ready to do that. Instead, she responded in short answers, offered the bare minimum of conversation, and, for some unknown reason, offered up more time spent together, as though just the act of being on the same team would somehow solve their problems.

There was a long pause, during which Soh thought he might refuse, and a little part of her broke further still at the implication that she was truly so horrible to be around. But in the end, he agreed, and she gestured back the way she'd come. "I've looked back that way," she said. "So, this way? If you haven't looked there already?"

With a direction decided on, the pair set off, searching for a while in an awkward silence that Soh didn't know how to fill. There were comfortable silences, she thought, and then there was this, and yet even as she searched for something to fill the void, she came up empty time and again. Finally, the young woman ran a hand haphazardly through her hair in frustration. This was painful, and she didn't know how to fix it.

"Hey, Jude?" she asked, her voice soft and unsure, but somehow strained all the same. "Can I ask you a question?"

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning