Theea
I nod, slow and sure. "Yeah. It does help, knowing she’s still out there. Watching."
I don’t add especially at night, when the ache creeps in and sleep feels impossible. I don’t admit that sometimes I lie awake and whisper into the dark, hoping she hears. That part stays tucked away, folded into the promise I made—not to look for her. Not yet. I have to be someone worth finding first.
I lean back into the bench and crack a faint grin. "If you’re offering baked goods, I’ll bring cookies. Or a full meal, if you’re brave. Dad cooked, Mom baked—when she wasn’t stealing ingredients off his cutting board. I used to think half their relationship ran on garlic and sabotage."
Elizabeth’s reassurance settles something in me. I’m not sure the world feels smaller yet, but it feels doable. That’s enough.
"I should figure out where I’m sleeping tonight, if I need to work for a room," I add, glancing toward the stretch of buildings in the distance. "Hopefully one of those inns has some of those people you're talking about."
But I don’t stand. I like having the company, even if it's just for a little while. I glance at her again, smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Thank you—for the bread, too. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I was already eating it."
I don’t add especially at night, when the ache creeps in and sleep feels impossible. I don’t admit that sometimes I lie awake and whisper into the dark, hoping she hears. That part stays tucked away, folded into the promise I made—not to look for her. Not yet. I have to be someone worth finding first.
I lean back into the bench and crack a faint grin. "If you’re offering baked goods, I’ll bring cookies. Or a full meal, if you’re brave. Dad cooked, Mom baked—when she wasn’t stealing ingredients off his cutting board. I used to think half their relationship ran on garlic and sabotage."
Elizabeth’s reassurance settles something in me. I’m not sure the world feels smaller yet, but it feels doable. That’s enough.
"I should figure out where I’m sleeping tonight, if I need to work for a room," I add, glancing toward the stretch of buildings in the distance. "Hopefully one of those inns has some of those people you're talking about."
But I don’t stand. I like having the company, even if it's just for a little while. I glance at her again, smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "Thank you—for the bread, too. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I was already eating it."
cause we waited years and years
just to make it worth the tears
to find out that we're not in this alone
so keep your head up high in these hours of the night
so when atlas drops the world on your shoulders, you still won't fall
