AMALIA
She wants the silence but fears the solitude
She wants to be alone and together with you
Born from dark water, daughter of the rain and snowPerhaps it is Amalia's youth which grants her innocence; perhaps she is just a foolish girl, willfully blind to the woes of the world. But as Ludo explains explains the source of lost souls she finds herself shaking her head, inching closer to Jigano as though seeking the comforting warmth of life. It is too much to bear in, too much sorrow to bear. That some are lost, left behind, left to roam and corrupt and ache-
She thinks of her own loneliness, and shivers. Would that become her fate, one day?
But Jigano is there, his hand soft and reassuring in hers. Rory is there, and Wessex, and Evie, and others, so many others who fill the cracks that line her spirit, light the void inside her heart. Amalia swallows, nodding quietly. "Is there a way to bring them back?" Even in the face of darkness, she cannot help but hope.
That her grandmother is safe is a weight off her shoulders; that she can hear her is elation in her heart. "Really?" the sunlit girl breathes, dark eyes scanning the sea of lanterns as though Anjali Chandrakant might appear. Tears in her eyes as Ludo speaks, falling and staining her narrow cheeks. "I miss you, Nani," Amalia whispers, her eyes falling closed as she speaks. "I try every day to be how you taught me... I wish I could tell you everything, and get your advice... I have friends now, though, and a family, and you would love them like I do, but I'll always miss you, and mama, and..."
And though Jigano steps away, though the woman who raised her does not appear, for once in the years since her grandmother's death, Amalia does not feel alone.
"Thank you," she says to her grandmother, to Ludo, to Jigano, a peaceful smile alight on her face.
She thinks of her own loneliness, and shivers. Would that become her fate, one day?
But Jigano is there, his hand soft and reassuring in hers. Rory is there, and Wessex, and Evie, and others, so many others who fill the cracks that line her spirit, light the void inside her heart. Amalia swallows, nodding quietly. "Is there a way to bring them back?" Even in the face of darkness, she cannot help but hope.
That her grandmother is safe is a weight off her shoulders; that she can hear her is elation in her heart. "Really?" the sunlit girl breathes, dark eyes scanning the sea of lanterns as though Anjali Chandrakant might appear. Tears in her eyes as Ludo speaks, falling and staining her narrow cheeks. "I miss you, Nani," Amalia whispers, her eyes falling closed as she speaks. "I try every day to be how you taught me... I wish I could tell you everything, and get your advice... I have friends now, though, and a family, and you would love them like I do, but I'll always miss you, and mama, and..."
And though Jigano steps away, though the woman who raised her does not appear, for once in the years since her grandmother's death, Amalia does not feel alone.
"Thank you," she says to her grandmother, to Ludo, to Jigano, a peaceful smile alight on her face.
