There he was, staring down at the woman as the celestial light flitted into nothingness and he knew. But he couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop her. Ravenna reached out and--
Though Noah had known loss intimately, the sight of the child's grief stirred a raw ache within him, a reminder of the fragility of life in a world consumed by darkness. He watched from what felt like miles away, a silent witness to her pain, feeling the weight of her sorrow as if it were his own. The weight of it pressed down on his chest and he wanted to take it away from her. He wanted--because he knew--to steal each hurt from her heart as the grief poured and poured and poured.
But she turned to him before he could take her pain away. She grasped for him and Noah grabbed her immediately--lifting and holding and protecting. His strong arms wrapped around her--wrapped around Korbin--and he knew, then. Noah found himself bound to the little girl by a thread of empathy—a shared understanding of the crushing burden of loss--but even more so. He was bound to her very soul, a piece of it having shared a piece of his own.
"We can't stay here." Noah whispered into Ravenna's hair as he held her tightly to him, feeling her tears starting to soak through his shoulder, and began turning to walk down the crooked stairs they climbed up.
Though Noah had known loss intimately, the sight of the child's grief stirred a raw ache within him, a reminder of the fragility of life in a world consumed by darkness. He watched from what felt like miles away, a silent witness to her pain, feeling the weight of her sorrow as if it were his own. The weight of it pressed down on his chest and he wanted to take it away from her. He wanted--because he knew--to steal each hurt from her heart as the grief poured and poured and poured.
But she turned to him before he could take her pain away. She grasped for him and Noah grabbed her immediately--lifting and holding and protecting. His strong arms wrapped around her--wrapped around Korbin--and he knew, then. Noah found himself bound to the little girl by a thread of empathy—a shared understanding of the crushing burden of loss--but even more so. He was bound to her very soul, a piece of it having shared a piece of his own.
"We can't stay here." Noah whispered into Ravenna's hair as he held her tightly to him, feeling her tears starting to soak through his shoulder, and began turning to walk down the crooked stairs they climbed up.
no one ever tells you that forever feels like home
sitting all alone inside your head
