hold fast to dreams,

for if dreams die,

life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams, for when dreams go,

life is a barren field —

frozen with snow.

Ears stand on alert as I listen to everything that the elephant lady says to everybody and blue eyes look to everybody as they all just kept staring at her – watching her do nothing more than rocking a stone within the clutches of her huge nose. What exactly was going on here?

Within minutes of my attention diverting to those surrounding me, the elephant lady flaps her wing like ears and then softly says words that make me stop dead.

‘This is a child.’

A child?! But how exactly could a child fit into such a tiny stone? Or was it even a stone? Was I wrong this whole time? Was this the reason why everybody had gathered here and surrounded the elephant lady? But what was Zero supposed to do with a child? Eyes caught hold of a couple others about my age and I wondered what could any one of them do with a child?

‘So why are you seeking its companionship, pray tell? Speak with heart, not head.’

Companionship? My ears tilt to and fro as I listen to what others say in reply to the elephant lady’s request. One lady says how she would treat it as a gift. Another lady mentioned something about not having a chance to be a mother. One of the people about my age speak about being lonely. A girl about my age says she wants to understand the bond between a companion and their bonded. And then another guy speaks about how he can’t have kids. What would I say? What would my heart say if it could talk?

Nervously, I bite my lip as I look to the elephant lady and take a small step forward, “To be honest ma’am, I am new to zis land – zis vorld,” I pause for a few seconds, “And zough I do not have a home yet, I have made sum new friends,” My eyes flit over to Tia and Zero. Friends. Yes, that’s definitely what they were. Then my facial features grew somber as I pushed myself further, “I have lost a lot,” Tears welled up within my eyes but I refused to let them fall and continued almost at a whisper, “I…I have no more Muzzer. No more Fazzer. No more Bruzzer,” I look towards the ground. It seemed almost as if I was trying to hide my face from everybody but I was really just trying to grasp the reality that I didn’t want to accept – didn’t want to think about – before continuing, “And I am yet a child myself. I vould not know ze first zing about caring for a child.”

I ache. I ache on the inside. Why? Why did I feel this way? I knew that everybody was dead, so why does admitting it out loud any different? It shouldn’t be any different, right?

“But even zough I vould razzer not burden anuzzer vith my sadness, it vould be nice to have sumone to learn and grow up vith. If zat is vat you are offering, I vould be very zankful for ze chance to make a life better. Vether it be mine, anuzzer’s, or zis child’s.”

I don’t even look up at the elephant lady once I’m done with my spiel. She didn’t need to see me on the verge of tears any longer. Nobody needed to. I just needed to move on with my life. I needed to put the past behind me and start fresh. I needed to begin this new life I had been given, and it was time to start taking that road. No matter how bumpy it may be.

"Talk."
notes:: mentions Tiamat and Zero!

Seeks a Kitsune with Dreams ability WISHLIST no prior refusals