{-.-.-.-}





One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful not to tread upon the crumbling dust and bones that is all that is left of –


Them.





A tear – it falls down my face, slipping from my eye, sliding down my cheek, cresting my jaw and collapsing onto my robes, standing bravely for a moment before drowning in the silk like so many before it.


I wonder if it knew it existed before it died.


The flowers in my pale and shaking hands seem out of place in this realm of the deceased, the colors unnatural in a world of grey.


That tombstone – oh, how it leers at me as I approach it, that unwelcoming face of marble, and I pass, leaving a puddle of pink in my wake as the rose topples to rest at the foot of the grave in tribute to the friend I once knew.


The sky mocks my grief with grey-streaked laughter as it rumbles to a disconcerted world, unperturbed by the sudden shattering of balance that we had all been gripped by. What horrors had graced the years – too many to list.


Too many to remember.




{-.-.-.-}




One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful not to stop my welcome path down memory lane to visit all that is left of –


Them.





A smile – I see myself, so small, so naïve, dashing up the steps that were too high for my small legs, boarding a train that I was sure would leave me to wake up in the morning and discover the wonderful dream, but in reality a train that had 15 minutes still before departure.


I wonder if I guessed then what would become of her.


The books in my eager, first year hands never ceased to open, each line of prose and poetry a line that invited me to read, and I took up that mission with the zeal of the unknowing, never looking back in my quest for knowledge.




{-.-.-.-}




One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful not to slip from this world where she is with –


Them.





A laugh – I see the golden blur that is time speeding back and forth all the time, see the fragile young woman that I was save two lives with three years and too much extra studying of magic, and, of course, the help of a friend.


I wonder if she, by then, had figured her fate.


The essence of time in her hands never once was mistreated as she learned perhaps the most valuable lesson of her life – that life, itself, was valuable.




{-.-.-.-}




One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful not to unbalance her time she has with –


Them.





A light – I see her will progress, that rebel she has always known rising within her, learning spells from a wizard she believes is the most intelligent she has ever known, risking her life for those she loves, and putting into practice the many lessons – of morale and academia – into use.


I wonder if, by then, she knew what was to happen.


The quest for the righteous in her learned hands was tested and bent, but never once snapped as she saw the truths that made the fine line between life and death.




{-.-.-.-}




One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful to be understanding as she recalls her time with –


Them.





A trust – I see it form, watch it strengthen as she tests the friendship they’ve created, strains the relationships that she learns are so very fragile, wanders to a far limb and leaps to see just how far she can fly.


I wonder if, by then, she regretted her life.


The path to learn what grief was, the knowledge that childhood cannot last forever, that happiness is a fading thing, so suddenly thrust upon her, and at last, she glimpsed life.




{-.-.-.-}




One foot.


One foot in front of the other.


One foot in front of the other, step-by-step, walking –


So careful to walk tall away from-


Them.





A pride – it fills her eyes and shapes her stride as she leaves behind the shadows of her past, leaves the splashes of color that bring life to a place that already has so much of it.


She wonders why she never saw before.


The way to learn from wonder and from laughs, the knowledge that the future was made bright by a past that was so illuminating.


They are always there beside her – the red-haired freckle-faced one, and the dark one with the lightening bolt on his head –

And behind her, she leaves a trail of flowers with enough color to rival the rainbow that arcs across the sky.





Some things are too true to be good.

Other things are too good to be true.

But few things are good enough for truth.





{-.-.-.-}