| Subject: This I Offer 20/20 |
Author:
Athena4
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 09:32:59 05/23/02 Thu
In reply to:
Athena4
's message, "This I Offer" on 14:58:36 03/03/02 Sun
Twenty-four hours later, Paul stood outside of Van Access, just beyond the shadows of the doorway, watching Madeline prepare to board her transport. She didn’t know he was there, and he had no intention of making himself known.
When she’d left him the night before, he’d been just barely awake, drifting between dream and full consciousness, not quite aware that the words he’d been hearing, the touches on his face, had been real.
When he woke fully, several hours later, she’d been gone, and he’d known immediately why. She was afraid. Afraid to deal with the emotion that a face-to-face goodbye would bring to the surface. Terrified she couldn’t say the words without losing part of herself.
He wasn’t surprised, only mildly disappointed.
After all, she been right, in a way. It was better for both of them that the ties were cut cleanly, with no left over emotional baggage. A tearful goodbye would have hurt them both in the long run, distracting emotions impeding their work, painful thoughts leaving them dwelling in the past.
He was beginning to think like her.
Smiling to himself, he stepped from the shadows, getting one final glimpse of Madeline as she climbed into the van. He watched as she dropped her pack to the floor, collapsing on one of the benches in the back. Then she paused, as he’d expected, catching a glimpse of an envelope on the floor of the van.
Cautiously, she picked it up, breaking the seal with a finger and pulling out a lone piece of paper. Counting down from ten, Paul stepped from the shadows, standing in the doorway that separated Van Access from the main corridor. When he reached ten, she turned towards him, startled.
He remained silent and still, unwilling to attract the attention of anyone else in the van, and waited. Finally, she smiled, her eyes moist, and tucked the paper into the pocket on her vest.
As the van pulled out, Paul turned back down the corridor, the image of her smile emblazoned in his mind. She’d been right -- avoiding an emotional goodbye had been better for both of them. But he’d wanted her to know that her words had been heard, that she hadn’t caused irreparable damage through her truncated goodbye.
He chuckled as he recalled her reaction to the three words he’d scrawled across the paper:
I forgive you.
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 