are the dead really silent?
I step back into the shelter, bringing myself close enough to the lady that our mutual heat can be shared, but a breath away so she would not be encaged. The true closeness of this encounter would be entirely up to her. It was not my right to invade or intrude on her and her right to space. But it was cold, and I had warmth to offer.
I look at her and blink. Seem kind? The corner of my lips twitch. Though her words do sooth me, I know them to be false. She spoke of her perception of me, not of what was true. To others I could easily be a monster, while to some a savior, and others I mean death. To a lame doe, I am both a blessing and a curse. “I am what you take me to be.” There is a hesitation, I am coming to understand that many do not understand the forms of words that come naturally to me. I struggle and try to smile, softening what I had said. “I am glad you think of me as kind.” I felt as though it was important for her to know that my words did not mean that I intended to cause her harm, and that her opinion of me did hold value in within me.
It was her question that took me by surprise, and that I did not know how to answer, or at least answer well. How can one explain a reality they had known all their life to someone who was blind to it? I looked just over her shoulder to the spirits that peered back at me. Their maws were turned in amusement at my peril. “Life, energy, souls…” I struggle to explain. “We all have a...glow and a feel to us. Most cannot see the life that comes from those of us still living, let alone the life of those that linger after death.” The words twist confusingly. It pains me to know that she could look at me now and think me mad. I am not, it is what I have seen and what I have known to be true. “We are not alone in this cave. There is another pair who have taken shelter here. They are happy to share with us. They shine brighter than many, for they were lovers of life.”
lord; 5 falls; 41in/190lbs; fatelessXheartless; wandering ghost |