the silence in-between
what i thought and what i said

At the mention of the fates, Merete couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart. Her meeting with Diamant hung fresh in her mind, along with all the knowledge that he had imparted upon her. How odd it seemed, to have one tell her the fates were cruel, and another to tell her that they were kind.

Perhaps it depended upon perspective.

“It’s my pleasure,” she replied, although the words felt somewhat hollow on her tongue.

There was a long pause before Merete could bring herself to continue. How could Jetta help her? That was a good question indeed – one that ran deeper, no doubt, than the young girl expected when she had decided to ask her. After a few moments to gather her thoughts, Merete was still not quite sure how to proceed, but she tried to begin anyway.

“I came because Diamant told me about you, and that you lived here, actually. Your mother was Inka, right? I knew her… He told me that she lived here too, before she passed, that is…” Merete trailed off for a moment, suddenly realising perhaps this was not the best way to begin, talking about Jetta’s dead mother, but she had already begun.

“I was sorry to hear about that, and for your loss.” She looked down sheepishly. “Inka was my half-sister.”

MERETE

(het vuur x sterre)