PERSEPHONE

Time was a funny thing. Fickle, too. So much had changed over the years for both of them, that much was clear, and yet most days Persephone felt like hardly a season had passed since those memories. It was a strange feeling that often conjured up an uncomfortable mix of emotions.

At Zevulun’s wink, she gave a smile and an amused huff escaped her nostrils.

“Just a bit,” she replied, the sting of her own aging familiar by now. “Sometimes it feels like yesterday I arrived in the Forest – other times it feels like I’ve aged about a hundred years.”

She laughed a little. So much had come to pass since then.

There was a moment of comfortable silence between them, before Zevulun spoke again. Persephone tilted her head, listening carefully. She gave an appreciative nod as she did so, the words more relatable than she might have expected. There was a lot in them that rang true for herself, especially recently.

“Wise words,” she replied, her tone sincere. “We all have a tendency to linger in the past now and then, I’m sure.”

She paused, making a note to herself to remember that herself.

“Will you be staying then?” she asked, a hopeful curl at the edge of her lips. “On the islands again? It would be good to have another friendly face nearby, and if you ever need a place to stay of course –” She gestured with her nose at the Forest around them.

“I’d be willing to help you make it happen, whatever it is you want, that is.”

She smiled, feeling many years younger. Perhaps she could have another chance to relive those days long past.

all of your demons will wither away

mixed, bay varnish roan, 14.3hh