BLOOD LEGACIES

Was I dreaming? Did Dace really not come here last night? I woke up on the bed alone, and any trace of him being here was all gone. The level of disappointment that flooded through me made me solemn. He never came, did he? When we embraced last night I thought it was real, but I guess my mind was only playing tricks on me.

But when I got to the living room I reevaluated everything, there was chopped wood next to the fire and I knew I did not chop any wood or even lift an ax at all. And on the table was breakfast waiting for me to devour.

I sighed as a smile found my lips, I looked around hoping I would see him but I turned up with nothing. At least I knew he came here, at least I knew that night wasn’t a dream. But why did he leave? Why didn’t he stay?

I hope this doesn’t become something recurring because now it seemed like he was trying to avoid me. So I waited but I only got antsy. I decided to go for a hike.

I fixed the tie on my boots, grabbed a few things in my bag, and stepped out into the woods. I won’t wander too far, I just need some air, or else I will lose my mind if I spend another day alone in that house.

The woods aren’t as scary as I thought they would be, the highlights, the tall trees, and the various sounds of wings flapping were palliative. I wasn’t scared because I knew Dace was somewhere around here. I don’t know how far long but something about him most likely being nearby in his lion form gave me comfort I never knew I had.

I wandered far and maybe at this point I knew where I was going, the paths looked familiar and the closer I got the darker it got and it was already close to sunset when I got to the abandoned house.

I gulped when I came to a stop and my eyes scanned the place. I don’t think anyone came back here, the grass had grown around the place and it wasn’t cared for anymore, it looked like the very description of a haunted house. And this one was my worst nightmare.

I took a deep breath and walked into the entrance, the door broke off the hinges, I couldn’t get further in because there was a block from one of the growing trees sprouting inside. I just stood at the entrance looking back at a memory I always wished to forget but right now I embraced it.

There is no need to run away from the truth anymore, for the past five years I thought running away from the truth was the solution to my trauma. And now with the way everything has led to me I wish I embraced it sooner. I wish I was the one who got to tell Dace the truth. I wish he didn’t find out from Hayden like that.

I moved further in, squeezing myself through until I was at what was once the kitchen, where everything went down, there was a black marking on the floor and I knew what that was, even though completely faded I could still see Dace’s blood. I sighed, closing my eyes as everything played through in my head. But this time I am not shaken or afraid about it. I embrace every beat of the chaos and allow it to free me. Free me from my fears, my shackles and then I opened my eyes, my magic blossoming as everything levitated from the ground. Floating around with a foggy glimpse of green or maybe it was just the hue of my eyes as it glowed. I stepped to the middle as I watched everything suspended in the air. I turned around and they followed me too.