she’d broken through.
Perhaps she’d never stop seeing them.
Perhaps she alone in this world and all others
knew what lay beyond the invisible walls
separating them. How much life dwelled and
thrived. Loved and hated and struggled to
claw out a living.
So many worlds. More than she could
contemplate. Would her dreams forever be
haunted by them? To have glimpsed them, but
been unable to explore—would that longing
take root?
Oakwald’s branches formed a skeletal
lattice overhead. Bars of a cage.
As her body, and this world, might be.
She shook off the thought. She had lived—
lived, when she should have died. Even if her
mortal self ... that had been killed. Melted
away.
The outer edges of the camp neared, and
lily
(lily)
#1