Letting Go (Saturday August 6, 2011)
Posted: 07 Aug 2011, 20:02
Her old life seemed more and more distant the further Hariasa moved from her human self. Her early years, before the old woman's curse, seemed even more remote than they had even a few months ago. She truly was becoming another class of being.
She was still cold and standoffish, and still was relatively antisocial. However, she had formed a few close bonds. While she liked to feel that she was independent, Hariasa knew that she would respond with earnest whenever her savior, Amaranthia, called. Leiren, the fragile-looking telepath, would be under Hariasa's protection, whether she liked it (or even knew it), or not.
And then there was Chad. Sometimes, he seemed like a boy, his personality matching his appearance. Other times, he seemed wiser than even she gave him credit for, likely due to his decades in the Shadow Realm. She cared for Chad, more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
It was that fondness that put her in her current state of mind. The reality of the situation she put herself in all those years ago was looking her in the face. By having revenge on her child's killer, she had resigned herself to Hell already; now she would not even reach there, but, if she were to be killed, she would find herself in the Shadow Realm. She would never see Richard again, not in this life or any other; she would never get to know her unborn son. The perfect life she had wished for herself was gone forever.
In this mental state, Hariasa walked the streets of Harper Rock, not caring where she was going, only that she was moving. She finally stopped at the bridge near the CW Grand Casino and the Necropolis, a fitting place. Her present and her future, her savior and her companion, owned those two buildings. Hariasa did not think about any of that; her mind focused on the splashing of the stream beneath her.
She watched the water flow like time beneath her. Her thoughts were racing, but she could not grab a hold of any of them. Hariasa stayed in this state, concentrating on the water beneath her, thinking of nothing and everything, until she was seized by impulse.
The ring hanging on the chain at her neck began to feel heavy, burdening her with its weight. She gripped the chain, and in one fluid motion, snapped the gold links off her neck. She had been wearing Richard's ring around her neck for so many years, and it was as if the load of another lifetime was finally lifted from her shoulders.
She stared at the ring, rolling it around between her fingers. Blinded by rage and grief, her hands seemed to flare with darkness, engulfing the ring. When her hand finally opened, the ring was charred and tarnished, the result of being struck with her powerful Corpsify power. Hariasa studied the ring, a look of quiet contemplation on her face. After a few moments, she let the ring drop into the river.
Stella Blake was no more.
She was still cold and standoffish, and still was relatively antisocial. However, she had formed a few close bonds. While she liked to feel that she was independent, Hariasa knew that she would respond with earnest whenever her savior, Amaranthia, called. Leiren, the fragile-looking telepath, would be under Hariasa's protection, whether she liked it (or even knew it), or not.
And then there was Chad. Sometimes, he seemed like a boy, his personality matching his appearance. Other times, he seemed wiser than even she gave him credit for, likely due to his decades in the Shadow Realm. She cared for Chad, more than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
It was that fondness that put her in her current state of mind. The reality of the situation she put herself in all those years ago was looking her in the face. By having revenge on her child's killer, she had resigned herself to Hell already; now she would not even reach there, but, if she were to be killed, she would find herself in the Shadow Realm. She would never see Richard again, not in this life or any other; she would never get to know her unborn son. The perfect life she had wished for herself was gone forever.
In this mental state, Hariasa walked the streets of Harper Rock, not caring where she was going, only that she was moving. She finally stopped at the bridge near the CW Grand Casino and the Necropolis, a fitting place. Her present and her future, her savior and her companion, owned those two buildings. Hariasa did not think about any of that; her mind focused on the splashing of the stream beneath her.
She watched the water flow like time beneath her. Her thoughts were racing, but she could not grab a hold of any of them. Hariasa stayed in this state, concentrating on the water beneath her, thinking of nothing and everything, until she was seized by impulse.
The ring hanging on the chain at her neck began to feel heavy, burdening her with its weight. She gripped the chain, and in one fluid motion, snapped the gold links off her neck. She had been wearing Richard's ring around her neck for so many years, and it was as if the load of another lifetime was finally lifted from her shoulders.
She stared at the ring, rolling it around between her fingers. Blinded by rage and grief, her hands seemed to flare with darkness, engulfing the ring. When her hand finally opened, the ring was charred and tarnished, the result of being struck with her powerful Corpsify power. Hariasa studied the ring, a look of quiet contemplation on her face. After a few moments, she let the ring drop into the river.
Stella Blake was no more.