peace at last

The afterlife has been good to Meadow. Where she had been sad and filled with doubts in life, here she has peace. She had been reunited with Resin and the pair roam the snow-covered mountains of their youth. Awareness is a strange thing here, with her mind often drifting along in the soft gray of slumbering peace. She knows that she is always with Resin and climbing the peaks of their homes but there is no way to measure the passage of time here. After all, that seems to be a construct that only the living need.

Meadow is racing across the frozen lake that is circled by the mountain faces when a gentle touch from a mind she knows brushes against the dead wolf’s presence. Stopping mid run, the woman turns in the direction of where she felt it originate from and gently calls, “Hanako.” A smile pulls at her lips as she pulls into a trot, moving to where the koi-marked wolf is. The world of her home land falls away and, in its place, a green meadow in early spring appears. She does not notice the shift but she can feel the sun on her pelt.

Soft pink petals flutter in a gentle breeze as she approaches her friend, and she hums a gentle song for Hanako as tons of bright flowers dance around them. Meadow sees Hanako push up into a seated position and the song dies as her steps falter. Bruises mar her friend’s skin; her tail is shorter and she looks… broken. Her heart breaks and the dead woman wastes no time in crossing the remaining distance to where her injured friend is. Pushing out a breath with Hana’s name on it, Meadow reaches the injured wolf and envelopes her in a gentle, loving embrace.

Instinctively, she holds her like a mother does a child who has scraped their knee, gently trying to soothe her while letting her know she is okay. Yes, she is smaller than Hanako but something tells her that the injured woman needs to be held… to be loved. A small paw lifts off the ground and comes to rest against the koi woman’s side where she gently rubs circles. With a sad sigh, Meadow lays her head on top of Hana’s and softly says, “Oh Hanako.” Words seem insufficient right now so she contents herself with holding her friend.



"Meadow Lark"

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