peace at last

Meadow holds onto her friend as if the koi-marked wolf’s life depends on it. Warmth blooms around them as she merely thinks of it and the area shifts to accommodate, rising until it feels like they are in the perfect summer day. The pink petals around them give off the gentle fragrance of cherry blooms as the dead wolf tries to shape her very world to comfort Hanako. Her embrace is strong, yet there is a gentleness to the way she rubs small circles into the hurting woman’s back. When her friend softly whines a question to her, the smaller woman softly shushes her and nuzzles her cheek in a show of comfort.

Why did she have to go? A million answers spring to mind but they all boil down to one thing. Without releasing Hanako, Meadow offers a small sigh and answers her, “Because that is where the wind took me. In life, I was restless and thought I didn’t belong anywhere. So, I wandered. It wasn’t until I had my children that I realized everything I had missed.” A knowing smile appears as she pulls back slightly, bring the paw that was rubbing circles on Hana’s back up to wipe away the tears on her friend’s face.

Love is something that Meadow felt so intensely in life and it does not seem that death can dull it. As she looks at her broken friend, the dead wolf softly says, “Life has a way of taking us where are needed. I touched a lot of lives after I left yours. But, I need you know this; I never stopped thinking about you, my friend.” She leans in, nuzzling the woman’s pale cheek once more while still embracing her. Catching her friend’s icy blue gaze, the woman gently adds, “What do you need me to do?”

Seeing Hanako in this state has Meadow feeling a stirring of something besides love and, if she could, she would go track down the wolf or wolves responsible and give them… a firm talking to.



"Meadow Lark"

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