Page 26 of Tangled Fates

Wolfy?

WHAT?

I’m sorry.

WHAT FOR?

For keeping you hidden all of these years. You deserved better than that.

JUST DO BETTER IN THE FUTURE. IT’S ALL YOU CAN DO.

I found myself seeking counsel with, well, myself, as my muscles screamed for relief.

If I go back, how do I accept my bond with the three of them?

BY ALLOWING YOURSELF TO.

That doesn’t make any sense. How do I just… allow myself to?

IN THE SAME WAY YOU ALLOW YOURSELF TO SHIFT. OR EAT. OR BREATHE.

Breathing is an automatic reaction. I don’t have any control over it.

THEN STOP TRYING TO CONTROL YOUR URGES AND FEELINGS TOWARD THEM.

I don’t.

LIAR.

Fine, okay. I do a little bit. But can you blame me?

YES.

Hey!

WELL, YOU ASKED!

I pulled in fresh air through my nostrils and filled my lungs.

So, if I accept them as my mates, what comes next?

LIFE.

I’m serious, Wolfy. What comes next?

YOUR LIFE, RAVEN. THAT’S WHAT COMES NEXT.

I grew frustrated with the conversation, so I stayed silent. I finally felt the smallest bit of relief in my chest as the tension of my anger and confusion settled down. I slowed to a mindless jog, weaving in and out of the trees as I found myself trotting toward a cliffside.

And as I gazed out over the whole of Bend, I found that I was halfway up the mountain I had always looked toward off in the distance.

Guess I better start heading back.

I didn’t want to, of course. I wanted to go straight back to that meadow and conjure my father so that we could keep talking. I wanted more time with him. I wanted his voice in my ear as I told him about L.A. and the things that happened when we first moved there. I wanted to tell him about the spelling bee I won in eighth grade and the dance-off I interjected myself into at homecoming when I was a sophomore in high school. I wanted to regale him with how I had stumbled my way into my job with nothing more than trust in myself and the want to have better for my life.

But as I stood there, gazing out over the whole of the valley beneath me, I realized what Wolfy had been talking about. That was what I had to do. I had to live my life. Claim my life. Take it by the ears, look it dead in the eyes, and refuse to let go no matter how much it tried to buck me off. Just like I did with my career and every other opportunity I had created for myself, I had to do that now. I had to tap into that stubborn part of me and direct my energy into forcing pathways to unfold when there were none.

NOW YOU’RE GETTING IT.

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