Page 120 of A Simple Truth

I had cried those same tears before. I had felt that confusing sense of newly found freedom, that uncertainty, that terrifying flicker of hope; all feelings mixed into one and all tainted with fear.

She turned to look at me, her eyes full of haunted shadows, but she found the strength to weakly smile as her mouth moved, whispering a quiet thank you. I searched for the words I could say to her, to comfort her, to reassure her, but my mind drew a blank.

She walked away before I could reply.

“Here you go, dear.” Lady De Villiar sniffled near me as she gave another bowl to a person down the line. I swallowed hard, fighting the lump in my own throat, as the line slowly moved.

“We’ve got plenty of food here, so come get seconds or thirds or however many you’d like,” Lord De Villiar hollered at the crowd, passing out the rolls alongside his daughter.

We continued serving each one of them until the line thinned out, leaving just Lady De Villiar and me clearing off the serving table.

“They prefer to eat standing up.” Lady De Villiar broke the silence, noticing my lingering gaze on the liberated slaves in the tree-filled garden in the back of the De Villiars’ home. “We have offered and tried” —she motioned with her eyes to the few unclaimed tables still set outside— “but they prefer standing and eating.”

“We never sat down for food in the Rock Quarries,” I softly explained, memories flashing before my eyes as I, too, stood near the Quarry walls, hungrily gulping the slop, almost choking on the cold, glue-like substance. It was easier to defend yourself standing up; it was better not to risk sitting down at all, knowing that there was a chance of not being able to get back up with the heavy weight of iron chains and shackles dragging you down.

Lady De Villiar's eyes widened as she realized.

“I am so sorry,” she whispered, her eyes turning watery. “I am so sorry, Finn, that the world has failed you. That we have failed you. We should’ve never allowed this to happen. We have failed those who needed us the most. And I am so, so sorry.” Her voice filled with deep sorrow. My eyes wrinkled with a gentle smile as I nodded, accepting her kind words.

The world might have failed me before, but I wouldn’t let it now.

71

FINNLEAH

Viyak and I sat in the overgrown grass, resting our backs against a curved apple tree. Rays of sunshine snuck past the out-spread branches, sweetly caressing our faces amidst the shade. It could’ve been the warm, delicious soup, or the multiple rolls that I just ate, but my mind settled, thoughts and feelings being tranquil, like a peaceful lake at dawn.

“You look different, Finn,” Viyak said, as he studied me.

“You’re one to talk.” I gave him a half smile, squinting my eyes from the sun as I turned to look at him. “I can barely recognize you without your beard.”

“I thought it would help me transition better. I didn’t have a beard before the Rock Quarries. The De Villiars offered me a mirror, but I still can’t bring myself to look. Somehow scared, that it would be a stranger staring back at me.” He ran his hand against his smooth chin, scratching it. “I thought maybe if I didn’t have a beard, I’d brave it, but now…I don’t know…” he confessed.

“I never knew you had dimples,” I stated, as I stretched out my legs in the grass. He followed suit, his eyes noticing mymuscled thighs, easily doubled the size of his, and the neatly pinned daggers around them.

“Aurelia said you are some rare type of Destroyer. I would’ve never guessed.”

“Well, that would make two of us,” I scoffed, pulling on a blade of grass near me. “I only found out half a year ago or so.”

“Finn the Destroyer…Destroyer…” His voice lingering on that word as he turned his eyes to me, giving me another look, as if searching for something out of place. “I’ve always wondered how you survived after that lashing. Your flesh was literally falling off your bones after they whipped you helping that dying slave, and I always thought it was a godsgiven miracle that you lived. No regular human could survive those wounds… but aDestroyercould. I should’ve known.” Viyak followed my gaze towards Aurelia as she beautifully danced in front of the freed slaves, encouraging them to repeat the moves as her dad played the viola.

“I was terrified of Destroyers all my life. I hated them, despised them so much that somehow, I failed to notice I was one of them.” I scratched the thick scars on my back.

“You have changed, Finn.” Viyak’s voice became somber.

“Truth be told, I don’t think I am the same person I used to be, Vi. Not even the same person I was seven months ago. I’ve killed people in cold blood, and I’ve made some questionable choices, did things I am not proud of, but I don’t regret any of it. My one and only regret through it all is that I wish I could’ve come for you sooner, that I could’ve saved you earlier.”

“You know, I still remember very well the first day you were brought and chained to me. I looked at you then and saw you were so broken deep inside that I…even as a slave myself, I felt broken for you.” His words interrupted by a thrilling sequel from Aurelia afar from us as the handful of people finally braved enough to repeat the dance moves, she’d been teaching them.

“I never told you this, but that day I told myself that I should not get attached, because you would not survive,” Viyak confessed. “I had seen that broken look on so many people there before, the look of pure despair, of betrayal, of utter defeat. I could recognize Death staring back from within your soul that I didn’t think you’d last more than a few weeks. And yet, you continued each day, you kept your head down, you lowered your eyes, you obeyed, and you heeded; despite the brokenness, despite the shattered heart, you carried on each day. You survived, and you helped me survive.”

I took a long breath, still feeling lingering echoes of the suffocating darkness that had gripped my mind then.

“You have changed, Finn, but for thebetter.When I look at you now, I see nothing but great power and strength.” Viyak’s tender voice trembled as he continued, “Strength to do what’s right, even when the world doesn’t agree. Strength to persevere, even when the walls of your own mind collapse. Strength to be the voice for those who don’t have one. Strength to make a hard choice, even when you know it’s going to be a painful one. Strength to stand up for what is right, even if it means to stand alone. You are not the same person anymore because you are no longer broken.” His blue eyes wrinkled with a caring smile as our eyes met. “You’ve pieced yourself together—piece by piece, little by little—you’ve built yourself up and you’ve put yourself back together and look at you now…I look at you and I feel soproud. Proud of what you have become, of how much you’ve grown.” Silver streaks ran past his sunken cheeks. “I am just so, so glad that I lived long enough to see it.”

“I missed you, Vi,” I replied, patting him on his leg as I blinked my own tears away.

The sudden summer breeze rustled the leaves above us, sending a refreshing draft against our warmed skin.

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