Page 126 of To Free a Soul
She relaxed on the ground with her arms and legs out wide.They’ll tire themselves out.They always did.
Their fighting ball came back to smack her in the side of the head. One backed up and landed on her forehead, incidentally poking her in the eye, before the other tackled their twin off her face and to the ground on the opposite side. Once more, they locked limbs and rolled around.
She watched them for a moment before she looked up at the blue sky and white clouds softly floating overhead. Other than their noisy sounds, the only other things she could hear were the trees rustling and a wind chime.
With her lips pulling downwards, she peered at the wooden tubes fluttering in the easterly wind.I’m glad I bought that. It sounds nice.Her eyes then drifted over the small hut that Lindiwe had built... in the centre of the Veil.
A black protective dome surrounded it always. She’d asked Weldir if she could have one permanently, and he’d agreed to it without hesitation.
Her home was modest. Kind of.
It was situated near the centre of the Veil where it was safest, and was only spacious enough for a bed, a small stove, and some room to move around. The roof was slats of timber, and theoutside – the only walls of the structure – was constructed from clay bricks. She’d thought about painting it, but she didn’t care all that much about it, only that it had a safe place for her to return to and sleep.
There was no garden, as the trees surrounding it let no sunlight pour down except for where she lay.
But it was hidden, and small enough to likely go unnoticed.
I still can’t believe I managed to build it while pregnant.Then again, having the ability to use tendrils and tentacles of magic to do all the heavy lifting was an invaluable asset.
It was her way of finally having a home outside of Weldir’s realm. A place just for her, and her sad thoughts. A way for her to move on mentally, even if she was struggling to begin that journey emotionally.
As promised, Lindiwe responded to Weldir when he reached out, but she left out all the playfulness. She put up a mental barrier between them, hoping one day... it would exist between him and her heart.
She let her head fall back and looked up at the bright sky once more.
I miss him already.
Only a few months had passed, and she missed the amicable way they spoke almost every day. Where she would share what she was doing, and he’d talk to her as he completed his duties. Where she considered being naughty by teasing him until he snatched her from Earth, or she just downright asked him if he wanted to be intimate.
They’d begun sharing their innermost thoughts, and she missed knowing they could rely on each other as a sounding board. She mourned the loss of being able to sleep in his realm safely, blanketed in utter protection, while he watched over her. Where she’d feel him tucking her cloak around her in sleep or brushing her hair from her face, so it didn’t disturb her.
She missed his care, and the gentleness he’d begun showing her quite some decades ago. The sweet, oddly tender moments that had begun to steal her affection bit by bit.
This sucks. I hate feeling this way.
She wanted to go back on her decision and crawl back to him, but she... couldn’t. Even if it made them both unhappy, Lindiwe didn’t want to live in her suffering and make it worse with every moment they spent together.
But I really, really miss him.Enough so that the ache in her chest just burned constantly with no end in sight.
She lifted her right hand so she could look at the blazing sun between her fingers.I feel so awful for everything I said.But all of it was true, and he couldn’t deny any of it.He’s made it known that this separation upsets him.
Guilt constantly nipped at her, and that, too, was a difficult thing to swallow.I don’t want to hurt him,she thought, as she swayed her hand through the streaks of sun so it would glitter between the gaps of her fingers.I wish it didn’t have to be like this. I wish we could be together.
But this wasn’t a fairytale where love could triumph over all. He wasn’t some prince who could sweep her off her feet, and she wasn’t some pure-of-heart maiden who only needed a kiss to have everything she wanted. No, she’d long ago become a villain, a creator of destroyers, and this was merely her penance.
This was reality, and reality came with limitations – ones that not even a half-formed demi-god could change.
I’m really sorry, Weldir.She could no longer recount how many times she’d apologised to him now, without offering the answer as to why it was all happening.And thank you for still being kind to me, despite your annoyance.
After a few minutes, two sets of tiny hands climbed up her right leg. She grabbed a baby with each hand and placed them on her chest. She made sure their skulls didn’t bash togetherwhen they nuzzled just below her breasts. Then, like they always did, they curled into each other to cuddle while letting her slow breaths lift them up and down on her belly.
They fell asleep as she scratched the backs of their necks, and they both stretched into her petting at the same time.I think I’ll keep you two young for a little longer than the others.
They were a wonderful distraction, and very adorable together. They liked to snuggle, they were often affectionate with their little head rubs and licks, and they’d never bitten her – just each other.
I wonder what horns I’ll give them.
Lindiwe thought long and hard about this, as it was better than the alternative: thinking about Weldir or her myriad of adult children who wanted nothing to do with her.
