04-02-2022, 12:29 AM
[align=center][div style="width: 470px; text-align: justify; font-family: new times roman; font-size: 7pt; letter-spacing: 2.5px; word-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px;"]This was the most remarkable thing he had ever seen. Blue gaze like cold steel welcomed the eventual sunrise in all of its golden glory. The approaching morning was so-often perceived as a promise well-kept but for Edmund it felt more like a sigh of relief. He had come to see another sunrise, a gift so often left unappreciated until one witnesses first hand the people who never got to see the break of a new day. Sometimes, Edmund's head was a dark and unnerving place. Sometimes, the promise of a new day could be more likened to another slow-burn death sentence, but today he was okay. Was he obliged to be any more than that, or was being okay more than anyone could expect from him?
Here’s the thing: life is not a cohesive narrative of good days or bad days. Good people or bad people. It’s more like puzzle pieces. It’s layered.
Take Edmund Stirling at face value for example. On the steps leading to the front door, he was slouched over so that he could preserve his own body heat — spring was well on its way, although the crisp night breeze confessed otherwise — whilst he sat beside a woman he could not yet concede to loving. The two star-crossed lovers chose to keep each other company on their current sleepless encounters, and if a newcomer were to come face-to-face with them now, they'd only conclude that Edmund was an adoring man keeping his lady-friend company.
And that would be it.
Every bad deed of his, every murder, extortion, unfaithfulness and more — erased by ignorance.
But that was what made Edmund realise the moment he knew he was in love with Mia Carlisle. This was the most remarkable thing he had ever seen, he thought. Mia Carlisle had heard his heart beating alone in the darkness, and so she sat in the darkness with him, too. After all that she knew about him, all of the horrors he had caused with his own two bloodied hands, she chose to accept him anyways.
God, he hoped she didn't love him in the way that he loved her — if someone like that had come to love him, he'd certainly die. And so, for as many years as he knew her, he kept a safe enough distance. Until now.
❝ Anya was a lovely girl. ❞ With reference to the ex-girlfriend that had briefly occupied his time until recent, eyes darted over to glance towards Mia in the softened glow of the early morning sun. ❝ Really, she was. But it's not about finding someone who will fill the void for you — to... to feel a little less alone — but to find someone that makes you feel like that void is no longer a notable part of who you are. ❞ He explained his contemplations in a soft murmur before taking a long drag of his cigarette. If there was one person Edmund felt like he could even somewhat open up to, it would be Mia. After all, she had been his confidant way back in their teen-hood before any of this really mattered.
Even though she broke his heart back then, the feeling of trust still seemed to remain. And that was the remarkable thing about Mia.
Soft gaze shifted back towards Mia, down to her lips, back up to her eyes, before he looked away once more. Sleepless nights always exposed the innermost confessions of a man.
❝ The sunrise; it's a pretty one... Thanks, you know. For staying up to sit with me. I'm sure you would've wanted to go to bed by now. ❞ He shifted the conversation quickly afterwards, gesturing with his cigarette towards the aureate glimmer of sunlight bearing through the spines of the conifers. Rolling his shoulders back in an exhausted attempt of a stretch, Edmund eventually allowed for his free hand to settle in the space between himself and Mia, grip against the coolness of the wooden step until his finger twitched at the warmth of Mia's hand nearby. Like a comfort. As if he'd been lost all this time, and Mia had been the one to find him. To bring him back down to earth.
And, with a cautious twitch of his finger, Edmund brought his hand closer to rest upon hers. A silent move so reposeful. So comforting. A move which did not fill the void, but made it seem insignificant in that very moment. Edmund rarely knew what peace was meant to feel like, but he could imagine it felt a lot like her.
Here’s the thing: life is not a cohesive narrative of good days or bad days. Good people or bad people. It’s more like puzzle pieces. It’s layered.
Take Edmund Stirling at face value for example. On the steps leading to the front door, he was slouched over so that he could preserve his own body heat — spring was well on its way, although the crisp night breeze confessed otherwise — whilst he sat beside a woman he could not yet concede to loving. The two star-crossed lovers chose to keep each other company on their current sleepless encounters, and if a newcomer were to come face-to-face with them now, they'd only conclude that Edmund was an adoring man keeping his lady-friend company.
And that would be it.
Every bad deed of his, every murder, extortion, unfaithfulness and more — erased by ignorance.
But that was what made Edmund realise the moment he knew he was in love with Mia Carlisle. This was the most remarkable thing he had ever seen, he thought. Mia Carlisle had heard his heart beating alone in the darkness, and so she sat in the darkness with him, too. After all that she knew about him, all of the horrors he had caused with his own two bloodied hands, she chose to accept him anyways.
God, he hoped she didn't love him in the way that he loved her — if someone like that had come to love him, he'd certainly die. And so, for as many years as he knew her, he kept a safe enough distance. Until now.
❝ Anya was a lovely girl. ❞ With reference to the ex-girlfriend that had briefly occupied his time until recent, eyes darted over to glance towards Mia in the softened glow of the early morning sun. ❝ Really, she was. But it's not about finding someone who will fill the void for you — to... to feel a little less alone — but to find someone that makes you feel like that void is no longer a notable part of who you are. ❞ He explained his contemplations in a soft murmur before taking a long drag of his cigarette. If there was one person Edmund felt like he could even somewhat open up to, it would be Mia. After all, she had been his confidant way back in their teen-hood before any of this really mattered.
Even though she broke his heart back then, the feeling of trust still seemed to remain. And that was the remarkable thing about Mia.
Soft gaze shifted back towards Mia, down to her lips, back up to her eyes, before he looked away once more. Sleepless nights always exposed the innermost confessions of a man.
❝ The sunrise; it's a pretty one... Thanks, you know. For staying up to sit with me. I'm sure you would've wanted to go to bed by now. ❞ He shifted the conversation quickly afterwards, gesturing with his cigarette towards the aureate glimmer of sunlight bearing through the spines of the conifers. Rolling his shoulders back in an exhausted attempt of a stretch, Edmund eventually allowed for his free hand to settle in the space between himself and Mia, grip against the coolness of the wooden step until his finger twitched at the warmth of Mia's hand nearby. Like a comfort. As if he'd been lost all this time, and Mia had been the one to find him. To bring him back down to earth.
And, with a cautious twitch of his finger, Edmund brought his hand closer to rest upon hers. A silent move so reposeful. So comforting. A move which did not fill the void, but made it seem insignificant in that very moment. Edmund rarely knew what peace was meant to feel like, but he could imagine it felt a lot like her.
[align=center]
I'M OUT OF MY MIND, REPLAYING THE SCENE