Others

Epilogue

Cobalt

It takes a long time

To regain my strength

The winter

Was a hard one

Kaze had never seen snow before

I guess they didn't have it

Where he came from

We found more than enough supplies

For two people

My mother had always been good

At keeping us prepared

In case there was another war

She had shelves of dried fruit

Strips of meat

Canned vegetables

Rare packaged goods

In the cellar

A lot of it came from the garden

But that was long dead

We also had

Enough kerosine

And gas

To keep us warm through the winter

Surprisingly

The water in the well

Had not yet froze over

So we took turns

Pumping water into buckets

To heat up for later

Bundled in old clothes we found in the bedroom

Soon

My physical wounds

Were almost gone

The bruises and cuts faded

But the scars

In my mind

In my soul

Were taking far longer

To heal

Kaze understood

He too

Was emotionally damaged

And he stayed up late nights

When the nightmares woke me in a cold sweat

Kicking and screaming

Begging for mercy

Holding my hair back when I got sick

Emptying my insides

Of poisoned memories

He washed me in the tub

The bathroom illuminated with candles

Gently sponging warm water

Over my trembling skin

He wrapped me up in clean, warm clothes

Bundling me in blankets

Stroking my hair

Until I fell back to sleep

Soon

I was ready to speak again

And we talked

First I would only say singular words

Which evolved into sentences

And then finally

I could hold a conversation

We talked for hours

Learning everything about one another

I told him about my father

How he was lost

How there was a possibility that he was still alive

How I wanted to find him

And sometimes

We would be in silence

But it was a good kind

Comforting

And peaceful

With the passing of each day

My love for him

Bloomed in my chest

Like the flowers on the trees

In the spring

I sat in the kitchen

Watching him through the window

working in my mothers old garden

His tan arms glistened with sweat

His face fixed in concentration

One day

I would be strong enough

To show him

The love I had

One day

I would no longer be broken

Haunted

He looks up

And sees me

A smile

Forming on his lips

I will never be whole again

The past will always be there

And I will always have my demons

But

I see him standing there

An unearthly being

Strong

Caring

Beautiful

He has given me a reason to live

And

He has given me

Hope.