Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
THE EVERGREEN LEAVES sparkled against the dimming sunlight, hitting the rain spots that had recently fallen on them like a thin layer of glitter. Glenn, Ellie and T-Dog paced together, although Ellie had to stop a few times to avoid sudden dizziness. The three shared minor personal anecdotes along the way, although Ellie's mind wandered elsewhere, deeper into her empty space that her daughter once occupied.
Despite the chaos being so demanding, Ellie couldn't help but feel the ache that lingered in her heart the longer she was away from her daughter and siblings. She felt incomplete; hollow from the inside now that they were separated. But being hollow, there was no room for any emotion. However much space the air must take up, no feeling could slip through the cracks. The group remained hopeful, but Ellie, had been slipping.
A secret followed her wherever she went. Plagued, tormented and shattered by the words Jenner had whispered to freely. Well, it was certainly not her downfall. And if the world had insisted on being infected, then Ellie would simply have to be the antidote.
Fiddling with the tips of her fingers in idle day-dreaming, Ellie found herself entirely silent. Glenn's eyes narrowed in worry, though in the short time he had known her, it was apparent burying emotions had been the only way out. Instead, Glenn flashed a warm smile, shooting a nod in the blonde's direction to remind her that he would forever be by her side.
"What was your family like, El?" T-Dog questioned, drawing Ellie's eyes and smile to greet him, instead.
She smiled briefly at the question, pushing out joyous air from her nose, "They were the best..." Tucking her blonde curls behind her ears like a girl, Ellie continued with a blush, "After my dad died, Mom lost her way. She was a great mom, but... In my old job, I would have said it was psychosis. Losing Dad that way was... brutal. We didn't..."
Glenn's eyes softened, drawing his lips to a thin line, "You don't have to talk about it, El. It's okay."
Ellie's head shook hastily, refusing to bury the memory of her father once again, "He was an addict. He had been for a long time, apparently. And then one day, he just... An overdose. We didn't know. We... we didn't know."
"Hey," T-Dog's voice lowered, gentle and sweet like the man's soul, "Our pasts are just that. Our pasts. We don't gotta relive it, but use it to keep goin'."
A mere moment of electric joy. Ellie smiled widely, beaming with gratitude as the two men guided her so kindly through her uneasiness. Friendship had, finally, prevailed through all monstrous disaster the world could attempt to regurgitate into the ethos. Proudly, Ellie gave a gentle squeeze to both arms of the men beside her. Finally—an encouraged spirit free from inner demons.
