Path of Thorns - Part 2

Late February, 2009
A bus station in Diagonal, Iowa

For hours Aliya has waited for the next bus, stranded here in this little town with two other bus loads of people. No one really knows what has gone wrong. Delay after delay is simple reported, no explanations given.

Aliya is not impatient. She does not think of it at all. She will get there eventually and eventually is good enough for her. Her memories are her companions, the crowded bus station something that intrudes only when she cannot avoid it.

I will remember you, will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories.

/A dark skinned man with big hands and gentle eyes handing me a handmade cloth doll and pulling me up into his lap. Mother and Father watching with delighted eyes. The roughness of his hands as they slide over my chest catching the thin material covering my skin. They search out the tiny buds of my breasts and measure the width of my hips. A nod. "Yes, she will be a fine woman someday." Mother nearly claps with delight. I feel nothing except a spark of pride at pleasing my family and future husband./

/Sitting on a train, alone. That trip so much like this one. I was running, running from chains and from my past, from everything I knew. I was running to him. Guy. The only one who seemed to understand, who seemed to believe I was more. Rebellion roared inside of me, I hated them, I hated them all. But he wanted me as I was. Yes, he would take me in, protect me and I would be his./

/Candlelight. Two hands clasped and wrapped in a white embroidered ribbon, spots of blood beginning to stain it. Tears blurring my eyes. In the soft light, he looks so very beautiful to me. "I am yours, Guy. Your wife, now and forever."/

Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad.
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one

/Beatrice lays across my lap, half curled into a fetal position. There is no strength left in her and she is lost in her own memories, her own nightmares, staring blankly off into space. I stroke the hair back from her forehead and cradle her, softly singing an ancient song in a my native tongue. Anything to sooth her. Anything to bring this one back to me./

/My body hurts, I can barely move. Where am I? There are people all around. Guy, Te'sorthene, Kor, David, people I don't even know. Everyone's looking at me. Is this another dream? David's here. Closer than everyone else... that's odd... but comforting, familiar. He's in my mind, his presence is gentle, a lot less abrasive than his normal presence. The Knight of Wands swirls about David's astral self and I know him. He was there, a strong light in the darkness. There during the terror that begins to trickle through my thoughts. He speaks almost tenderly in my mind. ~~ Aliya, that's over. You are alive. More than that you are Awake. These images, they'll fade.~~/

I will remember you, will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories
I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much to deep
It's funny how we feel so much be we cannot say word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard

/A moment measured in heartbeats. On impulse Kim leans close to me, the scent of chrysanthemums mingling with her warm breath which bears the spicy herbs of tea in a tantalizing swirl enveloping me. She closes her eyes. I do not expect what comes next though I should have. Her lips brush and then crush against mine with the softness of rose-petals wet with morning dew. The dew is her tears, a faint salty taste that mingles with the succulent warmth of her kiss. My love for Guy means nothing in that moment, though the guilt will come later. Guilt that I, a married woman, enjoyed that kiss./

/Kor's garage. Echos of a funeral chant slowly die away, my voice sounding eerie even to my own ears. My strength seeps from me, I can feel it leaving in the wake of the words releasing Guy's soul from the fetters of my sorrow. Kim waits until she knows I have no more and cannot stand on my own... and then she is there, her arms slipping about me like the embrace of night about the moon to keep me from falling, to hold me tenderly in warmth, her body echoing the soft whisper, "I'm here for you my love."/

But I will remember you, will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories
I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to lose
Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had
Oh you gave me light

/The letter. The dreaded letter. The hatred, the anger, the fear, the pain welling within me and yearning to get out. Promises called upon to keep, love lost, found again and yet all the more lost./

And I will remember you, will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by, weep not for the memories

Her emotions are spent. The visions simply play in her mind and she watches, witness to it all.

[Lyrics: "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan, Mirrorball.]