The 8th Noble
Life had gotten complicated. Maybe too much so. Colette stretched her arm, gaze drifting around the room. It hadn't changed. The bed was the same, and so were the rest of the decorations Valery had insisted she keep. The faint smell of dust and the quiet though, that was certainly new. Valery must have been outside with the kids. Colette continued to look around the sparsely decorated room. Her gaze caught the drawings still taped to the wall. Memories made eternal in crayon. The handiwork was immaculately sloppy, but that made them all the more precious. They would grow out of all this — and that thought that scared Colette far more than it should have.
She hadn't announced her return. They'd know she was here eventually, and right now she preferred to be by herself. She eased the bag off her shoulder and onto the floor. The soreness from yesterday's arm pass flared and she gently pressed a hand to her shoulder to roll it out.
All she needed now was water. That meant the kitchen, and after that — well, the couch looked as comfortable as ever. With a fresh serving of water in her canteen, Colette eased herself into the cushions and felt her mind fade away. The silhouettes of the trees beyond the great patio etched themselves into her vision. She allowed herself to sink deeper and deeper into her mind again. There, in the silence of her home, she could simply sit and breathe as she wandered through the hallways of the mind to take stock of everything that had happened.
The good.
The bad.
The all too ugly.
The sensation of her thumb brushing against the edge of her canteen kept her grounded. Its once sharp edge had been sanded down over years of sessions just like this one. Her mind was gone, and for the first time in ages it felt like she could sit back and enjoy the silence. Her breath was steady but quiet, trapped somewhere between being all too awake and a deep slumber.
It felt good to be home again.
Valery Noble
She hadn't announced her return. They'd know she was here eventually, and right now she preferred to be by herself. She eased the bag off her shoulder and onto the floor. The soreness from yesterday's arm pass flared and she gently pressed a hand to her shoulder to roll it out.
All she needed now was water. That meant the kitchen, and after that — well, the couch looked as comfortable as ever. With a fresh serving of water in her canteen, Colette eased herself into the cushions and felt her mind fade away. The silhouettes of the trees beyond the great patio etched themselves into her vision. She allowed herself to sink deeper and deeper into her mind again. There, in the silence of her home, she could simply sit and breathe as she wandered through the hallways of the mind to take stock of everything that had happened.
The good.
The bad.
The all too ugly.
The sensation of her thumb brushing against the edge of her canteen kept her grounded. Its once sharp edge had been sanded down over years of sessions just like this one. Her mind was gone, and for the first time in ages it felt like she could sit back and enjoy the silence. Her breath was steady but quiet, trapped somewhere between being all too awake and a deep slumber.
It felt good to be home again.
Valery Noble