Setting Sun

T

he sky was stunning. Huge white clouds were illuminated in brilliant hues of scarlet and gold. Normally, Willow would stop to observe the beautiful sun set. But she seemed not to notice it at all as she moved slowly, as if she were dragging herself through mud with each step. Her expression was blank. It was all too much to feel, much less express. Alone, her chest felt hollow. Nothing would be the same now.


Her brain had entered into a state of utter numbness, a shield from the overwhelming devastation that had suddenly replaced everything else in her existence. Losing one mother was unimaginable, but both? At the same time? It seemed impossible, but Anteros was not lying when he revealed the tragedy. And so soon after Arythmetik’s murder, and his beloved husband's grief… And only the gods knew what had become of Clover's tiny daughter Daisy...


Thoughts of funerals and grim tidings and all the rest that was expected when a wolf died - all of it was too much to even consider. And so, nothingness swirled around in her skull. She had not gone to retrieve Rowan from her babysitter. The bright spot in her life felt far away, and she couldn’t bear to see her daughter. How could she tell the young pup what had happened? She was too young to comprehend, and would likely be too young to remember either of her grandmothers as the weeks became months. Mama ad Mum would not be there to see her grow. No more gardens, no more lessons, no more stories. No more family.


For now, she wandered aimlessly in this unreal reality that she had been thrust into so unexpectedly. She was silent now, vocal chords still aching from the intensity of her sobs. Her gaze was blank, unseeing; somehow, she had managed to find her way back to this familiar place by the day’s fading light.


@Gallagher

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck