Chapter Text
At this point, Elix and I have settled comfortably into the community. The people here have been very welcoming, gladly offering to help whenever we may need. I have started working at the small bakery, baking loaves of bread that people seem to love. Elix has been taken on as the medic’s assistant, learning further about how to help heal injuries and ailments, while also sharing skills and advice he learned from his own sister.
Elix and I have our own house now – well not our own, we’re renting it from a lovely old couple – and this place is starting to feel like our home.
Elix is outside, drinking a cup of fresh orange juice. I keep trying to convince them to drink a cup of tea, but every time they refuse, saying ‘I’m not an old lady, Jakob.’ They are sitting on the bench our newly found friend Abigaille – an apprentice carpenter – built for us, as a sort of housewarming gift.
I let out a warm smile. He looks so peaceful like this. I quickly walk down the staircase, careful not to slip, and join Elix in the warm afternoon sun. he hasn’t seemed to notice me yet, so I take the perfect opportunity. My arms scoop Elix up lifting him into the air. They let out a startled shout, before laughter inevitably sweeps over them.
I set him back down on the bench, moving around to sit next to him. We stare off into the distance, Elix’s head on my shoulder, and my thumb softly stroking his knee. We are happy here.
“What do you think would’ve happened to us if we never made it here?” Elix asks me. “If we never found our way out of the forest, I mean”
My eyebrows furrow in thought. “I don’t know” I reply eventually. “I guess we’ll never find out, will we”
We fall silent, sun warming our bodies, and a warm breeze rustling the small bushes around us.
Somehow, despite everything, I feel like this is where I am meant to be. This is what the universe has wanted. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if the last two years hadn’t happened. Sitting next to the only person I would want to spend my life with, watching as the sun slowly sinks into the west, reminding us of how far we have come.
And although, it may be cruel and unforgiving, although it has caused me to look death in the eye to get here, and although it can cause you to feel like you are drowning, love is beautiful in a way words cannot describe, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.