"You don't have to." I'm quick to reassure her, seating myself beside her so that we can both stare up at the empty night sky. "Sophie. You didn't start this. It's not your fight. And even if you did, you can always back away."
"But - but this is what I was created for. This is my purpose. I'm nothing if I can't stop the Neverseen," Sophie whispers, terribly quiet and loud all at once, and it's ripping my heart out to see her like this. Is this how she feels all the time? She's braver than I could ever imagine.
"Sophie. Your purpose is to live. You weren't created for anything other than what you choose to do. The Black Swan can change you, try to make you theirs, but you're so much more than that. Don't think of yourself as any less because of what they did."
"If I don't stop the Neverseen, then who does? If I don't save the world, then who's going to step up? And who's going to save everyone? And who's going to keep everyone going when there's no hope, and keep everyone alive when the war starts, and who's going to end everything, except for me?"
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, feeling every tremble and shiver that runs through her body. I feel awful - I never considered that she felt this way, that she could even feel this way, because she was always the infallible, amazing, and so, so brave Sophie Foster in my mind. And I never considered that she was hurting just like everyone else. That she was terrified, scared out of her mind, and that all she wanted was for the pain to end.
Because I know how that feels. I live with that pain every day. And I know what it feels like to think you have to do something, because I've always felt like I have to stop my mother. And I have to make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone else. And maybe, just maybe, I need to take my own advice.
Because it's not my fault that she turned evil. And maybe she was evil all along, and maybe she wasn't. But I'm choosing to fight her, not because I have to, but because it's my decision. Because, despite everything wrong that's happened to me, I love this world. I really, truly do. And I'm choosing to fight because of the things I love, not because of the things I hate.
"Sophie, if you don't want to fight, then I'm offering you an out right now. We could run away, make a life for ourselves so far they wouldn't be able to find us. We wouldn't have to hear about the Neverseen ever again. We wouldn't have to fight them. Is that what you want?"
All of a sudden, it's like a dam breaks. Sophie sobs, tears bursting out of her like she can't stop them, and I'm gathering her up in my arms and crying into her shoulder right back. We're a sorry pair, the two of us, destined for everything and nothing all at once. We're broken beyond repair and yet stronger than anything in our path. We've built ourselves up over and over again, only to be broken down by the next thing life has to throw at us.
And you know what? We're beautiful anyways. We've lived through it all, and despite our scars and cracks and flaws, we're not broken. We're not worthless. We're perfect just the way we are.
"You're so strong, Sophie. I know you don't believe me, but I'll keep saying it until you do, because you're the strongest person I've met. And it's not because you're powerful. It's not because you have all of these fancy abilities. And it's not because you're the 'Moonlark.' It's because you keep going, no matter what. And you love so strongly and so deeply, no matter what. And I love you, Sophie Foster, and nothing that you say or do will ever change that. So just keep going, okay? I'll be with you every step of the way."
She turns her head into my neck, tucking herself away. And someday, we'll have to face the problems of the world. We'll have to return to reality and everything will break all over again. But for now, we're safe in our own little world. And for now, that's enough.
not @ keefe saying "sophie," at the start of literally every sentence why is my writing so repetitive omg-
anyways, this wasn't the longest chapter, but the plot actually maybe kind of got somewhere? i know, it's huge, we haven't gotten anywhere in like the past 10 chapters, so...
maybe i'll finish this fic in the next 10 years, maybe not. hopefully we'll see it through to the end!
until next time,
anna brooks
WORD COUNT: 1418
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Ms. Sencen?
Fanfiction"This isn't funny, Keefe, why are we in the same bed?" Sophie shrieked, her hair like a rat's nest on her head. "I don't know, Foster, but why are we so grown up?" Keefe yelled back, his eyes wide as he felt his torso. "Mom?" asked a little girl, s...
Lose Yourself (Find Yourself)
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