words: compassion

Elsapatience

To the gardens to nurse my wounds.
I was startled when I encountered Ariella coming down the little path between the grove and the rose bushes. She didn't see me, however. In fact, she didn't even look up; she was completely oblivious to everything except her own footing.

These are the last warm days before autumn and I let my hair loose in the breeze as I came round the bend to my swing.
I stopped short and my heart began to pound.
There was Prince Albir by the oak tree, curled up and bent over across his knees. He held his head in his hands and I could see his body shake. He was crying.

I stood and watched him for a moment. I watched him slowly break down until I could see the tears falling from his eyes, though his face was hidden.
In a most peculiar way, I felt a painful, wrenching sensation in my chest. After all my professed hatred and anger for the man, my heart was breaking for him.
This wasn't the same sorrow that Evelyn gave up here in the gardens; hers was of betrayal... this terrible, heart-wrenching pain was complete despair.
I gave an involuntary sigh and he looked up immediately, right into my face.
The poor man started, choking a bit in the attempt to conceal his weeping. I thought for a moment that he would start flinging insults at me. I thought too, that perhaps he would send a fist flying my way. But he didn't.
And in the moment of suspended silence, I took a heavy step towards him and without even thinking, threw my arms around him and buried my face in his shoulder.
Contrary to what I expected, he didn't move, didn't thrust me away in revulsion and disgust. Save for the occasional shudders, he was completely still in my embrace.
Moments went by, and I could feel the leaves above slowly break away from their branches and fall... and catch in the wind.

When I finally found the courage to break away, I found to my astonishment that there were tears in my eyes. The prince saw them too.
The prince... in one seamless gesture, bent his head and kissed my cheek. He didn't say a word, but stood up and left me kneeling in the grass.

And now my wounds have healed in a way I would never have expected, and still have trouble believing. I continue to see in my minds eye the bent over, broken down young man lost in his own desolation. I have nothing left now but to forgive.