Things happen for a reason, and patience has a way of showing us what we need to know.
A vague statement, perhaps, but I am reminded of it again. I do not need to worry that The Time To Leave is passing without me knowing it. I will know it when it comes. I can feel it drawing near, but I cannot rush its arrival.
Changing out of wet clothes is a bother, I suppose. But I have never minded the rain, particularly in summer when it falls warmly from the sky and smells like...Well, how does one describe the scent of a summer shower? Freshness. Life.
I thought we might sit on that boulder and talk till dawn. Even when the lightning began to dance over the hills and the air was heavy with the promise of a storm. It didn’t seem to bother him, and it certainly didn’t bother me. I love the water, whether it be in a trickling stream, a rushing river, a shining lake, or falling from the heavens. I have never minded being out in the rain, and I did not mind it last night.
The passing rider was a salvation. I am not worried for myself, but I pray it doesn’t bode ill for him.
I wish I could ask him all the questions that I hold in my mind. I am a simple person. I think in simple terms. I don’t like hiding things that need to be said aloud. I want to ask if he still sees me with the same brutish callousness as he did not long ago. I will ask him. Sometime. Sometime soon.
I still haven’t told him that I’m departing. I must. Until now, it was simply a bit of information that was inconsequential. And perhaps it still will be to him. But I do not think so. And I cannot continue to procrastinate with it, for it begins to feel cruel.
Crow has returned. Whither he went in his long absence, I couldn’t say. “South”, I believe, was his explanation. Hints of a man dying, though no further details were offered and I would not ask. He remains as ever, enigmatic, commanding, and dark-humored. I imagine he will vanish again before long.
I received quite another surprise at the sight of Adriellyn in the meadhall. She was always a sweet and kind creature, and she remains so. Still seeking news of the friend she lost all that long time ago. My heart was saddened to hear of what brought her back home, but I do pray that she learns whatever news will bring her peace. I wish I could be of some help to her, but from what I overheard of her conversation with the crude foreigner, she goes into dangerous territory in her search for information.
I should be sleeping now, but I cannot. My mind is too full of things. The sound of the rain, hammering down. The way it could not drown out his voice. How sickened I was at my outburst, my tears. And how he shocked me.
It cannot happen again.
