She Went On Because There

Stronger Than Iron Crueler Than Death Sweeter Than Springtime It Lives Beyond Breath

After A While, Footsteps Sounded On The Flagstones Outside And There Was A Gentle Tap At The Door. Of Course, One Of Them Would Come. So Close Were We, The Seven Of Us, That No Childhood Injury Went Unnoticed, No Slight, Real Or Imagined, Went Unaddressed, No Hurt Was Endured Without Comfort.

Only - Only That, If You Believe The Tales, It's In The Nature Of Our People To Go To War And To Kill, Just As It Is To Sing And Play And Tell Stories. Perhaps They Are Two Halves Of The Same Whole.

Real Life Is Not Quite As It Is In Stories. In The Old Tales, Bad Things Happen, And When The Tale Has Unfolded And Come To Its Triumphant Conclusion, It Is As If The Bad Things Had Never Been. Life Is Not As Simple As That, Not Quite.

Perhaps He Could Still Weave Together The Broken Threads Of His Life. And Yet, I Wanted Him Here Now. I Needed Him Here. In The Darkness, If I Sat Very Still, I Could Almost Feel His Presence By Me, Quite Near, But Not Too Near. Didn't I Promise To Keep You Safe, He Would Say Softly. I Have Never Broken A Promise. Don't Look So Worried, Jenny. And Yet, He Would Be Careful. Careful Not To Move Too Close. Careful Not To Frighten Me. Waiting Still. I Am Your Shelter. Don't Be Afraid.