picturebook

i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi.

iv.
New realizations and understandings built up to this moment, but this was more than a moment... this would be a memory. He had asked a question, and she was taking her time in forming an answer, but the question didn't matter - his eyes were doing more questioning than his words. The silence they shared allowed them to share so much more, and this first night that he was truly seeing her was the first night that she was truly seeing herself.

She now understood its reality. Once locked away alone, behind doors closed by her fears, she now feared going back. This was real, but it still felt safe. There was something in this that had captivated her; she would be owned by this moment.

No words were being spoken, and he was beyond her reach, but she had the memory of his voice and the memory of his touch. Their eyes interlocked in a moment that seemed it would last forever. She knew she'd never be the same; she now understood and felt too much. Her fate had been chosen for her.