Phoenix Maplewood dancing to the beat of a midnight raga

indra had tried to conceal the emotions that stormily rose to her features, but it was too late. aditya had caught wind of them, and had justly been perturbed by the sudden shift in indra's mood. she offered a weak smile as she made to turn, though the contrition in his voice and the earnest in his soft gaze caused her to waver. truly, he was kinder then most she had met -- and she felt bad for momentarily clouding his contentment.

"you didn't say anything wrong." she answered, her brows lifted and a liquid sympathy in her amber eyes. "thank you.. and good luck."

in a way, it felt cathartic to turn her back on phoenix maplewood. while she regretted leaving aditya on such tense terms, the hold this place had on her had shriveled back like a scalded vine -- and the further she walked away from her birthplace, the weaker that tether appeared until at last she felt finally free of the burden of her past.