Wild Berry Meadow An avalanche

Aldric has always been one of few words, yet it only takes a few words to crack Nirali's carefully-constructed mask. She sucks in a sharp breath, turning back to him at the soft touch of his nose. Her eyes are bright with unshed tears, expression betraying just how much she'd hoped to hear those words.Really? Her voice is barely above a whisper, almost inaudible to her past the drumming of her own heart. She wants to say more, to lean into his touch and tell him how much she'd missed him, but something holds her back. Memories of so many sleepless nights, rehearsing this reunion in her mind with the freedom of knowing it would never happen.
It'd been easy to be honest with herself then, when the threat of reality had not loomed over her. When she'd been in control of the imagined situation. And now it is all too real, and she is far from being in control.