Verdant Basin A thing or two

unlike others, aditya very much could not stand the cold. normally, he'd be spending the day curled up nearby his daughter, the two of them trying to share body heat the best they could. today, though, he left @Brook, his head heavy with intrusive thoughts.

the man stepped into the snow, squinting. his bones ached slightly; he was feeling his age today. and he was feeling guilty for the ones he'd loved and left behind—his children, his lovers, his friends. he wondered if it his indecision was his just desserts for coelacanth, for shattering their relationship and her peaceful existence upon the island for the sake of what could be.

or maybe it wasn't punishment. maybe this was just who aditya was: the man who ran away from everything, both tangible and intangible.

he ceased feeling sorry for himself, at least for a moment, as his walk took him a few paces from a cream-colored woman, standing out in the cold. he skirted the lakeside, giving her a chuff above the wind as he approached. she looked pensive, too, and he wondered what demons haunted her. maybe he could help.

the only good thing about fucking up so many times was that one gained a sense of what not to do.

tags for ref