Phoenix Maplewood graphite

Druid sipped in a breath at Redd’s answer. Wasn’t there someone else—this heir or even another—who could do that very same thing? She tried to think of a tactful way to phrase that question when a few more words poured off the Wealda’s tongue. Her brow scrunched. What seemed like a rather simple problem at first now presented itself as a bit more complicated.

It took Druid something like three minutes to come up with the right question: Who can change it? Because… She paused, eyes moving thoughtfully over Redd’s face. Please correct me if I’m wrong, Redd. Her name was sweet in Druid’s mouth. But it sounds to me like you might be happier if you broke away from this Wealda thing.

She had to laugh at the question posed to her, because the same logic sort of applied to herself. Druid’s situation was simultaneously similar but very different. She didn’t envy Redd’s sense of responsibility. Not for the first time, Druid thought it sounded so heavy.

I don’t know anymore, honestly. I think of Rivenwood as mine, a birthright of sorts. It’s always been my home, the only one, even when I was away for years. But Heda—that’s my sister—it’s just as much hers. And now it’s our children’s. Once they’re a little older, I really won’t need to be there anymore, she realized aloud. And I can go back to what I really like to do: kicking it on my own.

She’d toyed with these thoughts, though there came a certain clarity in speaking them aloud to a stranger—well, a new friend. Druid wondered if Redd felt the same, if that’s why she’d spoken so openly. She considered this for a moment before deciding to speak aloud a thought she’d had earlier, that may serve the Wealda.

I didn’t want kids. Then I had them. And it was the worst time of my life. I don’t regret them—they’re great—but it took everything from me. Starting with my mind, she recounted, thinking of how she’d so willingly submitted to Glaukos’s attentions. Then my body. Then my soul. And I figure, it’s probably worth all that to most women, at least the ones who really want kids. But for me, it was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And I scraped by on my own for years, dealing with all sorts of life-or-death challenges.

She wasn’t entirely sure why she thought Redd should know this. Druid fell silent, wondering if it would make any difference or if she was just rambling again. Perhaps it might help if she provided a moral to the story.

All that to say, being a leader and/or a mother isn’t the only way of life, nor the best one, at least for some. It can be hard to break out of that pattern but… well, I’m doing it. And you could too, Redd, if you wanted. You only have one life to live, after all.