my mind, a warm smile, soft blue eyes. Yesssss ... whispered gently through my mind, and there was a feeling like a puzzle piece suddenly falling into place. A foreign feeling—contentment—touched me.
We all serve a purpose , Taylor. The words seemed to float on the wind, here and gone, but they left behind a warmth and security I could embrace. I had a purpose.
How lovely.
Still holding the treasured flower, I skipped with all lightheartedness along the path. I was going somewhere, so there had been a purpose to my running, though I wasn’t sure what it was just yet. I was getting close, though. I could sense it. I felt the pull of a familiar energy source.
The woods opened up on a lake that was glassy and tranquil and nearly a mile wide. Tufts of springy clouds dotted the blue sky here and there. The most beautiful part of the picture was the reflection on the surface of the water; there was a mirror image of the forest and mountain on the opposite side of the lake from where I was standing. An amazing detail I caught? There was a reflection of a large moon and a smaller moon in the water, which seemed eerie and otherworldly because it was a beautiful, bright sunny day. I looked up and there they were, right beside the sun.
All I could do was stare in awe.
There was the sound of a large splash, and the glassy water suddenly rippled. I became aware of young men laughing and turned to see a pair of older teenagers swinging from a homemade rope swing over the lake, about twenty yards down the embankment. In a stand of trees that were old, large and bent like grizzled men, fat limbs sprang up, and it was to one of these that the swing was tied.
She wants you , Rye. And she’s got a nice round pair. Maybe she’ll let you play with them a little. The blond boy doing the teasing was swinging back and forth, building up momentum and height.
Shut up , Nick. The dark-haired boy grinned good naturedly . I could see his features and was momentarily transfixed, trying to figure out how I knew him. He was tall, with wiry muscles and a face that hadn’t yet filled into manhood. His skin was sun bronzed, and only a few black chest hairs were scattered across his pectorals.
Oh , Ryder , you’re so strong. Oh , Ryder , you’re so handsome. Kiss me! The blond boy, Nick, used a horrid, high-pitched voice to mimic a female and dove off the swing into the water.
All right! That’s it!
The dark-haired boy caught the swing and immediately swung into the water, trying to retaliate against his friend, a look of spirited determination on his face.
Ryder! I realized this was little baby Ryder. Awww.
Nick, aka baby Adonis (yes the Adonis that stole Cynthia away the other day), managed to get out of the lake and yell truce as Ryder surfaced out in the water. Nick grabbed a towel and wrapped up. He tossed one out to Ryder, who caught it as he came out of the water, shaking his dark hair out like a dog.
Any word yet? Ryder flung the towel around his neck as he asked his friend the question.
Going light-years away. It’s official. Nick’s youthful face had a mile-wide grin. What about you?
Ryder’s face took on a grim look. Yeah. I’m going.
I take it your dad’s mad?
Hands braced on his hips, Ryder nodded grimly. We got into an argument.
You knew that was coming. He doesn’t want to see you go.
I’ve been looking into being one of the high-court investigators , which I can do while getting my judiciary merit. He finally agreed to let me go because he thinks I’ll follow in his footsteps , from high-court council , like my mother , to high-court representative. And my mom convinced him it would be good for me.
After a thoughtful pause, Ryder continued, I’m still surprised he agreed. It was really strange. I’ve never seen my dad get this emotional. I mean , when Asily...you know , he went into a rage and punished the ones who killed her. Ryder stopped, as though he couldn’t talk about it anymore. He’s always so
We all serve a purpose , Taylor. The words seemed to float on the wind, here and gone, but they left behind a warmth and security I could embrace. I had a purpose.
How lovely.
Still holding the treasured flower, I skipped with all lightheartedness along the path. I was going somewhere, so there had been a purpose to my running, though I wasn’t sure what it was just yet. I was getting close, though. I could sense it. I felt the pull of a familiar energy source.
The woods opened up on a lake that was glassy and tranquil and nearly a mile wide. Tufts of springy clouds dotted the blue sky here and there. The most beautiful part of the picture was the reflection on the surface of the water; there was a mirror image of the forest and mountain on the opposite side of the lake from where I was standing. An amazing detail I caught? There was a reflection of a large moon and a smaller moon in the water, which seemed eerie and otherworldly because it was a beautiful, bright sunny day. I looked up and there they were, right beside the sun.
All I could do was stare in awe.
There was the sound of a large splash, and the glassy water suddenly rippled. I became aware of young men laughing and turned to see a pair of older teenagers swinging from a homemade rope swing over the lake, about twenty yards down the embankment. In a stand of trees that were old, large and bent like grizzled men, fat limbs sprang up, and it was to one of these that the swing was tied.
She wants you , Rye. And she’s got a nice round pair. Maybe she’ll let you play with them a little. The blond boy doing the teasing was swinging back and forth, building up momentum and height.
Shut up , Nick. The dark-haired boy grinned good naturedly . I could see his features and was momentarily transfixed, trying to figure out how I knew him. He was tall, with wiry muscles and a face that hadn’t yet filled into manhood. His skin was sun bronzed, and only a few black chest hairs were scattered across his pectorals.
Oh , Ryder , you’re so strong. Oh , Ryder , you’re so handsome. Kiss me! The blond boy, Nick, used a horrid, high-pitched voice to mimic a female and dove off the swing into the water.
All right! That’s it!
The dark-haired boy caught the swing and immediately swung into the water, trying to retaliate against his friend, a look of spirited determination on his face.
Ryder! I realized this was little baby Ryder. Awww.
Nick, aka baby Adonis (yes the Adonis that stole Cynthia away the other day), managed to get out of the lake and yell truce as Ryder surfaced out in the water. Nick grabbed a towel and wrapped up. He tossed one out to Ryder, who caught it as he came out of the water, shaking his dark hair out like a dog.
Any word yet? Ryder flung the towel around his neck as he asked his friend the question.
Going light-years away. It’s official. Nick’s youthful face had a mile-wide grin. What about you?
Ryder’s face took on a grim look. Yeah. I’m going.
I take it your dad’s mad?
Hands braced on his hips, Ryder nodded grimly. We got into an argument.
You knew that was coming. He doesn’t want to see you go.
I’ve been looking into being one of the high-court investigators , which I can do while getting my judiciary merit. He finally agreed to let me go because he thinks I’ll follow in his footsteps , from high-court council , like my mother , to high-court representative. And my mom convinced him it would be good for me.
After a thoughtful pause, Ryder continued, I’m still surprised he agreed. It was really strange. I’ve never seen my dad get this emotional. I mean , when Asily...you know , he went into a rage and punished the ones who killed her. Ryder stopped, as though he couldn’t talk about it anymore. He’s always so
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