I’m stupid. I shouldn’t have let him go home alone. I should have been here! I could have protected him! Could have kept him safe!
But no.
I let him go home alone. Stupidly assumed that things would be alright. And now he’s gone…
[tear stains dot the page here, and the next few lines are smeared and runny because of them.]
He’s gone. The pendant I got him is on the floor, the pearl that kept us connected, shattered.
The door was caved in, splinters hanging from the frame. My heart picked up and I knew it was bad. I walked in, glass shards crunching under my boots. The windows had been knocked in, and the house was in shambles. The coffee table was broken, the vase with the flowers on the mantle had been smashed upon the floor…stools were overturned and shattered. I could tell he fought back, as the telltale burns of his lightning marked the walls in blackened trails.
Then there was the note. I saw it and knew what it was immediately. A warning. A message. A taunt. A challenge.
I cannot act right now, even though my gut is in knots and my heart is like to burst from my chest. I cannot go in alone, regardless of what Joshua may want. I need to plan. I need to be smart about this.
But I’m torn. What of Para in the meantime? Must he endure more of the same? He’s half broken already by this man. I do not want him broken further…
If I hadn’t had stopped to get dye. If I hadn’t had decided I needed the gil…
He will die. He will suffer. That I promise. If I die in the process, it was worth it. No life is better than a life spent like this, cowering and hiding. Para will be safe. Joshua will atone.
I must gather my thoughts. And my forces. We will march soon. There will be a reckoning.
If I don’t make it back…If anyone finds this…Know that I have gone
[the text ends abruptly]
But no.
I let him go home alone. Stupidly assumed that things would be alright. And now he’s gone…
[tear stains dot the page here, and the next few lines are smeared and runny because of them.]
He’s gone. The pendant I got him is on the floor, the pearl that kept us connected, shattered.
The door was caved in, splinters hanging from the frame. My heart picked up and I knew it was bad. I walked in, glass shards crunching under my boots. The windows had been knocked in, and the house was in shambles. The coffee table was broken, the vase with the flowers on the mantle had been smashed upon the floor…stools were overturned and shattered. I could tell he fought back, as the telltale burns of his lightning marked the walls in blackened trails.
Then there was the note. I saw it and knew what it was immediately. A warning. A message. A taunt. A challenge.
I cannot act right now, even though my gut is in knots and my heart is like to burst from my chest. I cannot go in alone, regardless of what Joshua may want. I need to plan. I need to be smart about this.
But I’m torn. What of Para in the meantime? Must he endure more of the same? He’s half broken already by this man. I do not want him broken further…
If I hadn’t had stopped to get dye. If I hadn’t had decided I needed the gil…
He will die. He will suffer. That I promise. If I die in the process, it was worth it. No life is better than a life spent like this, cowering and hiding. Para will be safe. Joshua will atone.
I must gather my thoughts. And my forces. We will march soon. There will be a reckoning.
If I don’t make it back…If anyone finds this…Know that I have gone
[the text ends abruptly]
![[Image: DI0sJH6.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/DI0sJH6.png?1)
