This was the moment that he had been longing for all these years; a reality made of the surreal substance of broken dreams and faded wishes, yet now here he was living out the very scene he never once thought would come to pass, and steadfastly he held onto her hand as though she was all ever he knew for he was not about to let this slip through his fingers for anything else in the world.
Led by the hand, tailing closely behind him, she had no time for contemplation and her mind was a complete blank. But his passion was overwhelming, and his courage, inspiring, and she felt a strong rekindling in her heart, a revival of her very own hopes and dreams that set her spirit ablaze, and that alone was enough for her to follow in his footsteps in search of a future that they could truly call their own.
Out the mansion they emerged, where they were met by the boundless freedom of the cloudless skies above, and together they streaked down the pine-scented driveway, with their chains screaming in agony each time they were dashed against the earth at their feet, and an unparalleled sense of fulfillment, one that lay dormant up until now, erupted from within their very souls.
To the end of the driveway they finally came, and now, all that stood between them and the world outside was nothing but a mere gate, the weakest link in the compound’s outer walls. With not a moment to lose, he lunged toward that twisted web of glittering gold and scaled it in the same way that he had done earlier, only this time in reverse, and on the other side of the gate he soon landed, firm and unwavering.
But looking back through the empty spaces of the gate’s skeletal frame, he saw that she had not followed him, but had stopped herself just as she was about to begin her ascent. On the other side, with one of her shackled hands gripping the bars tighter than one lost at sea holding onto a lifeline, she froze. Separated by what seemed like the locked, impassable door of a birdcage between them, she stared long and hard into his eyes with a piercing sadness, and he understood in all fullness that this time, despite all that he had done, he was just too late.
Devastated by the epiphany that had dawned upon him, he gently caressed her hand with the tip of his fingers, stroking them with an enigmatic tenderness that carried with it both love and disappointment. Like a foolhardy knight he had come to rescue her from her tower of entrapment, but what he had failed to consider was the strength of the chains that bound not only her hands, but also her heart, and in the end, neither his sincerity nor bravery was enough to prevail over them.
As sorrow flooded into the chambers of his aching heart, the unsettling footsteps of the eerie, inhumane army echoed from behind him. But it was already too late to attempt an escape, his fate had been sealed, and he knew that her tears fell partially out of pity for herself, but more so for the inevitable pain that was to come for him. And as soon as he bade her farewell, he was torn away from her side and was met with anguish beyond the realms of what he could bear, and then, his world faded into nothingness.
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