Persphyni: I am Determined

37

The wind blew the red, breast-length hair in the westward direction. The soft rustling of leaves accompanied the rushing sound of the waterfall meters below.

Her hair drifted behind her as she stood on the branch above her treehouse roof. Her hand gently held the bark, the black ink shining on the outstretched arm as she stared into the valley below. The soft morning light lit up the green below. Her Eden below.

The last safe place on the surface of the earth. She had been able to make it there. Make it here.

She watches the few birds rouse from their nests and flitter into the air. She hears the twigs beneath her crunch as the small family of panthers took their daily morning walk. The forest awoke as she listened and watched from above.

The routine was the same. She would start with her eyes on the valley below and the forest beneath her, but eventually her eyes would drift towards the horizon and then up towards the atmosphere.

She would count to 100, then 200, then 300, all the way up until she reached one thousand. There wasn't an exact reason for her stopping there it just happened to be the number she decided she had waited long enough on.

She would wait, but she also knew that's all the time she could allow for herself to wait. And she did it- every morning.

She had watched the world burn. Left her people underground. Sent her people into space. She had lost everything. Everything but this.

She had saved herself.

But when she fell, Clarke had helped save her. Madi had helped save her. Eden had saved her.

When she fell again, she would get back up. And continue to do so. Whether or not a hand was extended out or a smile was shot her way. She would be strong so that when the moment came she was ready.

Once they came back down, they would get the bunker uncovered. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late.

She leaned her weight on the tree as she let her eyes close. Her mind finding peace in the gentle quiet of the earth.

The wind caressed her face in comfort. Telling her she would make it. Telling her she'd be okay.

She told herself she'd make it. She'd be okay. She was strong. She would survive. Because she was still here. She was still alive.

And you can damn well be certain that she'd fight until after her last breath.

When she opened her eyes, a new yet familiar fire burned in them. One that had been missing for nearly six years now.

Her blood began to pump as she finally settled into her skin. She was ready. She wouldn't sit back and relax anymore. It was time to work. Because whether or not they came back down. There was people here.

People who needed her. Herself included. She needed herself to be strong. She needed herself to be herself again.

And that's what she planned on doing.

With a smirk, she grabbed the rope untying one end from the trunk to slide down. She passed her tree house and kept falling until she reached the soft grass at the bottom of the trunk. Once she had both feet planted on the ground she tossed the end of her rope up onto the hidden balcony of her tree house. The foliage of the tree shielded her hiding place from every thing save for the birds who nested in the branches of the tree.

With a new determination in her heart and flame in her eyes, she made her way to the village to start her self-made resolution.

She was Persphyni Atlys Kane. No.

She is Persphyni Atlys Kane. She will not be beaten.

______•*•*•*•______

It is day 2046. Only 144 more before you've been up there for six full years. I wake up each morning and wait. But not too long. You wouldn't want me to wait. So I do a happy medium.

I do miss you. But I know I need to get myself back to me. I let myself have nearly six years off. But it's time to focus. Something is coming, I can feel it, and I have to be ready when it does.

I'll be here when you arrive. The Persphyni you knew is still here. But I've managed to find peace with myself. I no longer try to separate myself from the killer.

I know that they are the same. And it's something that I'm okay with. Because I know I will do it for the right reasons now that I have the choice.

I no longer fight an internal war with myself. I can be many things as long as I am true to thy self.

I miss the willow trees. They do not grow here in Eden. I've checked every nook and cranny only to always come up empty handed. No matter the season. Willows were always my favorite. I have yet to figure out why. You would think a tree is a tree. So maybe I just like the name. It is a very pretty name.

I'm not sure how my mind drifted to trees but I'm certain it was an important thought enough to actually write it down. I wonder if the mind always tries to connect and piece together information and images.

Maybe that's why I always feel like I'm trying to do a puzzle when Clarke begins speaking in medical terms.

It's impossible.

Speaking of impossible things. Don't worry about racing down here. It's better for y'all to either stay up there and live or take your time getting down then risking anything.

Though I wish I could have some form of communication. Maybe then having faith would be a little easier.

In time, Bell.
Pers