She gasps. She raises her hand to plunge it into his heart
'Do it, my lady,' he says, closing his eyes. 'Forgive me. I beg of you.'
Her hand is raised, ready to fall, ready to end this torment, which she will admit, if only to herself, is as bad for her as it has ever been for him. She loves him and it is impossible. She hates him and that is impossible, too. She cannot be with him. She cannot be without him. And both are burningly, simultaneously true in a way that grinds cliché into dust.
But what she cannot do, what she cannot do that has no opposite which is also true, what she cannot ever, ever do–
Is forgive him.
For loving her. For burning her. For desiring her. For making her do all these things in return by his very existence.
She cannot ever forgive him.
She will not end his torment. She will not end hers.
She lowers her hand and lets him live.
YOU ARE READING
The Crane Wife and the Volcano
General Fictionthis is not my story, it belongs to the great book "The Crane Wife", by the amazing writer Patrick Ness. this story explains the life of one of the main characters, called Kumiko (aka the crane wife), told by herself in 32 parts. even though there...
