Post by porom on Aug 25, 2012 3:16:58 GMT -5
The words 'Dearest brother,' stared up at Porom. She had one hand to her head, locks of her pink hair trailing between her fingers as she tried to think of how she should even begin her letter. Palom had hardly been gone a week, sent away on some errand by the Elder just to keep him from exploding. It seemed the more Porom grew to accept and embrace her destiny as the successor to the Elder of Mysidia, the more her brother grew to hate the serene and prayerful life they were asked to lead here. It couldn't be helped. They were yin and yang, two opposites of a whole. Each had what the other lacked. Together they were perfect, apart they were broken, their glaring faults coming to the fore when normally the presence of the other would cover it.
It was this fact that halted Porom's pen before she could do more than put a greeting down on paper. What could be said to a person who completed you? She was sure if Palom wished he could predict, verbatim, what she would write in any letter she sent to him and strike fairly close to the fact. She only wished to convey that she missed him, and hoped he would be safe on his journey, but it seemed so small and obvious a thing to put to paper that she was at a loss. She wished he would be content to stay in Mysidia... and was sure he wished just as much that she would give up the ways of meditation and journey around the world with him.
"It is the act of writing, dear one, and the emotions you seal in the envelope, that matter. The words are nothing more than seals to hold those emotions in place so that they may reach the recipient," the wise, aged voice of the Elder made Porom look up from her frustrated contemplation. Gracefully she stood and bowed her head in reverence to her dear mentor and caretaker.
"Elder. Are we two destined to take separate paths? When we are apart I feel he takes with him all my courage and wit," Porom said, taking her seat again and gazing with a troubled face at Elder.
"And, I am sure, he feels that he leaves with you all his empathy and wisdom," the Elder said, sitting down on the foot of her bed, shaky in his old age. "Do you remember what Cecil told you of his fight with Zeromus? About the moment when the darkness nearly consumed him and his companions?"
Porom had no trouble recalling the story. It lay within her memory among thousands and thousands of spells, legends and prayers.
"He said that our prayers reached him in the heart of the Moon and filled him with strength to face the darkness one more time," Porom said, slightly confused by the tangent the Elder was taking.
The Elder stood and went to the window to look up at the starry sky.
"Distance and time, dear child, have no hold on the heart. The presence of a loved one may be transient, but the mark they leave in our lives is ever-present and unchanging. The courage your brother gives you, and the kindness you give him are eternal blessings that will always enshroud your hearts for as long as you pray for and remember each other. No matter how far apart you may be, even if years and miles stand between you."
Porom felt tears pricking at her eyes. Often she wondered at how her brother could possibly argue with this wonderful, wise old man.
"I will pray for him, Elder. Him and all our dear friends," Porom said, quickly rubbing her wrist across her eyes to catch the unshed tears before they could fall.
The Elder smiled and nodded.
"I know, dear child. And as long as you do, you shall be in their hearts and give them your strength, and they shall be in your heart and lend to you the same. That is true and eternal strength," he said, turning to leave having imparted on her yet another of the hundreds of teachings with which he had constantly illuminated her path.
After the Elder had left, Porom returned her gaze to the letter.
'Someday,' she thought to herself as she put pen to paper, 'I wonder if I ever have the wisdom to enlighten the life of another as the Elder does now?'
Someday, she knew, she would stand on the Prayer Dais as the Elder had when Cecil had gone to fight the darkness in the heart of the Moon, watching and praying. She would gather the prayers of the whole world, and send them to warriors of light who stood against evil.
'Perhaps,' she thought, as she sealed the letter, 'if I gather a thousand prayers of dear friends in my heart, by then... perhaps I'll be able to face that day with peace and courage.'
She sealed the letter with a prayer and wax, then snuffed the candle.
The letter, which she left upon her desk as she retired to bed, carried but one phrase below the greeting:
'Pray for me as I pray for you'
It was this fact that halted Porom's pen before she could do more than put a greeting down on paper. What could be said to a person who completed you? She was sure if Palom wished he could predict, verbatim, what she would write in any letter she sent to him and strike fairly close to the fact. She only wished to convey that she missed him, and hoped he would be safe on his journey, but it seemed so small and obvious a thing to put to paper that she was at a loss. She wished he would be content to stay in Mysidia... and was sure he wished just as much that she would give up the ways of meditation and journey around the world with him.
"It is the act of writing, dear one, and the emotions you seal in the envelope, that matter. The words are nothing more than seals to hold those emotions in place so that they may reach the recipient," the wise, aged voice of the Elder made Porom look up from her frustrated contemplation. Gracefully she stood and bowed her head in reverence to her dear mentor and caretaker.
"Elder. Are we two destined to take separate paths? When we are apart I feel he takes with him all my courage and wit," Porom said, taking her seat again and gazing with a troubled face at Elder.
"And, I am sure, he feels that he leaves with you all his empathy and wisdom," the Elder said, sitting down on the foot of her bed, shaky in his old age. "Do you remember what Cecil told you of his fight with Zeromus? About the moment when the darkness nearly consumed him and his companions?"
Porom had no trouble recalling the story. It lay within her memory among thousands and thousands of spells, legends and prayers.
"He said that our prayers reached him in the heart of the Moon and filled him with strength to face the darkness one more time," Porom said, slightly confused by the tangent the Elder was taking.
The Elder stood and went to the window to look up at the starry sky.
"Distance and time, dear child, have no hold on the heart. The presence of a loved one may be transient, but the mark they leave in our lives is ever-present and unchanging. The courage your brother gives you, and the kindness you give him are eternal blessings that will always enshroud your hearts for as long as you pray for and remember each other. No matter how far apart you may be, even if years and miles stand between you."
Porom felt tears pricking at her eyes. Often she wondered at how her brother could possibly argue with this wonderful, wise old man.
"I will pray for him, Elder. Him and all our dear friends," Porom said, quickly rubbing her wrist across her eyes to catch the unshed tears before they could fall.
The Elder smiled and nodded.
"I know, dear child. And as long as you do, you shall be in their hearts and give them your strength, and they shall be in your heart and lend to you the same. That is true and eternal strength," he said, turning to leave having imparted on her yet another of the hundreds of teachings with which he had constantly illuminated her path.
After the Elder had left, Porom returned her gaze to the letter.
'Someday,' she thought to herself as she put pen to paper, 'I wonder if I ever have the wisdom to enlighten the life of another as the Elder does now?'
Someday, she knew, she would stand on the Prayer Dais as the Elder had when Cecil had gone to fight the darkness in the heart of the Moon, watching and praying. She would gather the prayers of the whole world, and send them to warriors of light who stood against evil.
'Perhaps,' she thought, as she sealed the letter, 'if I gather a thousand prayers of dear friends in my heart, by then... perhaps I'll be able to face that day with peace and courage.'
She sealed the letter with a prayer and wax, then snuffed the candle.
The letter, which she left upon her desk as she retired to bed, carried but one phrase below the greeting:
'Pray for me as I pray for you'