Epilogue
#7 of Ruinous
And the epilogue, because I couldn't leave Charlotte the way she was.
Charlotte felt numb.
Her tears had stopped weeks ago.
How long had it been since Arc left? A month? Two?
She'd lost sense of time. She hardly ate, despite the constant worried chirping from Osiris, and her usual patrons were getting worried.
She would lay on her bed, watching the darkness behind her eyes shift as she did her best to imagine what Arc had looked like from the many times she felt Arcs face in greeting. She may not have been able to see the fox, but her fingers remembered.
She hadn't touched the money Arc had given her, it still sat in its place on the table in her living room. Her weekly cleaning lady had offered to move it somewhere else, but where would she put it? Certainly not with the rest of her money, that didn't feel right.
On one particular day, Charlotte sat in her kitchen, the ingredients for baking sitting on the counter. She had gotten them down, supposedly to bake for the first time in who knows how long, but now that they were out, she wasn't so sure anymore. In her hands she held a small jar, stroking the etched lettering with her thumb.
'Dried Cherries,' it read.
Cherry sweetbread, hadn't that been Arcs favorite?
Osiris nuzzled her hand gently as she sighed. She held hope that Arc would come back one of these days, but that spark was dwindling. She had to come to terms with the fact the kind Bounty Hunter may not be returning.
Her ear flicked as she heard the faint sound of paw-steps walking up the porch stairs followed by the sound of knocking echoing through the house.
She was fairly certain it wasn't the end of the week, so it couldn't be the cleaning lady.
Pursing her lips together, Charlotte made a light whistling sound between her teeth, asking Osiris to come on up to her shoulder. As the sparrow did so, she gripped her walking stick and made her way towards the front door. Her heart fluttered a little at the thought that it may be Arc, finally returning,
A gentle hand took hers, guiding it up towards a familiar face with a familiar muzzle and a familiar feathered earring.
The smell of cinnamon and pine filled her nostrils as elation rose inside her.
"Hi, Charlotte." Arc said.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! May your inner fire burn strong!