Is a broken heart vulnerable? Or strong?

[Anonymous]

[center:3qz9fmwz]Crunch.... crunch... With every step of her feet the forest floor gave way to her weight. Each step brought the snap of a small twig or a plant. A warm breeze drifted through the thick foliage and sunlight penetrated through each crisp green leaf. The warmth of the day was starting to die down as time progressed. It was a late, lazy, summer afternoon and the forest was beautiful. If you looked all around you, the vibrant colors would just jump right into your eyes. The dark, musty brown of the forest floor. The crisp green foliage of all the leaves. The various colors of flowers like rich purple and golden yellow. If you looked up you could see the beautiful blue sky that was slowly darkening with each passing hour. If you listened closely you could hear the many sounds of the forest, but also in the distance you could hear the faint sound of the waves, lapping up against the shore.

All this beauty around, and Victoria noticed none of it. Her mind was in two places, locked up inside her, deep down, and also far, far away. She barely watched where she was going as she stumbled through the thick forest floor. She could hardly see anyway, as tears clouded her eyes and streamed down her face. She had been sobbing for the past hour, wandering aimlessly through the forest, which was her favorite place to be in the summer. Why had she been sobbing? So many reasons, so many reasons....

"Oh Victoria, I want to stay with you forever and grow old with you!"
"You, you really mean that? Do you... love me?"
"Yes I do Victoria, I love you very much."
"Oh Sean, I love you too!"

This was only one of the many memories that Victoria played in her head as her tears raced on. She had loved him, loved him with all her might. She had put the very passion of her life into that boy and after two years of love and fights and happiness and promises, it was all thrown away. Just gone, just like that. It wasn't even done in person either. It was sent in a letter that he didn't love her anymore and that he thought it best to move on and see other people. Victoria was eighteen, and didn't realize that she still had her whole life to live. So many more adventures for her to follow. Her heart was sought on this one boy, and only this boy and she wanted him back with all her might. But it wasn't meant to be and as the days went by more and more things changed. She could picture him now, happy without her, living his life the way he wanted and with no attachment. If only he could see her, torn apart and breaking at the seams, heart in a million pieces. She had wrote him many letters, but it was no use in sending them. She knew she wouldn't hear a reply, she knew she wouldn't hear from her love, because in his mind, he wasn't her love anymore. He was for his own.

At this thought she broke into another sob, falling against the trunk of a tree, her wails probably being heard round the forest. The sky was turning into a deep purple and instead of their being a warm breeze the night began to cool the day and take it's place. Bugs lazily buzzed around her as she buried her face into cool moss that had grown many years ago against the tree. If only she wasn't in pain to notice she wasn't alone.  [/center:3qz9fmwz]

[Anonymous]

Most of the day had been wasted wandering along the shoreline. Having left La'marri a week earlier, Jarrah was in the habit of spending some time out here by himself after visiting his uncle, then taking to the road again. Though he preferred cooler weather, the sea breeze in the middle of the summer worked just as well. Couldn't really go any farther north, anyway. He'd be running into Connlaoth territory if he did. That was one place he refused to go.

After some hours he realized the light was beginning to fade from the sky. He should figure out where he was going to spend the night before he started having trouble seeing. Maybe he would head south in the morning, see what kind of trouble he could find.

He no sooner picked a tree and got settled in when he thought he heard something. It was very faint at first, even with his enhanced hearing, so he couldn't be sure. But as it drew nearer, he realized it sounded like sobbing. That wasn't something he encountered often out here. He continued to listen, until eventually the source wandered where he could see her. It was difficult to tell in the fading light, but she didn't look any older than sixteen, maybe eighteen at most.

What in the world could have sent someone her age into such a terrible crying fit? His first thought was maybe there was an attack somewhere. But when she stopped and fell against a nearby tree, it became clear she wasn't hurt at all. Not physically, anyway.

Normally he tried to stay out of things that were none of his business. But it didn't look like she was going anywhere for a little while, and to be honest he didn't know how long he could sit here listening to that wailing before it would start to hurt his ears. So he started to shift his position to see her better and called out, "Hey, you oka - "

Perhaps he should have climbed out of the tree instead. At least that way he wouldn't be tumbling downward face-first like he was now. He missed the branch he was reaching for to hold his balance - stupid depth perception - and landed with a hard thud on the ground below. His bag soon followed and landed square on his stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of him and spilling several of its contents onto the grass.

What a klutz. If that didn't scare the girl out of her skin, he didn't know what would.

[Anonymous]

"Hey, you oka - " CRASH! Victoria's heart just about skipped a beat as her hands quickly grabbed at the sweaty handle of a knife in her blouse. Yes she had been in a hurry to leave and sob out her miseries in the forest but she was no fool to not bring protection. Especially in the thick forest nearing night time. When she could collect herself and see that the guy had fallen onto the floor she quickly stashed the small knife away again and breathed a deep sigh of relief. She knelt down, making sure her skirt still covered the better part of her, and began to pick up the various belongings that had scattered out of the bag. As gross as it sounds, she sniffled up the snot that had run out of her nose and she quickly dabbed at her tear stain faced. Even though she was sure this man had heard her consistent wails she had tried to hide the fact that she had been blubbering loud enough for the world to hear.

"I guess I should be the one to ask, are you okay?" Her voice was crisp and clear as she was trying very hard to hide her sobs. She gave a fake laugh and held out her hand to the guy who fell straight on his face.

The thought that he might be someone dangerous only tinted her mind once, but the fact that he had began to ask her if she was okay and then had fallen on his face disintegrated the thought in an instant. A man who was dangerous would not put himself in such a vulnerable position.

The late summer afternoon had now turned into mid-evening. Stars started to speckle the sky and twinkle lazily as if there were nothing better to do. The color of the sky had changed from a light purple into a dark blue and further in the distant you could see the bright orange the sun was creating, as it was setting down below the waves. A chilly breeze raced it's way through the forest and all around you could hear creatures begin to wake from their daytime sleep and carry out their nocturnal needs.

"It's getting late... and dark..."

[Anonymous]

It took a moment for him to fully realize his blunder. He had to spit out the grass and dirt that came with landing on his face first before he could focus on much else. As he sat up sputtering, he did notice that at least he hadn't scared the girl enough to send her packing. In fact, he was a little surprised to see her helping to gather up what had spilled out of his bag.

"I guess I should be the one to ask, are you okay?"

Now that he realized how clumsy he had been, he couldn't help an embarrassed laugh as he took the offered hand and stood, grabbing his bag as he did. "Yeah, I'm good. I'll just be spitting grass for a week. No biggie." This wasn't the first time his poor vision and balance had sent him tumbling, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. But usually there was no one else around so it was a lot less embarrassing.

Tossing his bag over his shoulder, he tried to brush himself off before digging around for a handkerchief. By now he could barely see more than a few feet ahead of him without a light, but he heard the sniffle. Offering her the cloth, he said with an easy smile, "Here. Dry your face. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."