"Warrior"

Ever had a story in your head that won't leave you alone? I've been thinking about this one for a couple weeks now, so I decided to leap back into the writing pool with this short piece. That is all. Enjoy.

He looked up at the sound of her laughing, and watched as she vigorously rubbed their puppy’s neck and ears, thanking the pup in a ridiculous voice for his slobbery kisses.

She looked so happy, and…at peace. Their earlier conversation flashed through his mind, and he couldn’t help replaying her words in his head. Quite frankly, it bothered him how cavalier she was about what had happened to her; that she could just bring it up in casual conversation like it was any other event. But it had taken her five years to reach this point; surely he couldn’t begrudge her wanting to acknowledge it now and then.

It wasn’t as though it didn’t faze her at all anymore; they slept in the same bed each night, and he was all too familiar with the nightmares that still came out of the dark to terrorize her unconscious. But he understood the desire to transform something horrible into just another everyday fact. Like hitting puberty and discovering hair in places it had never been before; something that happened to you without your permission. You can’t change it, so you do your best to adapt, to accept it as part of yourself and learn to live with it.

His breath caught at the thought of just how hard it must have been for her to accept what had been done to her, to learn to live with that as a fact of her life. He’d come into her life just over a year after, and while he wouldn’t have called her broken, there had been a shadow behind her eyes; a tremor hidden her voice over the phone. She’d concealed it well, even from him, but one scarred soul always recognized another.
He’d always known it would take someone with a stubborn streak and a patient heart to reach him again. He found all that and more in her. Her fire melted his resolve, and her touch soothed his temper. He’d given her someone to lean on and taught her to confront her demons; she’d given him sincerity and taught him peace. In the end, the two of them had helped heal each other.

As he looked at her now, smiling brightly, her eyes clear and voice strong, he felt a sudden swell of pride. His woman was a warrior.