03-26-2011, 05:22 PM
The voice made Orin's blood run cold, and her heart seized in her chest. Even if she had not just witnessed the murder of her own son she would have known, from the sinister lilt in that sound, that trouble lurked behind her. Her breath caught as, for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. Her nebulous reflection in the water below taunted her. Though she did not move she knew her reflection grinned, and she stared in disbelief and horror.
A beat passed and Orin found the will to move, her cold muscles shifting to stand up straight and turn, knee-deep in water, to face the shadowy man that had discovered her. Her jaw was slack, a stupefied look on her face for a moment. She wished she could see something else in the man's eyes, but even if he had harbored no ill intentions for her, she would have feared him. It had only been hours since the traumatizing night, and the woman was not prepared to trust anyone yet.
She closed her mouth and swallowed hard, gasping to fill her frozen lungs with the breath she had denied them, and for a moment she thought her will would rip her in two. She wanted to turn and run, but she needed to stay; her daughters were secreted away and she could not leave them. Orin was completely incapable of hiding her fear; the emotion showed in the twitching of her limbs and the horror in her misty eyes. What could she say to him? Nothing. But she had to say something.
“I am...” her voice was barely a raspy whisper, so she started again, but it was no stronger. “I am okay... Th... thank you.”
A beat passed and Orin found the will to move, her cold muscles shifting to stand up straight and turn, knee-deep in water, to face the shadowy man that had discovered her. Her jaw was slack, a stupefied look on her face for a moment. She wished she could see something else in the man's eyes, but even if he had harbored no ill intentions for her, she would have feared him. It had only been hours since the traumatizing night, and the woman was not prepared to trust anyone yet.
She closed her mouth and swallowed hard, gasping to fill her frozen lungs with the breath she had denied them, and for a moment she thought her will would rip her in two. She wanted to turn and run, but she needed to stay; her daughters were secreted away and she could not leave them. Orin was completely incapable of hiding her fear; the emotion showed in the twitching of her limbs and the horror in her misty eyes. What could she say to him? Nothing. But she had to say something.
“I am...” her voice was barely a raspy whisper, so she started again, but it was no stronger. “I am okay... Th... thank you.”