Delete ME,Darling.

Chapter 22: We Are Not Mirrors, We Are the Source of Light

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Chapter Twenty-Two: We Are Not Mirrors, We Are the Source of Light

“You didn’t come back last night,” Elara said.

“I slept in the yard,” Sable replied.

“You’re insane. It was freezing.”

“I needed time,” Sable looked at her. “What you said last night… it’s still echoing.”

“What did I say?” Elara asked.

“That you don’t need a mirror anymore,” Sable said. “That you are the light.”

“Did I say that?” Elara smiled. “Sounds like me.”

“You’ve changed,” Sable said. “Really.”

“You’ve changed too,” Elara looked at her. “You used to never admit you needed time.”

“Maybe I just didn’t realize I did,” Sable said.

“And now?” Elara asked.

“Now I’m starting to wonder,” Sable paused, “if I’ve been looking for a mirror all along.”

“You weren’t,” Elara said. “You were always watching others. But not yourself.”

“So how do you see me now?” Sable asked.

“I see you like light,” Elara said. “Not reflected light. Yours.”

“That sounds too romantic,” Sable frowned. “I don’t like that.”

“But you like hearing it,” Elara said.

“Yeah,” Sable admitted. “Your way of speaking has changed.”

“I used to speak to be understood,” Elara said. “Now I speak because I want to.”

“That’s different,” Sable nodded. “You’re not scared of not being understood anymore.”

“Exactly,” Elara said. “I don’t need confirmation that people get me.”

“Then why tell me all this?” Sable asked.

“Because you’re the person I want to share with,” Elara said. “Not because I need you to understand. But because I want you to know I’m here.”

“Here?” Sable repeated.

“Here,” Elara looked at her. “I’m just… here.”

Sable was quiet for a moment.

“I used to think you were too fragile,” she said. “Now I think you were just too honest.”

“Honesty is fragile?” Elara asked.

“To some people,” Sable said. “They’d rather you pretend not to get hurt than admit you do.”

“So you used to be like that?” Elara asked.

“I used to think you were too easy to break,” Sable said. “Now I realize, you were just too willing to break.”

“That’s not fragility,” Elara said. “That’s a choice.”

“A choice?” Sable raised an eyebrow.

“I could choose to hide,” Elara said. “But I choose to stand in the light.”

“That sounds like you,” Sable smiled. “But this time, I believe it.”

---

That afternoon, they went to the beach.

No talking.

Just sitting on the rocks.

The wind was strong.

“Have you ever thought about leaving here?” Sable suddenly asked.

“Leaving?” Elara asked. “Where to?”

“To somewhere else,” Sable said. “Like the city. To start over.”

“You mean running away?” Elara looked at her.

“No,” Sable shook her head. “I just want to see if there’s light outside this place too.”

“You thought light only existed here?” Elara asked.

“I don’t know,” Sable said. “I just never saw it before.”

“Because you didn’t look up,” Elara said.

“You always do that,” Sable said. “Say things that sound like philosophy.”

“I’m not trying to be philosophical,” Elara said. “I’m just telling you that you’re not stuck here. You just haven’t decided to walk out.”

“And you?” Sable asked. “Will you go?”

“I will,” Elara said. “Not to escape. But to make sure I’m really free.”

“Free?” Sable looked at her. “Do you think you’re free now?”

“Freedom isn’t the absence of pain,” Elara said. “It’s knowing you can keep walking even when it hurts.”

“That sounds exhausting,” Sable said.

“But it’s worth it,” Elara said.

---

That night, they cooked dinner together.

“You never used to cook,” Elara said.

“I used to think cooking was too ordinary,” Sable said. “Now I think maybe the ordinary is what’s real.”

“You’ve changed,” Elara said.

“Yeah,” Sable nodded. “You made me change.”

“No,” Elara said. “I just showed you who you already were.”

“Isn’t that the same?” Sable asked.

“No,” Elara said. “I only reflected you. But you are you.”

“That sounds like you,” Sable smiled. “But this time, I get it.”

---

The next morning, they went for a walk.

“Do you remember the first time we met?” Elara asked.

“You were wearing that old sweater,” Sable said. “I asked if you’d just been crying.”

“You remember that clearly?” Elara was surprised.

“I remember your eyes,” Sable said. “Like someone who was lost.”

“And now?” Elara asked. “How do you see me now?”

“Now,” Sable looked at her, “like someone who finally found their way.”

“It’s not finding,” Elara said. “It’s making.”

“Making?” Sable asked.

“Not every path already exists,” Elara said. “Some of them, we walk into being.”

“So which one are you walking now?” Sable asked.

“One I don’t know the end of,” Elara said. “But I know it’s mine.”

“You always do that,” Sable said. “Say things that make me want to keep listening.”

“Then keep listening,” Elara smiled. “I’ll keep talking.”

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