(Prompt: A blind woman is in love with Medusa.
I found this prompt a while ago and finally decided to write it. I don't remember where i heard it from, but damn was this one a good'er. Hope it's enjoyable.)
She didn't understand it. Understand her. She couldn't, and she didn't know why. Her brow crinkled like a cabbage just trying to make sense of it. Even still, she allowed her stony grey eyes to swim up the tips of those fingers, the fingers that caressed her cheeks and hair with a softness oft dedicated to infants, or a particularly fluffy bunny. She peered into a curved face, round and pointed like a heart, searching for something within those eyes. A milky white pair and her vacant stare; the tiniest trace of sapphire hidden behind it all.
"Where are you taking me, Maddie?" A voice just above a whisper, light as a bouncing cloud. She felt her hair quiver and shudder. Those slender fingers brushed against the snakes in her hair; they settled down rather quickly.
"Somewhere special." She took her hand and held tight, taking long strides down a bleak corridor of stones and brick. Her heels harshly clacked against the cobblestone, meek candles as her only light.
"You said that ten minutes ago. Is everywhere special?" Maddie didn't have to look to know that she was smiling.
"No. Just this place." She heard that soft giggle from behind her.
"You're so serious. I'm only joking."
"Right." She cleared her throat and pressed on, soon emerging through an expanding light, sighing at the scene before her.
"We're here," she said. A small tap on her shoulder. "Oh, right." She took her hand again and guided her down a lightly cobbled path, the breeze gently grazing her face. Coming to a patch of greenery and shrubs, she knelt down and brought the silky bud of a new life to those hands. She watched her rub her fingers across it, a slightly befuddled expression crossing her face for a moment, only for it to be broken by a sharp inhale, wide eyes and her entire body melting into gratitude.
"Oh, Maddie!"
"I thought you might like it here." She looked away, though questioned why she did. Her eyes flicked back to see that woman plop herself on the rocks and dirt, face pressed against the entire bush. She stifled a laugh and knelt down beside her.
"Its alright?" She took her face out of the flowers and raised an eyebrow. Maddie knew that look.
"It's wonderful." Her angelic chords sent a swarm of hummingbirds aflutter in her stomach. She giggled, her right hand in her hair again. "You're happy to see me." Maddie felt a warmth on her cheeks. The snakes in her hair vibrated and brushed against her hand. They didn't do that for anyone else. Why her?
"It's normal to be happy, isn't it?"
"Mmm. I wonder." She exhaled briefly, soon perking back up and extending her hand. Maddie took it hesitantly. Their fingers interlocked as her pale auburn hair drew close, smelling strongly of vanilla beans. "Show me around, okay?" She said nothing in response, but pulled her slender arm along. As she stroked the moss that cushioned around the tree trunk, her hands now covered in dirt, she smiled. Maddie felt her lips part. A smile. Everything made this woman smile. Everything made her especially happy - Maddie seriously doubted anything could bring her down.
"Are you happy here?" the words left her mouth as easily as smoke from fire.
"So long as I'm with you."
"But don't you miss it? Out there? I mean, with more people around, you wouldn't have to deal with just me..." She was silent. Maddie's throat went unusually dry; the air chilled even her. She drew herself up from the dirt and brushed herself clean.
"They don't like me in our village." She picked a broken leaf out from her cleavage. "Of course, there's no use for a woman in the first place, so a blind woman is a double negative. Can't do chores or even look after the kids, and with genes like mine, who'd want to be the other parent?" She sighed greatly, holding her chin up with the back of her hand.
Maddie felt her tongues coil around themselves. "Those damn commoners. I'd string them up alive and feed them to the hounds piece by piece if they ever dared to show their faces!"
She waited a while before responding. "You shouldn't have to."
"I won't let them harm you in any way!"
"I know! I know, Maddie. I'm sorry." She covered her mouth. Maddie slowly sunk down beside her.
"I'm sorry."
"What?" She spoke through her fingers. Maddie drew up her knees and hugged them, her jeans squeezing around her waistline. "For yelling."
"Oh." Her hands drifted back into her lap. Her body started to shake. Maddie opened her mouth to shout, arm outstretched, but felt the air dispassionately fizzle out of her lungs when the woman began to laugh. She tried to wipe off some of the muck that had been rubbed on her face, to no avail. "You're cute, Mads."
"Mads?"
"You saved me. I can't get angry at that."
"I wouldn't say saved - "
"My noble queen, whisking me away from that dreaded place." She began to wave her arms around, dramatizing the entire act out as long as she could. Maddie dodged a couple rogue swings, when suddenly both hands cupped and squished her cheeks. A warm blush spread through her pale, squashed face as she tried to escape.
"She rode a dragon and brought an army all for me! And then we sailed away on big, fat unicorns through the rainbows and clouds -"
"Shtoop!" She clawed desperately, snagging both arms and pinning her to the ground, sending bits of grass and leaves into the air. She laughed, the earth caressing her. They'd both need baths after this.
"She saved my life, that woman." She said that last line softly. Maddie exhaled, bringing her face closer. The two merely remained, the sound of rapid heartbeats and the breeze passing them by their only company. Maddie felt her hands against her face still, warm and homey.
"And that woman saved mine." She felt her mouth curl and gazed at her for a moment longer. She must have been caught off guard, for she tried to hide her reddening face amidst the tangled mess of hair that sprawled across the ground like a spiderweb.
"Not fair," she said.
"Totally fair."
"But...we totally got covered in mud, didn't we? You smell a little gross." The chuckle burst from Maddie out of nowhere. She looked at her knees and legs, her hands that clenched around the woman's wrists, her clothes. All dirty.
"I think you smell a little gross. C'mon, let's go clean up." She lead her to her feet and inside the tunnel, not letting go of her delicate hand the entire way. It could never be anyone else. Only her.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
