Welcome to Gaia! ::

The first thing that passed through Maebe's unfiltered, sleepy thoughts, was that she felt sore. Her bandages felt like they'd worked double time, keeping her form firm and rigid enough to handle strenuous activity. It had exhausted her enough to sleep the day away, and she'd woken up with her face against the pillow, stretching out her body against the bed. It was empty, which surprised her, until she caught a glimpse of the time and it did not.

He probably thought she was so lazy, she thought to herself. Then she smushed her face against the pillow that still smelled of him, the one beside her, and felt the flush of tingles at the idea of him thinking of her at all.

She felt like such a young thing, her insides fluttering with delight over the fulfillment of a requited crush.

Bjorn was strong, and handsome, and kind. He was funny, and charming, and naive, and tender when he wanted to be. But it was this side of him, the side that came when he didn't want to be tender, that she'd only just been allowed to discover. And she liked it. Very much.

She lounged far too long in the bed, just gloating over how lucky she was, before she finally forced herself out to start her day. She grabbed the brush and sat at her vanity, combing away at the tangled mess her curls had turned into the night before. Her hands ran through her hair a few times, slowing when she felt a snag. And she pulled it.

Then she smiled a very secret little smile.

She returned to brushing her hair, but her face had turned a healthy pink as she allowed herself to float in the memories of the night before, completely distracted. When she eventually put her comb down, and rested her head against her hands on the desk. She was daydreaming. Lost, distant and content.

Her eyes didn't catch sight of the note until some time had passed, and only because she'd let out a long, infatuated sigh and fluttered it. It was folded tight and stuck into the side of her mirror, the perfect height to catch her eye. She pulled it out, and unfolded it. Had Bjorn left her a note?! How romantic!

When she flattened it out to see what it said, she could already tell this was not Bjorn's handwriting. It was feminine; in fact, it looked a lot like hers. Perhaps someone was playing a game with her, mimicking her handwriting to confuse her. She found that a little charming, and quickly read what the note said.

There were two very short, succinct lines written on it, and a fair amount of space between the two. It was as if the writer had thought there should be more to say, but never found the words.

"Tell him you love him every day." She read the first line out loud, and immediately burst into giggles. Who'd written this! What a very presumptuous thing to say! It sounded like someone thought Bjorn would want her forever.

Her giggles turned into yet another long, infatuated sigh.

She'd almost forgotten to read the second line, but it didn't sound very different from the first. At least, not to her. She couldn't read the desperation that each word had been written through. She couldn't feel the resignation, the despair.

"Don't ever let him go."

The acceptance.

She folded the note and then held it to her chest, her lips twisting in a tiny, pleased smile. She loved this note. She didn't know who had written it, but it held wonderful, heart-warming advice.

And she intended to follow it to the letter.