Part 1
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Lying in my bed again
And I cry cos you’re not here
Crying in my head again
And I know that it’s not clear
Put your hands, put your hands
Inside my face and see that it’s just you
But it’s bad and it’s mad
And it’s making me sad
Because I can’t be with you
She looks up, she sees me. As if for the first time - but it’s not, not really. She wouldn’t remember.
Words form in my mouth: “I’m Daphne.”
She gasps. She knows.
Five minutes later. We sit down, I start talking. It’ll take so long,
but I start at the beginning.
“I remember that day perfectly, if it was 25 years ago,” I say.
“He was a legend, you know - Gareth, I mean.
“He was so old that no man or woman alive remembered how he got his power.
No one has seen him for years; not since the earthquake, four years before I was born.
Everyone was surprised when he announced that he was looking for six
apprentices... he said that the right ones will know they must come. And somehow,
I knew.
“The journey lasted a few days... finally, tired and worn out, there I was.
As I approached his house, he came outside. There was no way anyone could
mistake him.
“He never opened his mouth, but I heard a voice inside my head saying,
‘Welcome here, Daphne. We’ve been waiting for you. The rest are here already.’
“They followed him. ‘This is Lumina,’ Lumina shook my hand, and barely looked up,
‘Doyle, Rose,’ Rose smiled shyly at me - I felt immediately that we would
be good friends, ‘And finally, Flynt.’
“Flynt looked at me and grinned. ‘Nice to meet you, Daphne,’ he said,
‘Let me show you your room.’ He led me between a few trees, and in front of
a small cabin.
“‘You’ll be bunking with Rose. The rooms aren’t big, but they
sure beat the jungle... where you came from?’ His eyes twinkled.
If it were anyone else, I would’ve been insulted... but for some reason,
I just laughed.
“‘Just a second...’ I counted in my head, ‘there are only five here. Where’s
the sixth apprentice?’
“‘Hmmm, weird,’ he said. ‘I didn’t realize that... probably got unavoidably
detained by a pack of alligators on the way.’ I smiled.
“‘There is no sixth apprentice,’ I heard Gareth’s voice in my head, ‘I decided not
to teach the sixth field.‘”
I stop for a moment. She sits in silence, then stammers, “But - I don’t see
- why? Why didn’t you stay? What does that have to do with--”
I wipe a tear from my eye, and one from hers. “You don’t expect to understand
so quickly, do you? There’s more... much more...”
“I can’t be with you” copyright 1994 Island records inc., song by The Cranberries in their CD No Need To Argue.
Part 2
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Holding on,
That’s what I do, since I met you
And it won’t be long,
Would you notice, if I left you
And it’s fine for some,
But you’re not the one,
You’re not the one...
I lift her chin and look her in the eye...
“One thing I want you to know - I never loved him. All those years, I never
cared for him... not one bit... my heart was entirely for your father.”
She gazes into my eyes cooly... scornfully. “Was it really?”
I bite my lip, and try to ignore the stab I feel in my chest. “Yes, it was...
still is, and always will be...”
She shakes her head furiously. “And who do you mean by ‘him’, anyway? Who
were you with?”
“You mean he never told you what happened?...”
I can’t believe my ears...
“Daddy, you mean? He told me you were dead... he was sure you were.
He would never lie to me.”
“Dead? Oh, sweetie, no... not dead... although life like that is barely
worth living.” I reach out to ruffle her hair, (‘Just like her father’s,’
I think) but she moves back...
I take a deep breath, and go on:
“I had no choice... he would’ve killed your father then and there, baby...
and then you, and everyone I cared about...” I gulp, trying to hold in
the tears, “I just couldn’t have that. So I left... I had to.”
She looks at me... I suppose she believes me now.
“But... who is this man? What did he want from you?”
“At first, he wanted my love... when he saw he couldn’t have that,
he wanted my power,” I shake my head, “And when I didn’t give him that...
he killed your father.”
All night long,
I laid on my pillow,
These things are wrong -
I can’t sleep here...
“Daffodil Lament” copyright 1994 Island records inc., song by The Cranberries in their CD No Need To Argue.
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