Topic: Think of Me ...

PrlUnicorn

Date: 2016-02-20 03:42 EST
Think of me, think of me waking Silent and resigned Imagine me trying too hard To put you from my mind - from 'Phantom of the Opera'

Colleen sat near the orchestra pit in the darkened Shanachie Theater and got lost in the music and story of The Phantom of the Opera. She enjoyed the performance, but found herself slipping into reverie. It was that song ....how she could ever stop thinking about him' After all this time, she probably should have given up hope, but she hadn't. The business of living and the daily tasks that needed her attention still continued. In the night, however, there were no distractions from the fact the pillows beside her no longer held his scent. To some people, it would have been lovely to have that huge bed to themselves, but to Colleen it had been a reminder of what used to be and what she longed for again. It was one of the many reasons she'd taken a journey in January. It was also the reason she'd been drawing up plans for a new house. There was a lovely spot in the mountains that overlooked the lake in the heart of her land. She'd always loved that place.

Abby and Madison were the only children still living at home, so, the large grand house was really not a necessity. The girls had asked about moving into the beach house in Arcadia, but that was a summer place. Collie was after something else. She wanted to revel in winter's glory, snow and ice, and in autumn, the changing of the leaves. The old place would be fine for holidays, but it was time for some changes. As much as she still loved Darien and hoped for a reconciliation, she had to do what was best for herself and the girls. That was the part that troubled her most, something had to be wrong for him to not maintain contact with his children. The thought of what it might have been nagged at the back of her mind.

Marissa

Date: 2016-02-21 09:59 EST
Think of me, think of me fondly, when we've said goodbye. Remember me once in a while, please promise me you'll try. ("Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera.)

No matter how much Colleen might think she was alone, she was not. There was someone else there, watching and waiting - someone who only seemed to appear when she was needed, disappearing into the shadows of the night when she was not.

It had been a long time since Marissa had made her presence known to Colleen or her family, and yet, it was like yesterday. Their connection was a convoluted one, one that few would understand, even those who called Rhy'Din home.

She was a daughter, part of a wider family whose connections went deeper than blood - a stranger, an orphan, a daughter of the heart. Colleen had, in her own way, been like a mother to Marissa - or part of her had. Her family was the only family Marissa had left.

It was easy to understand someone else's pain when you carried so much of your own. Marissa only wanted Colleen to be happy. She had known her to be happy before, but she knew happiness was fleeting, especially in Rhy'Din. And so, drawn by the music of the night, she had come to the theater in hopes of letting Colleen know she wasn't alone.

Marissa slipped in quietly, taking the empty seat beside her foster mother and sliding a hand into hers. If there was anyone who understood loss, it was Marissa, but she was not telling Colleen to give up hope. No, she was only trying to tell her in her own gentle way that she was not and never would be alone, not so long as she was surrounded by family and friends who loved and cared for her.

Though it was little comfort, Marissa hoped it would give bring her some hope - the same hope she had so often given Marissa throughout the years, whether she was aware of it or not. It was the least she could do for the woman who had loved her like a mother.