Sweet & Bitter Magic

Moments were so fleeting. So fragile. All Tamsin could do was hold on to the things that mattered and hope that was enough.

She caught a whiff of the summer air. Sweet like sunshine. Like Wren’s laugh. Like the way the skin next to her eyes crinkled when she smiled.

She loved Marlena again, every piece of her sister, including the parts of her that were angry and hurt.

The second kiss was much of the same.

The third was somehow even more.

After that, Wren stopped counting.

I feel when I’m with you, but I love you because I do.

Because when you’re near me, I smell lavender on your hair. When you smile, I catch a taste of honey. Your skin is warm against mine, and when you touch me, I feel more than magic.

Resentment can fade. Hate burns bright.

Wren’s eyes were glassy with tears, her hair streaked with dust and sweat. She had bright pink scratches across her cheek, and her skin was as white as a sheet, the freckles scattered across her nose more pronounced than ever. Tamsin wanted to count every single one, commit them all to memory so that even when she closed her eyes, she would see a constellation of Wren.

“Oh!” Tamsin finally managed. “Your eyes are green.”

Tamsin had wanted to see her sister at all times. Marlena had wanted to be closer to the sky.