We May Have All Come on Different Ships, But We're in the Same Boat Now (ZAY)

[Akirapryde]

Zay moved next to Ni and joined her against the wall, "I did," said with a trembling voice. "And even in this moment, part of me fears expects and even rationalizes a beating from you." She looked down at her hand and saw the sweat that was a sign of the nervousness. "Fear has always been part of my life."

She folded her arms across her knees and rested her head on her arms. She gazed across the kitchen as if looking across time and space itself. "For as long as I have been alive, I have never known a day free from fear. Fear of making mistakes which led to beatings. Fear of being beating simply because he could." Ni noticed something in that statement. It wasn't completely true. Though she also realized Zag might not have realized she wasn't being completely forthcoming.

Zay turned and glanced at Ni, "can you imagine living a life where your sole survival everyday depends on the mood of just one person. Fear becomes a close friend at that point."

She sighed and went back to gazing across the kitchen, "fear and acceptance kept me alive."