I'm... Really Sorry, Gina.

I'm... really sorry, Gina.

Trust me, I'm looking in the mirror, and I don't like what I'm seeing.

What are your apprentice's best traits? What are you most proud of her for?

For staying, even when it's hard. For standing up for her friends; for standing up for herself. For learning how to trust; for knowing when to distrust. For managing to build herself a happy life despite everything that's been working against her. For being able to get through even the toughest of times, and come out stronger the other end.

I'm not sure it's fair to call her my apprentice. Really, it was more like the opposite.

Misty mountains 49/? - Adlerweg, Tirol, Austria, October 2022

photo by: nature-hiking

by ilonaramona

what is the meaning behind your blog name and theme?

I... grew up in a small village in the countryside, surrounded by the woods. I used to spend many hours there, often with my father. But after leaving the village as a child, I barely ever spent any time outside larger cities, until I moved in with S this summer.

It's... nice, to be back. Even if this forest is different from the one I remember from my childhood, it still sort of... grounds me. I think it helps to be close to nature, when I try to... stay tethered.

...Well, there's that, and... It's a pretty stupid thing, but... S's last name is Greenwood. I suppose a part of me was hoping...

.........

...My name means "beloved saviour", actually. Incredibly ironic, as both my mother and father have repressed all their memories of me, which seems an unlikely fate for someone who's supposedly named after how loved they are. But here we are, now.

Even if I will never live up to the original meaning of my name, maybe it could be repurposed into something new and meaningful. Named after what I treasure, rather than after my parents' shattered hopes of what I'd become.

Thanks for the follow, Silvano. It sounds as though you’re doing somewhat better, and I am glad to hear it. While you are getting back on your feet, if you need a favour, just ask. I owe you two at the very least, and regardless, I am happy to run errands and the like if there is anything I can do to help.

- @kazuma-asogi-blog

...Hi, Asogi. Glad to hear from you again.

To be clear, you don't have to feel like you owe me anything. I appreciate the offer, though. I can't really go anywhere right now - at least, not without S - and that rules out some activities I might otherwise have chosen to spend my time on.

...There is something you could do, actually, if you really wanted to help. Would it be all right if I sent you a message?

“Just because something is beautiful doesn’t mean it’s good.”

— Alex Flinn, Beastly