Exhaustion eventually claimed Alicia who staring out through the windshield, the blur of passing lights slowly melting into shadows. Her eyelids grew heavy, lashes fluttering once or twice before finally surrendering. Her head tilted slightly against the seat, breath evening out into a soft, fragile rhythm.
Every now and then, his eyes drifted from the road to the sleeping figure beside him, only for a heartbeat, never long enough to be careless.
Memories followed his gaze, pulling him back to moments they had shared in quieter times, when the world had not been closing in on all of them at once.
If only I could stop everything, he thought.Stop the danger. The politics. The inevitable bloodshed coiling at the edges of their lives.
His eyes returned to Alicia just in time to see a few loose strands of her hair slip forward, spilling over her face like a silken curtain. They framed her gently, obscuring her features, softening her presence even further.
