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HennaFaunway — -Arrival Of The Birds-

Published: 2014-02-15 05:01:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 5532; Favourites: 232; Downloads: 16
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    I will always remember what met us at the bluff’s peak. Even to this day, I sometimes doubt whether it happened at all: such an instance of complete and utter beauty is a thing that comes rarely, if at all. There is a lightness of the soul, a shortness of breath and such a rush of life that you find yourself wondering if this is what heaven really is: not a place at all—rather, a state of being, a moment in time when there is only the knowledge that the world is wonderful and that everything will be all right. And within that newborn dawn, this moment revealed itself to us.

    We met heaven with arms wide open.

    Upon reaching the crest of the hill, our sudden movement startled a flock of swallows while they foraged in the grassland. One second we were surrounded by an ordinary field, and in the next, the air was filled with seraphs rising into the sky. This departure of birds caused even more of them to erupt from the foliage around us: surging, crying and wheeling. The flock poured upward, creating a whole far more magnificent than its parts, and then, with a sudden turn, they swayed round and burst through us. As feathers brushed upon our cheeks, he and I held fast and beheld our miracle. The golden air and the beating of wings and the pulsating continuum of beauty and freedom consumed us. We were illuminated, we were alive, and Benjamin took me into his arms and lifted me up into the air. As I rose, I suddenly threw back my head and cried out, and my voice reverberated out over the meadow. Carried within this sound was one single note that I will never be able to match again. It was the ataraxic manifestation of rapture, and once made, such a sound can never be created again.

    As the wind whipped through my nightgown, making the pale fabric flutter and my hair billow out behind me, I yelled once more and Benjamin joined me. His face was turned to the sky, the breeze catching in his hair and sending it about his brows in waves. In his joy, he was radiant. But when he finally set me down, I saw that his eyes were glistening with tears, though his mouth was pulled into a smile.

    “Tell me why you’re crying, Benjamin,” I entreated, to which he shook his head and spoke naught for a moment.

    “I don’t really know…” The tears spilled over and ran down his cheeks. He shook his head once more and wiped his eyes. “It’s going to sound mad, but I haven’t ever felt like this before! I’m afraid that I’ll never be this happy again.” He then let out a laugh and took me into his arms once more. “Thank you, Sara.”

    We pulled away, and I laughed, too. “Thank me? For what?”

    He didn’t reply: he only looked at me. The expression upon his face really was of a singular kind—a reticent billet doux of the eyes, an unwritten love letter that said everything spoken words could not. It was a secret escaped from parted lips and the bashful surprise of loving for the first time. It was his—it was mine—it was ours.


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art, writing, characters (c) me

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Comments: 34

Raakone [2014-04-05 02:41:27 +0000 UTC]

Beyond beautiful!

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HennaFaunway In reply to Raakone [2014-04-06 20:31:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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MissIp [2014-02-20 06:59:49 +0000 UTC]

lovely

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HennaFaunway In reply to MissIp [2014-02-20 07:05:25 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

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RainbowDaughter [2014-02-18 11:16:45 +0000 UTC]

Aw, so gorgeous and amazing!

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HennaFaunway In reply to RainbowDaughter [2014-02-18 17:15:09 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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RainbowDaughter In reply to HennaFaunway [2014-02-18 18:09:15 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome

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vescoillustration [2014-02-17 22:17:37 +0000 UTC]

Okay, okay, I promised I wouldn't make another comment, but I realized I had to thank you.


Since I started following you both on here and on Tumblr, I've done nothing but explore the world and learn more about it. I didn't even know what feminism was until I started reading about it on your blog. I've grown as an artist and as a writer with thanks to you! You've taught me how to have good, well-developed characters that are realistic. You've pointed out a lot of things that I've already sort of known in the back of my mind, but never really realized I knew. (Most recently being your rant on TFiOS by John Green. It was an okay book, but definitely not my favorite, and I could never exactly pinpoint why until I'd read what you had written.)


Anyway, my point is, you've helped me grow in so many areas. Granted, there are always going to be some things that I make my own and may respectfully disagree with you on, but that's expected and encouraged, right?

I just wanted to thank you. You've opened a lot of doors for me and offered me assistance without even realizing it. Perhaps the same thing would've happened with some other blogger further down the line if I hadn't discovered you, but you helped pull me out of slums and I just felt like I was physically your friend, you know?


So, that's my open letter to you, Helen.


Thankyouthankyouthankyou.

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HennaFaunway In reply to vescoillustration [2014-02-17 22:41:30 +0000 UTC]

Oh gosh, this means so much to me, love, you have no idea. 

Receiving messages like this make me feel really warm and wonderful on the inside and make me feel like I'm actually doing something right. There's always this fear in the back of our heads telling us that what we're doing is useless and that we're insignificant. Thank you so much for letting me know that anything I've done at all has made a difference. 

I feel such a connection with followers like you: with people who have stuck with me. You guys feel like friends to me, too, and each and every comment and favourite matters so much to me. Thanks so much for telling me this.

 

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vescoillustration In reply to HennaFaunway [2014-03-10 21:03:02 +0000 UTC]

It's actually sort of funny how I found you.
I was writing my own little story about the Second World War and was doing research and somehow found yours.
And then things got weird.
I started seeing parallels between our works. How could I ever publish something if someone would think I was just copying yours?

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vescoillustration [2014-02-17 22:05:27 +0000 UTC]

You're what? Nearly two years older than me?


But I still feel overwhelmingly proud whenever I see you redraw something or see you improve even more off what you've already drawn. I'm so happy to see you grow better by the day... Maybe it's because I've been with you since 2011. Hahaha. Anyway, great job, Helen! You've redone this piece three times now and it's amazing to see how the writing and artistry of it changes each time!

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HennaFaunway In reply to vescoillustration [2014-02-17 22:42:12 +0000 UTC]

I'm seventeen, eighteen this april!

And oh gosh thank you ;-; you are honestly too sweet

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vescoillustration In reply to HennaFaunway [2014-02-18 00:43:27 +0000 UTC]

Oh, yeah, that's right. Your birthday is a day after mine. So you're very nearly two years older. Haha (:

But, you are so so welcome and I just needed to let you know. Keep on keeping on. I can't wait to see what else you have to show us in the future!


((I love youuuuu))

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PanzerDamen [2014-02-17 02:56:39 +0000 UTC]

The music, story, and picture together make for an absolutely marvelous piece. Love it.

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HennaFaunway In reply to PanzerDamen [2014-02-17 07:28:25 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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MzyLeRouge [2014-02-16 18:33:02 +0000 UTC]

I was wondering why you hadn't drawn the birds before! Looks even more lovely now! <3

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HennaFaunway In reply to MzyLeRouge [2014-02-16 19:55:41 +0000 UTC]

Awesome! they were really tedious which was why I didn't want to do them initially haha

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LoverOfTheArts14 [2014-02-16 11:01:30 +0000 UTC]

nice edit ^^

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HennaFaunway In reply to LoverOfTheArts14 [2014-02-16 19:56:09 +0000 UTC]

Gratzi!

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flummo [2014-02-16 07:37:05 +0000 UTC]

this is so warm

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HennaFaunway In reply to flummo [2014-02-16 19:57:19 +0000 UTC]

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0raspberries0 [2014-02-16 05:55:30 +0000 UTC]

It's amazing to see how much your writing and art have improved since the last time you posted this scene!  I started following you around that time, and I loved the old version then, and I love this version even more.

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

0raspberries0 In reply to 0raspberries0 [2014-02-16 06:08:16 +0000 UTC]

Actually, looking back on it now, I've seen two or three renditions of this scene through the years! They just keep getting better each time!

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HennaFaunway In reply to 0raspberries0 [2014-02-16 06:08:12 +0000 UTC]

Wow thanks so much love!

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skygazer17 [2014-02-16 04:43:09 +0000 UTC]

So beautiful! I felt like I was there!

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HennaFaunway In reply to skygazer17 [2014-02-16 04:46:47 +0000 UTC]

aw

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M-Gray-M [2014-02-15 18:57:18 +0000 UTC]

I cannot get over how beautiful both this art and your writing is.

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HennaFaunway In reply to M-Gray-M [2014-02-15 19:07:53 +0000 UTC]

oh gosh thank you!

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Gryffgirl [2014-02-15 15:37:23 +0000 UTC]

Lovely--the picture, the writing and these two!

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HennaFaunway In reply to Gryffgirl [2014-02-15 19:08:21 +0000 UTC]

Thank you!

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LoverOfTheArts14 [2014-02-15 11:26:53 +0000 UTC]

ugh sooo beautiful

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HennaFaunway In reply to LoverOfTheArts14 [2014-02-15 19:08:28 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much!

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hannajosmith [2014-02-15 05:13:48 +0000 UTC]

Oh my god. I can't even.

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HennaFaunway In reply to hannajosmith [2014-02-15 05:15:10 +0000 UTC]

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