Work Text:
Starting over is easier said than done. The question of ‘why bother?’ never quite goes away. Somewhere in the back of his mind, tiny-tinier-tiniest but never entirely gone, is a terrible temptation he doesn’t dare speak aloud.
Instead, Jona takes to feeding birds and telling them all about his days – the bad, the okay, and the rare highlights – vacillating wildly between survivor’s guilt and knowing they’d be glad for his freedom.
Bereft and broken young, yes; but not trapped in a gilded cage of fear and remorse, nor cut apart and burned up for strange powers.
Someday. But not yet.