Come, let me show my collection, my “gifts” that have
been given to me over the years. Their sharpened edges, decorative hilts, all
shapes and sizes. I keep them here on display, so that I will always remember.
This one is my oldest. It’s crude, and not very refined.
It was hurriedly crafted and brutishly swung, but definitely accomplished what
it was created to do. I was quite surprised when I received it. Even more
surprised when I saw who it was from. There is really nothing like feeling that
first blade, your first real blade. It is an emotion that stays with you.
Over the years, the blades improved. The handywork, craftsmanship,
the complete design only becomes more and more intricate. It is enough to
astound and awe. Look at some of these. They are almost intoxicating, aren’t
they? Works of art. Some sharpened so fine it could split a hair. They deal a
wound so fine that I only felt the searing sting long after I cut by them.
The masterpieces are the ones that bring the most
surprise. Because they were created based on myself as the blueprint. A small
piece of me that I believed to be inconsequential. But, I have now learned that
nothing is inconsequential when crafting a weapon planned for a specific person.
Absolutely everything is fair game. I had no idea how close others were
watching. Those small flourishes, such attention to detail. A piece of me
turned into beautiful destruction.
But yours, yours I can readily say was the most
efficient. It was the one that expected the least. Even less than the first
blade I ever received. I was completely unprepared for it and for you.
Perfection, I must say. It has been the only knife that I have had to pull out
of my heart.
