The look in his eyes as he'd screamed at me were as vivid as the night it all came crashing down, and after all these years, they stoked the fear that plagued my world for years. All I had ever wanted was someone to love me, and a life away from someone else's drama and chaos. Was it too much to ask for a small piece of happiness that couldn't be bought or claimed by someone else? In this case, my lapse in judgement, and childlike naivety cost me more than I could understand.
My love and I had been desperate to leave our mirrored hells, that love had been the last things on our minds. We'd pushed each other so far away, and alienated ourselves that we, in essence, became ghosts that were bound only by memories of the past. Time heals all wounds, but the speaker never had to lose the one who could build you when you'd fallen, and the blood never stopped pouring.
The year we spent apart came with a lesson; life was nothing but cruel when placed in the hands of another. We willingly allowed those we had cared for us to destroy our identities until the strain became too great. By the time we'd reached the limit and were strong enough to push back, it was too late. Under their guidance, our deaths came swiftly like a cold mist in the night, and we were lone soldiers in a field of enemies trying to survive. Unable to break free, we accepted our killers with open arms, thinking that this was all were destined for; statistics in a ill-fated love story that could never be. The crimson waves tapped out without must pain, and we dropped into the final void that would shelter us like a babe in arms. How wrong we were.
Hell was supposed to be fire and brimstone, as the bible stated, but it was another creation of the minds of men. Peaks of black rock and an icy wind kept you moving; seeking shelter in the forbidden wasteland that stretched on endlessly. Time meant nothing to those no longer bound by it, and we were just shadows in the eternal night. My thoughts were of my lover, and if he had crossed to the heavenly gates. If not, then truly, she wished never to find the way out.
A salvation came that neither of us had foretold; whether by happenstance, or some sweet guardian angel that broke the spell, footsteps echoed ahead of me, and the sweet scent of old spice and cinnamon drifted, prompting my eyes to lift. It was in that single moment, when hearts met in perpetuity, that we felt the power of change. We were no longer children being pushed about by overgrown bullies on the school yard. Within the iniquity of our combined hells, we'd found each other, and I rushed into those loving arms that I had craved deep in my soul. Realization was often a harsh mistress, yet on this night, she showed the exit from this wasteland through the love we were once denied, and with whispered pledges, love was rekindled.
The magnitude sent us spiraling, taking us back to the world we desperately missed. We'd discovered the parts of ourselves that we didn't know could exist without help, but we would never again let love be the price we paid to make our dreams a reality. We worked to co-exist with the shadows and the light; both needed to make the eternal balance that made the world go round. The night was our time for self-reflection, to avenge our deaths and bring the parties to justice. The day, however, was for us; our love, normal life in the realm of the living dead. It was the only sane solution left, and we would cherish this second chance.
We would latter learn that our underworld paths crossed on the anniversary of our first meeting in the same cemetery we were buried in; proving the true power of fate when you allowed yourself to step away from the pain and fear. It was time to start living again.
(Written while listening to Svrcina: Meet me on the Battlefield 4/10/2021, 6:05am)
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The Crowsgirl Chronicles
General Fiction"I'm not telling you it is going to be easy- I am telling you it is going to be worth it." - Art Williams His love was the only real thing in her life, and she became drunk on its essence. His touch could light up the day, and that smiles made her w...
