Burning up

When a soul is split into two separate bodies, it spends a lifetime finding for its better half. Waiting for agonizingly long years, higher walls around the heart as time churns. But searching....always searching....for that right moment when two paths cross, and the red string of fate pulls taut, thrumming alive, drawing them closer together.

One moment, one lifetime, she thought. That was all that she'd had with him, all that she'd ever have. But it was worth it. Those long lonely nights, filled with empty kisses and promises, strewn out under a starless sky with a heart of wander and lust; unforgiving days when her eyes searched the sun-stricken asphalt, focus gleaned on the glistening sweat of strange men, all, leading up to now.

"I never thought I'd find you," she said as tears slid down her cheeks.

The boy staggered forward, but paused. His gaze lingered on her as he said, "Neither did, I, you."

A thousand locks clicked, and the door to her heart flooded open with the words that she waited years to say. She didn't have much time. "If we were to burn up in flames now, I just wanted you to know that I love you."

He simply listens.

"I don't know who you are, or what you've been through, but the soul within me, tells me you're my better half. Across the universe and back, even if it's only in this lifetime, I want you to know, you're mine, and I'm yours."

He smiled at her confession. "I can die happy, now."

"It's unfair, why must it be this way?" she said, and broke into a sob.

This time, the boy moves forward, grabbing her in his arms as she buried her face on his collarbone. Warmth singed her skin with the tenderness of a mother holding a newborn infant to her bossom. He smelt the way she imagined her soulmate would; fresh rain, a glimmer of hope in this godawful desert they roamed. The way his arms fitted against her body. The way his voice cooed her comfort. The way he shielded her from the heat. With him, everything just felt right.

"It's just the way things are. In this world, everything has a time and season," he whispered into the crown of her head. " The blossoms grow and wilt. Animals live and die. Soulmates must meet, and perish."

She shivered under his arms, slightly nuzzling herself under his neck. Compared to all the heats of men she had spent nights with, locked in an embrace of revealed skin, in the midst of pleasure and pain, this boy was the exception. All it took was this simple gesture of a hug, and her insides melted.

"Waiting felt like forever. But, I do think, it's all worth it," she said.

"Me too."

She breathed him in, and he held her tighter. "I'm scared."

"Don't worry, the burn isn't as painful as you think."

"How do you know?"

He grinned as he wiped her tears from her cheeks. "I don't. I just want to believe it," he says. "It's easier to focus on the love and goodbyes than the aftermath of our passion. Least I think so."

"Our passion must be brighter than the stars then."

A flicker of mischief passes across his face. "Would you like to find out?"

She pressed a finger to his lips as he leans in closer. "Not yet. Before that, before time runs out, tell me whatever you want."

He looks at her, serious.

"Hurry."

" I want you to know that I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For leaving you alone."

Her chest tightened, and her lungs swelled with the heated air. If he said anymore, she didn't think she'd be able to resist him. She drew back, staring at his face, memorizing every line and feature, branding it into her memory before she saw the flames.

"All those night you laid awake in bed, and for all those days that your feet hurt as you searched for me. I'm sorry," he says.

"None of that was your fault," she replied.

"Maybe so, but despite all of that, I still am...sorry. And now I can't even promise that you'll never be alone again. There's nothing I can do, or say to stop our fate."

He removes her finger from his lips and grabs her waist. She gasped, shivering in his arms. "All I can offer is this." He brushes his lips against her cheek. "And this." He kisses her forehead. Then, he stops short of her lips, and his eyes locked with hers. "I love you."

Her soul began to churn, she could feel the heat hotter than fire prickling at her arms. It was time. A part of her regretted never truly knowing him, and another part of her didn't care because all that mattered was in front of her now.

She buried her fingers into his hair, soft, tousled. He leaned in even closer and when she felt his breath on her, she whispered, "I love you too."

They kissed. First, gentle as if feeling each other, then it deepened. Over and over again, their lips met. Their souls sung. And, the fire grew hotter ....and hotter ...

Under the desert sun, the two soulmates stood on the dune, a sandstorm swirling around them, locked in each other's arms. Their love took them higher and higher, uplifting them to the sky. They burst into flames, licking up the air and sand until all that was left were glowing embers.