Her feet were leaden as she attempted the long trek to her cabin. God only knew how much she'd kill for a hot shower. She was drenched from head to toe with a mixture of sweat, mud, and blood. Then, it started to rain. Well, maybe it would wash away some of her smell.
It was raining so hard that she was soaked to the marrow of her bones. Then again, rain's intimate touch on her eyelids, lips, arms, and chest, was a calm ecstasy. She could stand there for hours, just letting the rain run along her skin.
Her aching bones woke her from the daze, urging her forward, to a warm and heavenly looking cabin.
Elliot's partner was his whole world, but after Allan's death, his ghost haunts Elliot's dreams. Everyone tells Elliot to move on, but he isn't sure he can.
*****
It's been a year since the love of Elliot's life, Allan, passed away. Everyone thinks he should have recovered after that much time, but Allan still haunts Elliot every night. He struggles to maintain relationships with his family, and despite a coworkers interest he can't summon up the courage to date. Elliot is living for the past, because to live for the present means he'll have to live with a hole in his heart. But the question Elliot has to face chases him through his monotonous days: is mourning Allan with everything he has truly living?
[[word count: 40,000-50,000 words]]