The fires.
The heat.
I've skirted across the surface of the sun. I was warned so many times not to fly so high. Sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone. I flew through battle on the wings of pride. I let it carry me.
I was invincible right until the moment that I wasn't. The fires lashed at me in those final moments. They struck me down and left me huddled on the scorched ground. Life overtaken by death. Earth replaced with embers. God himself placing me back on the ground to remind me of my mortality. The heavens had no place for me.
Then, softness. Tenderness. Hope and safety. He lifts me from the ashes like a phoenix. In a broken world, how can he be this solid?
Arms surround me. The embrace is full of love and understanding. I hold him close and breathe his peace in to calm my turmoil. It holds back the flames of death and chaos. It comforts me as I cry. Fire licks at my shield, but he never falters.
"You're safe, my child."
Tears are the waters of my baptism. The trails they leave on my skin steam and evaporate as they slowly cool the surface of my soul. How I had forgotten the refreshing sweetness of these rivers.
"Hush now," He smooths my hair and lays the softest of kisses against the crown of my head.
The dream ends in an instant. We sit in Dutch's bunker. Joseph must have turned the emergency radio off finally. It's quiet in the darkness. It's cold.
I miss the sun, but thats my sin. That's my pride.
At some point in my fettered dream he had come to me. My bonds had been cut and I was gathered into his lap like a child in the grips of a nightmare. I clung to him. I still do. The marks from our fight still mar his body but he seems to have cleaned them.
My hand shakes as it reaches up and lightly touches his cheek. Bruises and abrasions.
"I'm so sorry," They're my first words to him since i spoke condemnation outside the church where I revealed myself to God. I was punished for it. The world was punished.
The depths of his eyes drown me. No anger, just bottomless peace and… relief? Joy?
He turns me on his lap to face him fully. He takes my head in his hands and leans forward, our foreheads touching. His eyes close in some beautiful silent prayer. "Forgive, and you shall be forgiven."
He moves and captures my lips with his. I feel the heavens around us and it brings me to tears. My arms wrap around his neck as we part. I'm not ready to leave him yet.
"I'll lead you through this," He promises between gentle kisses. "I'll hold your hand, my angel, and you'll fly next to me. You'll never burn your wings again."