There was a fog. A cold, white mist, with freezing winds swirling around her like hurricanes. It had been there for a long, long time: her prison, set by a very cruel jailer years and years ago.
She remembered little of her time before it. Sometimes, she would see glimpses that she could not understand. Snapshots of love, happiness, a family, and then, the pain would come rushing back, greeting her like an old friend, though she never knew why it hurt so much.
She never thought about death. She rarely thought at all; in fact. it was difficult, to organise everything, past the haze, into some semblance of order, to make sense of it. Despite that, the very idea of death sent shivers down her spine, as it did for most. She didn't like that, so she'd focus on the cold that wrapped around her, locking her away from everything and everyone else.
Until the day it wasn't there anymore. The mist was thinning and it was with shock that she realised she wasn't shivering anymore. Instead, she was walking, walking towards that glow emanating from afar, silhouetted by a man. He seemed familiar, special, somehow.
Frank, she realised with a start just as everything came rushing back. She took his outstretched hand, remembering after a long time how to smile.
As they stepped over the threshold, she knew death couldn't be that terrible after all.
Notes:For my cupcake Kat (roseusvortex)!
Thanks to Sam (HP Slash Luv) for betaing.