A/N: Written for the 10_prompt challenge on lj. Also posted on lj (link to journal in profile).
To Walk Below the Darkened Clouds
Prompt #001: Hope
With his eyes closed and senses numbed by the tears tricking down his cheeks, he was aware of very few things in the world around him. Just the weight and warmth of the body in his arms, the hands clutching the shirt on his back, the sound of machines beeping around him and that of air hitting plastic close to his ears…and that was enough. It was enough to say his tears flowed only from relief, where they had once flown in anguish clawing at his heart and a desperate hope. Enough to say tragedy had been avoided, that the tale in which all had contributed was going to be wrapped by a happy ending. Enough to cling to that like an anchor, almost afraid to let it go again lest it should vanish like the wisps of a mirage on the dry desert wind.
No, he didn't want to let go. He didn't think he could, as close as he had come to losing his brother: the boy almost identical to him and yet so different and now drained within his embrace, retaking life with unsteady breaths aided by the mask over his nose and lips.
Yes…A smile slid upon his face as he buried his face into his twin's hair, smelling that scent for the first time. Surprisingly, it was a modest blend of earth, apples and maple leaves, melting together to just touch the edge of his senses. He recorded the scent to memory, thinking all the while that it was, at that moment, enough to stay like that just a little more.
The rest of the world would simply have to wait.
