The thrill. The rush. The joy. In one moment. A second that lasted a lifetime.
She came out of the light like an angel from heaven. He didn't believe it at first. Surely it was a dream. He was about to die. He was about to die and never see her again. Everything was going to be a waste. Death was here, in the darkness.
Then out of nowhere, a burst of light and the popping of guns. It was heaven and its trumpets playing the sweet sound of salvation. He was blinded, confused. His vision was dotted and whited out as he walked towards the light. A silhouette approached him. It had a familiar shape and stature, one that he saw in his dreams. It could have been dangerous. It could have been nothing. All he could hear was the echo of gunshots and blood rushing through his head.
But as it approached him, the halo of light dimmed and he made out her face. Then he thought for sure it wasn't real. But his breath hitched as she crashed into him and strangely, he doubted all sense of reality. What was he touching? What was he feeling? Where was he? How was he here? The rules of logic didn't seem to apply. There was a warm breath next to his ear but how did it get there? There was beautiful body in front of him but how did it exist? There was an overwhelming sense of love in his heart but what just happened?
Please be real, he prayed. For God's sake, let this be real.
She pulled away and he got a good look at her face, still stunned. It was definitely Maggie. He could recognize that smile anywhere. It was Maggie. It was really her.
He instinctively kissed back when she threw herself at him, pressing her lips onto his with vigor, with desperateness. And he could taste the words "Please be real" on her tongue as well. So he kissed her harder to answer, "Yes."
He wanted to say everything to her. Everything that existed in the English language. Every word, every sentence that could possibly be formed. But later he just said, "God, you are so beautiful," because it was true and there was nothing in the godforsaken world that mattered. He wanted to kiss the blush on her cheeks, the edges of her smile, the crinkle on her nose. He wanted to surround her and be inside her. He wanted to touch her forever and never let go.
Later that night, when they were alone, he couldn't stop looking at her.
"We should get some sleep," she said. She laid on his pack, tracing the veins on his hands. He sat next to her with a firm grip on one of her legs and his gaze hooked onto her face. He analyzed the twitch in her smile, the way her lashes fluttered when she got drowsy.
"I can't sleep right now," he admitted. She laughed.
"We should try. If we want to make it to Terminus tomorrow, we'll need energy."
"I'll be okay. You sleep."
She frowned slightly. "I don't want to sleep without you."
"I know." He sighed and stroked her hair. "I don't want to close my eyes. I just want to keep looking at you, make sure you don't disappear."
"I won't."
A lump formed in his throat. Oh no, what if it was a dream? What if when he closed his eyes, he woke up? He lifted her hand to his face and pressed her skin onto his.
Apprehensively and slowly, he closed his eyes. He felt her fingers stroke his rough cheek. The coldness of her wedding ring made the hair on his arms stand up. "I won't ever leave you again," she whispered. "Never again." It was real. This was real.
He squeezed into the tight space with and they both turned so that they were face to face. He felt her warm breath on his cheek when she sighed. Her voice was low and her words slurred. "I found you," she said. "We found each other." He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and closed his eyes with confidence.
She was burned into his very being. Her sweet brown hair, forest green eyes, warm smile, delicate fingers, beautiful body. A vision of light. His own nirvana.
His own angel.