She dances, full of joy at life itself. Turning, dipping low, then leaping into the sky, bluest of blues. Bare feet skim the grass below, scarcely touching the soft blades before leaving again, the faintest kiss of toe to earth. Her long hair floats around her face, eyes closed in contentment. Sunlight catches in the locks and the jewels held there, sending auburn and sapphire swirls out around her. Her arms are raised to the sun, palms upturned. She laughs, not a care in the world, before she begins to dance again.
He sits alone, ever alone, watching her dance. He envies her joy, her life, her spirit. Shadow shroud him, he welcomes their cold embraces. They have become a part of him, a dark comfort, during his long, lost years. He lifts emerald eyes to her face, glowing with happiness. The shadows had never touched her. Though she had been forced to walk through the darkest of them, they couldn't change her, shape her as they had shaped him. He silently mourns the loss of his humanity. Years ago, he could have danced beside her, felt the same glorious joy that now illuminated her entire being. Not now, however. He has lived too long among the lost, the dead, he bears their marks as though tattooed on his face and breast.
She turns, eyes opening, pulled to his form, kneeling in the darkness.
An angel.
face caressed by light.
The lost soul,
tears of ink upon his cheek.
Their eyes meet, crossing time and eternity, bridging the ages, the length of a room. His hand raises as if in supplication, true tears follow dark traces. Her hand lifts to follow the movement of his, continuing farther to rest golden fingertips on sapphire jewels. Hesitating, remembering the kindness he had once shown her, her hands tremble, unsure of their task. She lowers them, smiles wryly. She cannot harm him, will not hurt him. He begins to rise, she steps forward…
Lightning races, a flash of orange fire. It surrounds her, overwhelms her gentle light, engulfs her. He winces as her beauty is hidden beside the bonfire of the boy. Before this raging star she is but a candle's flame, her light most welcome when times are darkest. His soul mourns as she is taken from him, as so much has been taken. All that he has loved has been stolen from him, and now her as well. He falls, alone, as she vanishes with the flame-haired youth, and his darkness becomes complete.
