Having to walk through the hells of humanity

Only to find,

Heaven

Is nothing but a state of mind.

It was one of those things that wouldn't change with time. A meaning of truth, intangible, indefinite. A relic of the past that seemed so long gone, she could barely comprehend its reality. Time revealed to be nothing but the intervals between heartbeats invented by her mind, and she wondered. How long since she was asleep, how long was she frozen? She could not feel a breath, she could not feel her heart.

Slow, in her mind's eye, there was light. It vanquished the veins of crystal in her vision, with the promise of a life. She came to a window to find herself in a room, soft with the light pink glow of the sun. Gentle lines manifested as soft sheets, wooden grains, curved hinges. The white cage hung by the windowsill. The physicality of movement escaped her but there was a feeling akin to having the air winded from her stomach. She stopped in her tracks. Rays of orange sunlight caressed the pure matted bars, and she saw, motion blurs bringing her ever closer, closer, staring at, a dove. She saw herself blink.

There was a manner of significance which attached itself to the way white feathers were streaked with green, turquoise, shimmering subtly in between glowing flashes of white. Her soul swelled at some magic held within the living heartbeats he took, at the way he had eyes such a clear grey it left traces of mist in her own. He was real. Unbelievable. Yet so so tangible, a miracle, it kindled a small warmth within her it made her reach out, it made her hope. There was a sky, out there, riddled with blue infinities and endless possibilities and a small flutter of his wings, made her believe simply, how they could live. Laughter bubbled from her lungs and filled her smile. Set me free, she told him. Set me free.

But his eyes only looked at her with a sadness swirling in its own depth. He hopped closer, head pressed against the metal bars. I can't, his eyes said, swimming in emotion. I'm trapped. His feathers ruffled helplessly by his side. And she thought there was something heartbreakingly familiar about the way his soul touched hers, clutching at semblances of a heart through metal bars foreheads meeting in the middle. She ached in her chest, and like liquid ghosts dripped phantom tears which she could not touch or taste, in the cool void that was forever. She couldn't have escaped her destiny. She couldn't have escaped her duty.

I'm sorry, she cried. I'm sorry, Hope. I'm so, so sorry but I didn't want to go. I had to. I had to. Green orbs melded with soulful grey, weighed down by the chains of time. Her arms flung around the cage, and she gripped him to her chest as tight as she could tell, devoid of the luxury of feeling. His body was broken, along with a spirit that was meant to roam the earth, trapped, helpless, imprisoned. Just as much as she was. She forgot how lonely she had become. Forgot how it was like to brush souls with another, she forgot how she loved. She wished they could have stayed together for always. She wished they could have laughed together. She wished they could have lived a whole life together, alive, breathing, running. Soaring. The empty void within her cramped up with pain. Anguish. Sorrow. He looked from her, to the great expanse beyond, past the window, into the light.

I want you here.

Salt water stained his wing.

I need you here.

He turned back to her, eyes glistening, searching.

I love you.

So she released her arms, to let him, go.

Always.

And set both of them, free.

A/N: A short companion perspective to Hope's, originally not particularly written for any existing story, but I thought they complemented each other quite well. Constructive criticism is always welcome.