The healing of Fire and Ice
He had a dream ... or was it a sweet memory he had somehow forgotten over his long life? He was flying with his soulmate. She had turned into a phoenix, and sailed over the Endless Sea with him. She was so alive. Her wings bathed in the nightsky. Her fiery power made him proud, and he longed for being closer to her. Soon, he would build a nest with his chosen one, he felt it in his heart. She wouldn't reject him, would she? After all, he had given her his only treasure – his heart.
A gust of wind drove the female bird away from him. He saw her struggling to fight it, but in vain. The phoenix sank lower and the waves became as big as mountains. It was as if the Endless Sea itself rose to devour her. He watched, helplessly panicking, as his partner broke through the surface of the water, her light a rapidly weakening red spark in the blackness of the sea. He wanted to follow her, but the same wind that had dragged his loved one down lifted him high up in the air. His heart was racing with shock and anger, and he called out for her with his hoarse cry. One last time the spark underwater seemed to light up, before it finally went out. The goddess of the Phoenix had drowned.
His eyes searched feverishly the Endless Sea. He wouldn't accept it. He wouldn't stop hoping. She couldn't be dead. After all, she was all he had waited for, billions of years. Now, she had become the living magic of creation. Nature itself would rise and change the wheel of fortune for her, wouldn't it? The hope in his heart burned hot. It was the only thing that prevented him from killing himself in order to end the terrible loneliness in his heart. Then he heard it. A song rose over the sea. It was her voice that gave him strength. He listened carefully, and suddenly it all made sense: to gain something is to lose something. With the explosive sound of a thunder she broke the surface of the water, following the path of reincarnation. With strong flaps of her burning wings she quickly gained height, her body surrounded by a blazingingly beautiful light. „You silly bird, do you think I'd ever leave you alone? Why do you think I'm on fire? To keep you warm, so you never have to feel cold." He smiled to himself. He had made the right choice. They would always find each other. "Let's go home, Yan Zhu. I am tired from the long flight. Let's build a bigger nest and warm each other. Will you stay with me and become my wife?" "I thought you'd never ask."