The room began to brighten very gradually, as if someone were opening their eyes for the first time in a long while. She watched him blink several times, adjusting to the light. His gaze took in the room, lingering on the wall and then on the floor where glass lay in a pile. She watched him turn his eyes to her hand on his chest. He started to breathe shallowly as his eyes traveled up to her face. Biting her lip, she saw the raw emotion play across his face.
"You're real," he whispered.
She nodded.
"Oh, God, you're real." He released her hands and rubbed his face, tears streaming between his fingers.
She reached out to wipe them away and he caught her hand. "It's okay." His blue eyes just stared at her, drinking it all in. "They told me I couldn't see you, then he told me you weren't real. You were my only hope."
Smiling, she rose from the bed and drew him with her. They walked to the wall. She bent down and began to pick up the broken pictures. Glass cut her fingers and blood dropped to the floor. He tried to stop her.
"No, Hector, I need to do this for you. It is a gift for you. Someone does love you and wants you to be whole again. Changed and different, stronger but whole."
He stood and watched as she put the pictures back on the wall. The shattered picture of beautiful Mara, separated from him by death. The fractured stills of his beloved cousin Althea, separated from him by distance. The torn photo of his tried and true team, separated from him by his own walls. As she placed them in their positions, she touched each with her hand leaving drops of her own self. When she was done, she placed her hand over her heart and a Light danced in her hand. Smiling, she held the Light out to each picture and the glass flared and what was broken became whole.
She looked at the undisturbed pictures of Bobby and James. The last blank one was still a mystery to her, but it wasn't hers to figure out. She knew that now.
Turning back to Hector, she held out her hand with the Light dancing in her palm. "It's a gift for you, if you are willing to take it." She watched the indecision play across his face but smiled as hope sparked in his blue eyes.
He reached for her hand and opened his trembling palm. The Light danced and whirled with joy as It leapt from her hand to his. It raced up his arm and she saw him close his eyes and begin to laugh. As he did, she saw the Light begin to race around him, peeling away old hurts and new scars. He picked her up and spun around. His joy was infectious and she found herself crying her own tears of joy. When he stopped spinning, he rushed over to a mirror and looked in his own eyes. The Light was behind them now and they glowed a blue he'd only seen after an ocean storm.
He turned to see her standing next to a door.
"I have to go now but I'll see you soon. For real." And then she was gone.
Alone, he held out his hand and the Flame danced. He walked over to his picture wall and held the Light up to the last blank. It started to take form and was a picture of an angel.
