A Single Candle

Chapter Eight: 'A Light That Never Goes Out'

Yolie woke up in a daze. Everything had happened so fast. Now she was starting to remember... all her memories were coming back in a flash. In her mind, she went back in time - back to the moment she walked in the door. Devon had smiled and waved her over immediately. "Hey, sweetheart. You look fabulous." he said, eyeing her in a way that made her heart skip a few beats. "Wanna dance?" Of course she did! Just being here with him was like a dream come true. She never thought she would pull it off... and she wouldn't have, if it hadn't been for Ken's help... so where was he now? She wondered briefly, before being pulled into Devon's arms as a beautiful song began to play and they began the dance that would change her life forever...

Just one more night
One more score
Another question in my mind,
can't take no more

The Candlelight Fantasia had begun, as she fell into her dream-like state. Devon was holding her close - too close. Practically raping her on the spot. And the closer he tried to get to her, the more she thought of Ken and the more she tried to run away from him. The more she struggled, the more he fought to keep her close to him. "You're mine." he said, kissing her fiercely and hugging her as tightly as he could to his chest without breaking her fragile self.

Kissing the tears form my face as
they fall
To the ground in silence
in twilight and faded time
Spirits cold, with no love
Bells ring a lonely chime
Candle fires
These lit dreams can't burn alone

Ken wasn't there to save her... he couldn't be. She chose to be blind and not run to him when she had the chance. Now she was being dragged away by Devon to his hotel room. He had this planned all along. The candle of love she had lit with Ken was slowly being blown out of existance. 'Ken...' She wimpered pathetically as he threw her down on the bed and had his every way - his every fantasy with her. But inside, her mind was formulating a plan - to stay strong and run to Ken as soon as the hungry beast let down his guard. He wouldn't stop her once he got what he wanted.

Winds of change bring songs
upon my memory
An empty heart and soul
intoxicates me
This darkened page orchestrates
my final destiny
Not knowing what,
what tomorrow will bring

Yolie escaped into the night - dress ripped and torn and her body weak and bloody. But she didn't have to fight to get away. Devon fell into a peaceful sleep as she fell into her own little personal hell, trying desperately to find Ken's house. And even once she got there, her strength faded and she couldn't even knock on the door. Luckily he had been out and pulled up in his car to see her fainted on his doorstep. Carefully and lovingly, he took her inside and wrapped her up after giving her some clean clothes to rest in. But before she fell asleep, she told him the things she had always hesitated to say.

And he confirmed that his feelings were just the same, if not stronger for her. So it seemed that the nightmare would fade. But then she went to the doctors and they told her than she was going to have Devon's baby and she cried. Ken did all he could to help her, but she fell into a coma of dispair: calling herself terrible things... feeling unworthy and alone...

From within the mirrors eyes
I'm forced to run away and hide
I feel those mystic eyes subside
And leave my blind
Through passages in time
A prisoner locked beind the door
Lonely roses slowly wither and die

So when it was time for the baby to come, Ken took a course on delivering the baby himself. He had. And then, he sent it off to an orphanage, and to make Yolie whole again, he gave her a medicine that would cloud her thoughts and cause her to forget, so that she could be well again. Even if it meant losing her, he wasn't going to let her go on suffering. That was all the blood she had seen. Most of the other memories were implanted by that... that medicine! Had she ever gone home? No... she hadn't. Ken had taken care of her the whole time she was with child.

He wanted to help her. It was her unconditional love for him that fought off the medicine and allowed her to remember fragments of her true past. Because... even now, as she remembered, she didn't want to let go. Actually, she was happy. The child would find a happy home. Devon would never bother her again... as long as she could find Ken before it was too late!

I can't escape this captive misery
Heart stone cold, under supremacy
Thrown into a raging sea of tyranny

Yolie escaped the hospital again and ran to Ken's house. His car was still there, so maybe he was still packing. She forced open the door and found that, even at night, all the lights were out - save for one candle sitting at the front of the room. It's flame was slowly dying from being lit so long, but yet, it lived on, perhaps realizing that it was the only thing keeping the darkness from totally ruling the room... Yolie smiled. It was much like her love for Ken.

When he came down the stairs, he wasn't prepared to see her standing there. Yolie hadn't changed: she was still wearing the hospital clothing. But she felt beautiful, even now. For once, she thought she could do this right... she could be with Ken, and she could be happy. The candle had proven it to her: kind of like the hanaka story, but even better. Yolie's eyes brightened and she ran into his arms: forcing him into a big hug. "Oh, you idiot! You had me so scared this whole time! I didn't know if I would make it on time!" she shouted, but her anger didn't wipe away the grand smile she had on.

Lifes vile walls have tangled me in threads
Eternally caught in my futures threads
Play the violent strings of my symphony

"But you... you weren't supposed to find me! You weren't supposed to remember! How did you...?" Ken asked, standing back to look into her eyes. They shone with bright purpose and love. "You know what happened, and yet you still love me? You know I erased your memories, and yet you still forgive me? Why? How? Yolie... I... I don't understand!"

She smiled. "It's like a candle... burning brightly. I didn't remember anything, except how much I loved you. Being as stubborn as I was, that just wasn't enough. I searched for the answers... so I could be with you again. I never could have been happy again if it hadn't been for you, but now I can. I'm happier than ever, as long as you stay! You even saved that child from a life of dispair, so it could find a life of love and happiness somewhere out there. What you did was right, Ken... you did what you believed was best... what's best for me, even. So... stay. It would make me the happiest girl alive." She said, hugging him and continuing to hold him close.

Transcend the absence of this fantasy
Just another vision
Washed away with the tide
No place for forgotten ones
I cannot deny
What lies beyond, beyond this fantasy

Happiness. Pure happiness. That is what lies beyond this fantasy...

Ken kissed Yolie passionately. "I promise, I'll always be here." he said, "As long as you want me, that is." he said, blushing. Yolie laughed and kissed him again.

"I promise too. As long as our candle never goes out..." she smiled.

"I once heard that... our hearts may be weaka and sometimes they give in, but inside, deep down, there is this light that never goes out... you think that's it?" he asked. "Is that our candle?" Yolie nodded her head and cuddled with him contently, on the warm couch of his house. "Do... do you want to go home and... and see your mom and your friends?"

"Our friends." She corrected. "And yes... I do. But not now. Maybe tomorrow. We have a lot of missed time to catch up on." she giggled, kissing him again. Ken's lips twitched upward even as he kissed her. And oh boy did he have a lot of time to make up...

HAHA! I bet you thought I would never continue this and that I died! But i didn't! Oh, and I'm up and kicking. I may continue this. It took me forever to figure out where I wanted to go with it, sorry about the long wait. I hope you liked what I decided to do, so REVIEW and tell me exactly what you think. Remember, flames are for toasted marshmellows which are awesome on smores... so if you want to make me smores, it's much more fun to do around a campfire than in a flaming review

Love ya'll

Christine Lennoire