30Kisses Theme Ficlets
Robin/Raven
By Kysra
Theme #19 (red): Candle
It is the beginning. They are alone, two over-mature children who have seen too much and have had to learn to deal without guidance. She is silent, cold and consistently quiet. He is busy, nervous and constantly moving.
Neither sleep in the dusky half-light. Neither wake with the sun. They are afraid and excited, kindred spirits ready to take on the world because there is no one else to fight their battles.
It is in the between hours, when they rest without the comfort of dreams or disturbing nightmares, that he discovers her hate of fire and she learns of his fear of the dark. It is then that the tradition begins - with a dark room and a single red candle held within her palm.
They sit by the sparce light, talking of nothing and everything until the dark melts away and the little flame runs low.
As the years pass, the play is reenacted on the anniversary of their first meeting, always on that day for the traumatic deaths of their loved ones have made them all-too-clearly aware that life ends abruptly and while one should remember those departed, one should also celebrate the events that brought them into their lives. So, on that day, she waits for darkness to fall before slipping into his room, a single lit, blood red candle cupped in her hands, it's warmth a subtle kiss against her skin.
And within the illuminating circle, growing with each reaffirmation, the fear disipates a little more, the hurts that created the hatred becomes a little less; and they discover that the bonds they create are more important than the reason behind their yearly ritual. Friendship, trust, compassion, understanding - they bind and reinforce, connect and protect them through the fire, in the dark, till the end.