Chapter Thirty - Sunset

The wind was stronger now, it pulled at his hair, his shirt sleeves flapped, leaves skittered across the ground. He had to lean against it to stay upright, it was so strong. And the glowing of the sunset was purer than he'd ever remembered it. The pale light was so strong now it even came through his eyelids, he had to squeeze his eyes shut tight. The pure blue of the end of the day was painful. The wind roared and howled and he pressed harder down onto the softness beneath him, he felt her move, the wind was blowing so hard, he had to hold her down or she would blow away. He felt the wind buffet his shoulder, stroke his arm and lay against his face. He opened his eyes. The blue sunset was in his fist, its dazzling rays sliced through between his fingers and lit the forest with painful swirling light. It turned, revolved, curled around and up like a slow cyclone. The whirlwind of air and sound seemed to not be part of the spinning light. The light was slow, pale and gentle, the air was powerful, eager, a struggling frenzied thing. The two elements, air and light were one, opposites and enemies.

It would be best if she had the light, it was hers anyway. The gentle light was hers, the whirlwind he didn't connect to at all, it didn't seem to be a part of someone like her. He lifted the hand with the stone in, taking his other, bloodied hand from her breast. It just seemed the right thing to do to lay the hand with the stone against the wound, because that was where it should be. His mop of hair flapped and strained about his face now and the source of the blue typhoon wanted to pick him up and throw him away, but he dug his toes into the leaf loam, opened the hand (the brightness of the bluest sunset he'd ever witnessed burned his eyes until they hurt) and lay it, palm down over the bullet wound, holding the stone down and holding her body at the same time.

There was a roar and gust of something so strong he thought he would die. He felt he was in the presence of some monstrous angry invisible creature. It picked him up and threw him across the ground. A bolt of pain as his head struck something hard. He shut his eyes tight but through the lids he could still see the blue white diamond of light of the stone burning against her body. And then, though his eyes were still shut, he saw her hand lift and close over it and hold it and the blue white light ended and the roaring storm of wind left the forest. The swaying tree branches became still. Leaves fluttered through the clearing and came to rest.

He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was her. Her face was turned to him, she looked at him, weakly smiling.

"Sheeta?"
"Taeg Paetsu. You great clumsy lump. I knew you could…"

Her voice was low and dry, thin as paper, she sounded very ill. He got up, ran to her and fell on her, scooping her up and crushing her to him. Weak and disoriented, she couldn't hold him, she merely lay confused but happy, in his arms.

"Sheeta!"

He held her so hard, he never wanted to let go, never. Not for one second, not until he died. He lifted her face in both hands and stared at her, unable to believe this was happening.

"Thank you Paetsu."

Tears pouring down his face, he kissed her.

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19 - 22 March 2007

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