Louis opened his eyes in the middle of the night to find himself lying alone in bed in his old room. Everything in his room was how it had been up to junior high, the mess and the gadgets strewn about. He himself had aged up to the present, but, as the unfamiliar and yet all too familiar sight of his surroundings told him, he had never grown up. And Tawny wasn't there. And he knew it was because Tawny wasn't there.
He cried. He cried like a little boy longing frantically for his mother, because that was what Tawny was to him, in a way. She was the love of his life, but she was also its guiding light. She was his wife and his best friend, but she was also his teacher and his mentor. She was what held his world together, the source of life, love, strength, inspiration. She was the magic that had changed his life forever, given it the precious meaning that it had never had before. His only hope. And it was somehow all a dream and nothing had changed.
"Tawny…" he managed to whisper in between his tears. As if calling her name could bring her back. Not too long ago, he could feel her reassuring him as she had always done, telling him to believe in the power of reality. And all he was now left with was the dream.
"Louis." Tawny's gentle yet forceful voice rang in his ears. And there she was, all of a sudden, lying in front of him, a look of affectionate concern on her face. She extended her arms and embraced him. "Louis, it's okay. It's okay," she just said. And he just remained still, taking in her loving presence, afraid that anything he did would take it away, whether it was reality or just a dream.
Silent tears flowed down Tawny's cheeks. It pained her acutely to see Louis suffering to the point of paralysis. Yet she understood, more than ever, that he needed from her the magic, the magic that was ever so real. And she had to believe in herself so that he could believe in her and himself, the two of them. She made an effort to turn her tears into strength and poured every ounce of it that she could muster into her embrace, letting him feel the full force of her love. She could feel the walls of her heart dissolving and her heart pouring out in full flow into his.
Louis recoiled slightly as he felt the uncanny power of it all. He could feel her strength flowing into him, her heart pouring out into his. And just then, he could feel a teardrop falling from her cheek onto his. He drew back from her embrace to look into her eyes, the tears trailing out of them laced with loving affection and the strength and determination etched into her face. It was then that it all dawned on him. He cried again, crying this time at how foolish he had been, how he could have doubted for even one second the wondrous reality that Tawny so magically embodied. He now embraced her back vigorously, burying his head in her chest, covering every square inch of himself with her loving presence. She gently stroked his hair, letting him feel the tingling sensation of her fingers running through it. She closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of being at one with him, the fire in both their hearts merging into a unity that expanded to fill every part of their bodies.