Louis opened his eyes to find a smile forming on Tawny's face. He was lying not on the school lawn, or the devil bed, or the school gym floor, but on a hospital bed, back in the present. He was alive. And she was still smiling, as radiantly as ever, the joy and relief sweeping over the pain and fatigue etched into her face, reddened by all her tears.
It took him a moment to realize that Tawny was still holding his hand. It was then that it all came back to him, the visions that he had last night, the miracle that her love had worked.
"You saved my life, Tawny," Louis said softly, looking into her eyes with adoration.
Tawny closed her eyes and let out a sigh, not knowing what to say.
"I could feel it, Tawny," he insisted. "You kept me alive last night. You made my pain go away, as you did so many times before. You and your love."
"I was the one being selfish and immature, Louis," Tawny finally said, her eyes lowered in shame.
Louis stared at her, a look of incomprehension in his eyes. Then he recalled the words that had pulled him back from death's embrace last night. Tawny calling him selfish and immature, telling him that he couldn't just leave her behind. He gave her an affectionate look.
"No, Tawny," Louis said. "You were right. You needed to say it to wake me back to my senses. It was foolish of me to think that I could give back by giving up my life for you."
Tawny looked at him in disbelief. It was a look that told him that he had failed to understand her, for once.
"No, Louis," she said, pleadingly. "I was the one who almost got you killed last night. And I was the one who almost got you in jail the other night. Because I insisted that we stay here, no matter what. In a country that was forcing me to choose between you and my work."
Louis closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Tawny," he whispered. "Don't say that."
"You said it yourself, Louis," Tawny went on, her eyes now fixed on his. "You said it last night and the night before it all happened. That there is an alternative to living like this. And I said it myself. That you are the most important part of my life and always have been." The look in her eyes told him that she pronounced her words out of strength and hope, not weakness and fear. "Our love gave us a second chance last night to remain together, Louis. In a place where it can be free to keep on doing great things."
Louis's eyes were fixed on Tawny's. He knew that there was no resisting the power of her reasoning, much less the power of her love. And he felt no fear, having felt the power of her love working its magic last night. Just hope. Hope that the same love that could work such magic could keep on performing wonders in a place where it could be free without having to fight just to stay alive. The hope had finally conquered the fear and the time had come to move on to new battles. He believed in her and himself, the two of them.