"Come with me."
Gaara led her out of her room, through the dreaming city, and out into the desert. The air was like crystal; the wind was sharp and smelled of mystery. When the sand slowed her down, he picked her up and they traveled on a cloud of sand.
The moon was smiling, listening to the stars' laughter.
When at last they stopped it was so quiet she could hear their hearts beat, not quite in unison, an irregular rhythm.
He walked down the side of a dune, and she followed.
"Here." He said and pointed to a small cactus nestled in between the soft sands of the dunes and a stone cliff, rising from the desert. He sat down beside it, and motioned for her to join him.
They waited.
As the moon rose to sit directly above them the cactus peeled back its green exterior, revealing pale blue insides, glowing in the moonlight.
That night she felt she could stay in the desert forever, in this moment, frozen in glass, pressurized sand. That was the night she fell in love with the desert.