Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Darkness and cold pulled at weary limbs and his eyes didn’t want to open at first. A faint pain radiated from his chest, extending down the length of his right arm. He flexed his right hand noticing how only 2 of his fingers moved in the way he wanted them to. The rest twitched spastically. He sat up slowly, rubbing his face before finally daring to open his eyes.
The water sound that had gone even so far as to permeate his deep blood-bathed dreams grew louder with each moment he became more awake. He could now see a small rivulet of water falling from the ceiling of what looked like a small ice cave. He couldn’t see an exit, but a faint brightening at his right indicated that he could easily break the ice and escape from here.
Standing proved a bit more difficult than he first expected. Rubbery legs did little to support him and he sat back hard on his heels to keep from falling. Alright, he thought I’ll just crawl out. Crawling was much easier although on his hands and knees, the trek across the small cave seemed to take forever. An image moved into his thoughts. A figure held a large bundle tightly. He couldn’t make out whether the person was a man or a woman but something about the way this person moved even under the burden of the large bundle seemed overwhelmingly beautiful. Suddenly he was focused on a new task. He had to find this person. A new vigor lifted him to his feet and to the ice wall.
Breaking the ice took no effort and in a matter of seconds bright light flooded over him. He covered his eyes and scanned the barren horizon. Nothing. Another image wafted in, once again of the same figure stumbling in knee deep snow as if trying to escape something. He could hear a single thought I don’t understand but I have to get away, why is my face damp? Why does my chest hurt? What is this?
He broke out into a run. He let his heart lead him in the direction he went. With each step his body began to ache more, his heart pounded in his chest. A wave of sadness washed over him, but the sadness wasn’t from him. It belonged to someone else entirely, yet it was his too. He stopped, turning around to scan the empty wasteland around him and called out a name bourn of intermingled yearning. “Jawn!” his voice shot across the snowy waste. He dropped to his knees, his chest pounding. Breathing was proving more difficult than ever as his body finally became aware of the bitter cold around him.
Be still. A gentle voice called in his mind. He did as he was told, lying down on his side in the snow in wait for something or someone. Something or someone he was directly tied to, interwoven with soul to soul. He closed his eyes, waiting patiently as the sound of footsteps grew closer. Suddenly he felt himself lifted as if he weighed no more than a small child. He buried his face in a mass of copper hair, feeling the strange urge to cry welling up deep inside of him. He tried hard to hold it back but to no avail. Within the embrace of this person, he wept. Old images of people crying out in pain, running in fear boiled over. He wanted to escape, he wanted to be free of this.
How long did he sob, face buried in the fragrant hair of a stranger not quite a stranger, cradled in these arms like a babe? A strange choking sound came from the person holding him. He lifted his head, alarmed by the strangeness of the sound and met amber eyes rimmed red, not quite masculine, not quite feminine.
“I don’t understand what’s happening to me.” The figure’s eyes widened. He felt himself eased to his feet, held away for a moment. The person, not quite man, not quite woman, placed a slender hand to it’s alabaster cheek and looked down. “Why is my face wet?”
Narim placed a hand on the person’s cheek and smiled gently. “You’ve been crying. Your eyes are all red.”
Jawn. His mind floated away for a moment, feeling the waves of emotion that passed between the two of them… back and forth.
“That’s impossible. I am unable to cry” This person Narim finally understood was named Jawn shook with sobs. Wrapped in eachothers embrace they cried together as the images of narim’s past faded farther and farther away.
The water sound that had gone even so far as to permeate his deep blood-bathed dreams grew louder with each moment he became more awake. He could now see a small rivulet of water falling from the ceiling of what looked like a small ice cave. He couldn’t see an exit, but a faint brightening at his right indicated that he could easily break the ice and escape from here.
Standing proved a bit more difficult than he first expected. Rubbery legs did little to support him and he sat back hard on his heels to keep from falling. Alright, he thought I’ll just crawl out. Crawling was much easier although on his hands and knees, the trek across the small cave seemed to take forever. An image moved into his thoughts. A figure held a large bundle tightly. He couldn’t make out whether the person was a man or a woman but something about the way this person moved even under the burden of the large bundle seemed overwhelmingly beautiful. Suddenly he was focused on a new task. He had to find this person. A new vigor lifted him to his feet and to the ice wall.
Breaking the ice took no effort and in a matter of seconds bright light flooded over him. He covered his eyes and scanned the barren horizon. Nothing. Another image wafted in, once again of the same figure stumbling in knee deep snow as if trying to escape something. He could hear a single thought I don’t understand but I have to get away, why is my face damp? Why does my chest hurt? What is this?
He broke out into a run. He let his heart lead him in the direction he went. With each step his body began to ache more, his heart pounded in his chest. A wave of sadness washed over him, but the sadness wasn’t from him. It belonged to someone else entirely, yet it was his too. He stopped, turning around to scan the empty wasteland around him and called out a name bourn of intermingled yearning. “Jawn!” his voice shot across the snowy waste. He dropped to his knees, his chest pounding. Breathing was proving more difficult than ever as his body finally became aware of the bitter cold around him.
Be still. A gentle voice called in his mind. He did as he was told, lying down on his side in the snow in wait for something or someone. Something or someone he was directly tied to, interwoven with soul to soul. He closed his eyes, waiting patiently as the sound of footsteps grew closer. Suddenly he felt himself lifted as if he weighed no more than a small child. He buried his face in a mass of copper hair, feeling the strange urge to cry welling up deep inside of him. He tried hard to hold it back but to no avail. Within the embrace of this person, he wept. Old images of people crying out in pain, running in fear boiled over. He wanted to escape, he wanted to be free of this.
How long did he sob, face buried in the fragrant hair of a stranger not quite a stranger, cradled in these arms like a babe? A strange choking sound came from the person holding him. He lifted his head, alarmed by the strangeness of the sound and met amber eyes rimmed red, not quite masculine, not quite feminine.
“I don’t understand what’s happening to me.” The figure’s eyes widened. He felt himself eased to his feet, held away for a moment. The person, not quite man, not quite woman, placed a slender hand to it’s alabaster cheek and looked down. “Why is my face wet?”
Narim placed a hand on the person’s cheek and smiled gently. “You’ve been crying. Your eyes are all red.”
Jawn. His mind floated away for a moment, feeling the waves of emotion that passed between the two of them… back and forth.
“That’s impossible. I am unable to cry” This person Narim finally understood was named Jawn shook with sobs. Wrapped in eachothers embrace they cried together as the images of narim’s past faded farther and farther away.
