Sunrise

"What do you expect?" The words pulled from his lips as a bent nail from weather beaten oak. "How am I supposed…? You come, demand these, things, as if it's poss--." Powerful winds swept in the vortex of his eyes, tumbling her questions, one's end over the other. "Fine. Okay," he rumbled, "What do I…?" Heavy lids closed, momentarily quelling the storm. One slow, surprisingly gentle intake of air, and twin hurricanes burst open. "I want animals to husband, land to steward, plants to grow, and a house to build." She might've thought that was all, but a flush of emotion on his cheeks belied more torrent.

"I want a woman to come into that house, take up the work of plants, land and creatures along side me. A woman to love. A woman to pour her love forth, and imbue the space surrounds us with her being. I want to push, challenge, fight, come back, find our rest together, make those separate selves more completely and deeply human as we each reveal the other to ourselves." His words grew quieter, yet only shook with the more power, "I want that we fill our home till the convergence of two hearts makes one, splits again, springs forth a child. To cradle, to care for, to teach, to raise to fledging. I want to watch that embodied Love fly from our home towards Freedom in the single most unique, rendingly beautiful, and common picture of loss and fulfillment."

No longer could his gaze be met, which had set upon her unblinking. She heard him turn his head towards the horizon, and his voice softened to broke canvas, "Through that loss, again to cling, one to the other, tend our home and selves knowingly and fearlessly into those finals days… beyond them." Hardly a whisper now, "What do I want?" She could hear his eyes once more upon her downcast face. "I want Life. A life. What else is there?" One hand to her breast, she retreated a half-step, drew closer. His breath came shallow, quivering, as his jaw absently chewed the sudden silence.

A weak, spring sun crept towards the eastern ridge's crest as slowly and timidly as she raised her chin. Morning light burned in her gaze the instant their eyes met, and he couldn't say for certain, to the day she buried him, from which source came the Fire.