A Battle of Light and Dark

Here's a short piece I wrote a while back, stream of consciousness style. 

The sound swirls around me like a tornado of leaves, twisting and twirling through space. Your cries of plea fading in the typhoon. The screeching owls from far away echoing in my brain. So close to you, yet so far away, I plunge into the depths.

My mind a dark abyss, a light at the end of the tunnel. The light grows yet distances itself with each passing second. The mouth in my mind smiles, cold blue lips parting to reveal a treacherous landscape of a rough, decaying tongue and jagged teeth.

I awake to the sound of a rushing stream. My eyes flutter, open, awake. They see for the first time, not clouded by facades of the present or past. Myself, below the river. You are above. Sinking into the rocky silt I glance up at your eyes, the light I was searching for. Your serene face looking down into the river, a reflection of your own despair. The smile vanishes, and your eyes close. My light flickers out, and I am swept down the current and into the greater body of darkness.

Night. Shadow. Darkness. A solitude of great proportion. It is not until ones eyes adjust that they can see the majestic beauty of the night. Quiet. Silence. Serenity. The liquid shadow surrounds me, filling my being with placidity. I float down the abyssal stream in complete solitude, complete introspection, and complete calmness. But life is not meant to be a relaxed journey down the mighty waters of living. Without trepidation one loses sight of what it is to be alive.

And there I am, standing beside you, alive. The memories and feelings of a life passed rush unto me in a flurry of jet streams and rapids. Time freezes as my mind is bombarded by the emotions of all that ever was, and all that ever will be. And as fast as the tide swept in, the intense reincarnation of the feelings of living ebb from my mind. And there I am, standing beside you, alive.

We embrace in an aura of fire, flames licking our bodies with the passion of a newborn phoenix. Though the inferno may scorch me, your healing touch keeps us both cool and protected from the heat. Our eyes meet and I am locked into the light again.

Instantly I am transported to the past. Channels of light cascade down through the leaves in the trees, sparkling on the midsummer’s dew. A cool breeze swims through us. The sound of the stream far off mutes the soft words escaping your lips. White noise erupts in my mind as you whisper those three silent words. The three syllables roll from your perfect lips to my imperfect ears. My body gives way, my soul falling deep past the grass and cold earth and into the calming darkness again.

This vacuum of a place contains not even a wind. Yet the piercing screech of air blowing fiercely past my ears remains. This tangible shadow wraps its dark fingers around me, gripping me tightly in its cold grasp. My mind recalls your eyes. The light I once had. How can I possibly fight with the darkness intruding?

Those three whispered words ping in my mind, echoing and rippling out into the darkness, bringing waves of shining electricity with them. The creature of the void loosens its grip on my body, my mind. The words ping again, the light pulsing in the blackness. The light from your soul becoming tangible in the darkness. The physical manifestation of your brightness surrounds me, lifting me out.

“Never leave again,” Your soft lips whisper warmly onto my ear. Three more words. With you in my arms I feel the light from within. The warmth engulfs us, time slowing to a halt. We gaze into each other’s eyes, into each other’s light. My lips motion, wordless yet exact.

“I promise you,” the light whisper wafts into your ears. “I will never.”