It is always darkest before the dawn..... Shiveringly, bone-chilling darkness and silence. Absolute calm silent darkness when you can hear the earth breathe and feel the heartbeat of the land.
Off in the distance I can hear the lonely howl of some random canine, letting the world know he's there and not afraid..... I pull closer into myself, wrapping in the warmth of wool and fur, waiting for something I'm not sure even exists. It's a lonely vigil in the still of the night, waiting.
In the hut behind me I hear the rustle as you move in your sleep, perhaps dreaming of the events previous to this night that brought us here together to this dark and lonely place of solitude. That's how I spend my vigil, thinking, remembering, wondering what's in store for the future of us, do we even have one?
Tender pinks begin to brush into the blackness of the sky, followed by brilliant magentas and crimson flames licking over the horizon.... Night's blackness is slowly fading to the grey of dawn, it is time for me to let go of the night. I rise and enter the hut, watching the peace of your sleeping face, a stray lock of your hair falling over your forehead, your breathing slow and measured.... Such tenderness rises up in my heart it's almost painful.... I climb into bed and snuggle close, your arm wraps around me almost instinctively, and you turn your face into my neck. Has anyone anywhere anytime ever felt so complete as I do in this very moment? I breathe in the sleeping scent of you and close my eyes. I am home.