Night Flame

Rose lifted her chin to face the clear, open sky and the corners of her mouth crept upwards slightly. She felt the loving heat from the sun blanket her and the pleasant breeze caress her skin under the covers. Then, her heart whispered a cool secret and the strength flushed from her body. Her eyelids drooped and the corners of her mouth sagged and her shoulders felt heavy, an invisible weight placed upon them. So, she let the breeze put his hands on her chest and he nudged her backwards. She fell. The warm water reached out and caught her by the small of her back. He walked his hands upwards to gently lay her across his surface. Suddenly, she was weightless.  Her legs drifted to the surface and her arms floated out and away from her body. Her attempted braid loosened and released, the strands of her hair spreading wide around her head like a flower in bloom. Her lips parted gently in comfort and she remained this way, drifting, gently cradled by the water's embrace.

As she lay, she slowly felt the sun's loving heat drain from her feet to the tips of her curls, until it had gone completely. The breeze that moved her across the surface of the water slowed, came less often, until all had gone still. Rose held her eyes closed tighter and tighter, her lips closed and pursed, and her eyebrows pulled slowly together. The cold was starting to seep in again. The water's touch warmed her slightly, but the ice still began to skate across her body and it sank through to her bones. Goosebumps popped up across her skin and she shook slightly, aching. She felt the cold spiral around her nerves and make her blood sludge through her veins. Her teeth ground together. The cold reached her heart, but found ice already growing in the corners, slowly spreading across the floors and up the walls. In the center of her heart was a candle, small and alone, but burning still, despite the threat that nearly engulfed it. Rose let out a sigh. Her face released. She knew how to stop the cold, but she kept her eyes shut.

The water around her began to moan and creak. She heard the frigid movement across the surface before it reached her. The gentle embrace turned hard and it held her fast. It pressed her and denied her body's desperate wish for movement. The sounds of winter crackled in her ears. The petals of her hair ached as they were pressed between the folds of ice sheets. Involuntary tears sprang to her eyes and slid halfway down her cheeks before freezing in place on her skin. Her lips parted in anguish. She opened her eyes.

There.

Darkness was a blanket that covered nearly everything around her. A dim moon lay somewhere off to the side at the corner of her eye, but she did not crane for its dim heat because there. Directly above her, as if placed there for her only: a star. The star seemed to brighten the moment her eyes met his. Rose felt a sudden heat within her. The ice in her heart drew back and hissed and the candlelight sparked and spat. A flicker or flame fell upon the floor, paused for a moment in shock, then roared a tiny roar. It leaned this way and that, reaching for anything it could get its hands on, like a child on the rampage. It grew with each touch, starting new flames all about the room, which glowed and swelled from the new fever. Rose's lips pulled into a smile and her eyes melted and softened. Her mouth moved, forming whispers of anything and everything and nothing, simply content for the company of that star. The star twinkled in reply and encouraged her flames, which burned so bright that Rose herself became a beacon in that dark. She no longer felt the hard clamp of the frozen winterland around her. Her body did not ache for movement and it ignored the spirals of ice under her skin. The new warmth in her heart pumped fresh blood to replace the sludge of old. Her eyes did not blink and they never left the star's.

But the star blinked.

Rose's smile did not falter. He blinked again. Rose's eyes crinkled slightly in concern and she whispered silent words of comfort to him. But the star's smile faltered and, when his eyes closed this time, they did not open for several moments. Her smile froze in place, the flame in her heart that crashed about the room paused mid-roar and turned to wait for the star. The star's eyes opened slightly, but they were sad and slow. He was dimming.

Wait! Rose silently shouted to him, but he couldn't hear her. Rose's smile faded as he did and he closed his eyes for good.

The flame stood in shock and then fell back to sit on the floor. His shoulders slumped and his lips made a pout. Tears sprang to his eyes. They fell, shrinking him and washing over the room, extinguishing the products of his frenzy. Slowly, the candle with its single flame was, once again, the only light remaining. The cold, finding it was allowed to enter once more, cooled the room and froze the tears, building on the already familiar ice.

Rose stared at the dark. She stared and she waited. The corners of her lips and eyes fell. Her eyelids finally slumped... and closed. Goosebumps appeared once again on her skin and she shook, as much as the water's hold would allow. Then, she heard the cracking.

The light came from beyond her and when it reached her, she felt the water's grasp grow gentle, releasing her feet. Her legs. Her torso. Her head. Her hair. As she was released, she felt the weight of her legs from the ice in her veins. They sank through the water till her feet hit solid ground. As the sun rose, and her surroundings became fluid, the rest of her began to slip underneath the surface, so the warming water placed his hands under her and pushed her until she stood, torso above water, right under the comfort of the sun's rays. She stood, unmoving, eyes closed. Her hair fell to hang around her face. The sun saw the ice on her skin and spread himself, cloaking and slowly thawing her. The spirals of ice released her nerves and her blood began to move freely once more. Her frozen tears melted and fell to the water. The heat dried her cheeks. She sighed and began to move slowly. She lifted her arms and pulled her hair back, twisting and moving the strands to form a loose braid. Her hands dropped to the surface of the water and lightly laid there, barely touching it. Then, she began to swirl the water gently with her hands, playing with and feeling the smooth ripples. One corner of her mouth pulled upwards in amusement. Finally, she raised her chin to face the clear, open sky and opened her eyes.