The sun had begun to set, the sky slowly turning orange, then crimson. The wind had picked up over the last couple of hours, and the temperature had dropped substantially. They continued to walk, hoping to find some sort of shelter before all the light was gone from the sky. The plains here offered very little in the terms of protection. The rare stand of trees like the one they had found the night before was becoming more and more scarce. Instead all that seemed to survive in this area of the plains was dense underbrush, rocks, and very rarely a short twisted sickly looking tree. From horizon to horizon the four companions could see nothing but a vast field of yellow and gray. It was a dismal place in the fading light of late evening. One moment they were walking along the wide trail, and the next moment Garret had stopped, as if frozen in his tracks.
Garret stood on the trail, his companions all looking at him, and he peered, squinting his eyes to the east trying to see something clearer, that the fading light was hiding from him. He told his companions to wait where they were, and he headed off the trail wading through the ocean of waist deep brush. Seth, Ashton, and Sara watched him go. Garret had walked several hundred yards off the trail, and came to stand at a large outcropping of stone. It looked unnatural here, one huge stone lying diagonally across another, creating a large cave like opening beneath the large stone slab. The opening wasn’t tall, barely high enough to sit in, but it was wide enough for the four of them to lie in comfortably. Garret eyed the hole, looking for signs of any animal that might inhabit it. Not seeing any, he called back to his companions, telling them to join him. It did not take long for them to reach him as he had already plowed them a path. They decided it was unsafe to start a fire here, despite the cold. There was too much brush around to try and contain a fire with the wind blowing harder and harder as the night progressed. They quickly made camp, and ate a quick meal of dried meat and cheese, if it could be called that, and sat for a while talking. The sun disappeared beyond the horizon and shortly thereafter so too did any trace of light. Clouds had blown in throughout the day, and they now obscured any sign of the moons or stars. The small group stumbled over one another and struggled to lay out their blankets in the darkness. Seth dug the blanket out of his pack with one hand, keeping the other entwined within Sara’s. Instead of spreading it out for her as was his custom, he dragged her through the darkness to the huge stone that their roof rested upon. The ceiling was the highest here and would be the most comfortable. Releasing Sara’s hand for a moment, Seth pulled the blanket behind him across his shoulders, and sat down, his back against the stone. He reached out to her, searching the darkness with his fingers. He brushed against her arm and followed it down to grasp her hand. Seth gently pulled at her hand leading her to him. The ceiling was so low even Sara had to crouch to maneuver around safely, she tried to see Seth through the darkness, but ended up tripping over his foot and fell right into his waiting lap. Seth successfully stifled a laugh, hoping she hadn’t hurt herself in the fall. He had no way to check her for injuries in the darkness unsure of where his hands may lay upon her body. Sara sat stunned for a moment in Seth’s lap. Realizing where she was, she also realized Seth’s intentions. He wanted to hold her again in his arms as they slept. She was giddy at the thought, and turned her body to face him in the darkness. She reached up, placing a hand on either side of his face and kissed him, trying to convey her happiness at his decision. She let their lips linger for a few moments, and then settled into his arms, her head on his shoulder, her face to his neck just as before.
“Thank you.” Sara whispered into the darkness.
“No angel, thank you.” Came the whispered response followed by a kiss to the top of her head.
Seth pulled the beautiful creature in his lap tight to his chest, hugging her close, hoping beyond hope that she felt the same about him as he did her. He held her tightly for a long time, longer than he probably should, he was probably making Sara uncomfortable. Finally, unwillingly, Seth relaxed his hold on the small woman, sighing in reluctance as he did.
“No.” Sara whispered. Her voice the sound of heavenly music. “You can hold me tighter, I like it.”
Seth didn’t allow her to say another word. Again he pulled her body into his, and locking his arms around her, he whispered into her hair.
“I’ll never let you go, not unless you ask me to.” This promise Seth made to her with every fiber of his being, knowing he would fight with everything he had to keep her forever.
Sara heard his words, not so much with her ears as she did with her soul. Her eyes filled with tears, and she let them slide down her face quietly lost in the darkness. She believed Seth’s words to be true, and more importantly, she knew he cared as much for her as she did for him. She didn’t feel worthy of him though, she had been raised, at least these last several years, believing she was worthless, less than worthless actually as her worth was in debt to a hateful, abusive man. She did not want to burden Seth with care for her, a person who was not whole, a person who was broken. It seemed unfair of her, to let him feel this way knowing she would never be worthy of him, feeling unable to make him happy. Yet for some reason Seth continued to have feelings for her. Maybe he did not realize she wasn’t worthy of him. Or perhaps he pitied her. Maybe, Sara allowed herself to hope, maybe he knows I’m broken and he doesn’t care. Whatever the reason for Seth’s misguided feelings, Sara was overwhelmingly happy that those feelings were for her. She would do whatever she was capable of to make Seth happy, make his feelings for her never change.
Sara thought of Seth for a long time. She cared for him more than anything in the world, yet she did not understand something about him. She wanted nothing more than to just lay upon the blanket with him holding her in his arms. Yet for some unknown reason Seth seemed dead set against it. He was willing now to cradle her body in his arms, holding their bodies so close together she could feel his heartbeat, but he would not lay down with her. It was utterly confusing. She realized that he was waiting for something, he had said as much, but she had no idea what it was that she must do to make her wish come true. She ran image after image through her mind, conjuring out of thin air a hundred scenarios that would bring her one wish into being. After a while her mind grew too tired to contemplate the question further, and she found herself listening to the rhythmic beating of Seth’s heart in the darkness. It did not take long, the constant rhythm, like a lullaby put her inevitably to sleep.