Salvation

I'm working on a post about Turkey, but in the meantime, i'm posting the first half of a story that I wrote on the airplane.

"Salvation"

The night was dark around her. The wind whipped at her face, it’s icy fingers gripping and tearing at her skin. Desperately she pushed forward, following the voice in front of her. She took another step forward but caught her foot on an unseen tree root. She fell and began to slide down the mountain. Her hands grasped for a handhold among the roots and moss but every time she caught hold of something it pulled out of the ground and fell with her. Her right hand grasped a vine protruding from the mountain, it stopped her fall for a moment but it too eventually failed her and broke under the weight. Then in her final attempt to stop her fall she reached out blindly and grabbed onto a rope with her left hand. She tightened her grip and held the rope close as she was pulled up the mountain.

“Stay close to me,” the voice said as she reached the top. He took her hand in his and led her through the night.

As they reached the river, the sun began to rise. Looking down at herself, she saw her scrapes and bruises. Her clothes were dirty and torn from the fall. She looked tattered compared to him. She hung her head in shame, embarrassed to even look at him. Gently, he lifted her head and led her to the water. The gentle rays of the new sun reflected off the surface of the flowing river. He sat her down on a moss-covered stone and took her foot in his hands. With the running water, he began to wash away the filth, even using his shirt to wipe off the blood crusted between her toes. She watched him in gratitude and wonder as he cleaned all her wounds. His strong yet gentle touch not only cleaned her cuts but also quieted the voice inside her telling her she wasn’t worthy, that she should return to the dark forest and hide away from him. The next time he looked at her she smiled and gazed straight into his eyes instead of evading his look. His hands kept working but his eyes never left hers. Though he said nothing, she felt a love deeper than she had ever before.

In the dark lands, love had touched her heart, but always it was lacking something. No matter how self-less the person had been, there was some condition. If she didn’t perform right or love back enough the love could disappear. But this was not the way it felt with him. This love not only touched her heart, but her whole being. Though she hadn’t known him long, she felt safe and completely at rest. There was nothing she could ever do to make him lover her any less…or any more.

He lifted her up to her feet. She looked down at herself and saw in the place of her ripped clothes a white dress. Her skin was clean, the blood gone, and with it her shame. Emotions overwhelmed her: the warmth of thankfulness, the swirling of excitement, the peace of love. She looked up at him and saw him laughing. Joy filled her and she began to giggle, then laugh. He came near her, gathered her in his arms, then tossed her into the water. She came up feeling clean and refreshed. He dove in after her and they splashed and played before finally crawling out and collapsing on the grass growing near the river.

He turned to her and said, “Welcome to my family, my beloved.”