Amidst The Fire

A thin wall preventing a collapse. Two entities simmering metres away fueled with a confusing mutual love that deepens every wound. Reluctantly recognisable eyes engraved into their livelihood. One seeks the guest bedroom for brief tranquillity.

Silent pacing growing in ferocity, reawakening his lack of power. He lifts his hand out in front of his face…still. His fury had not breached his physical being, but it was coming; he knew it was coming. The mirror to his side strips him of his complexities. He has been divided, fractioned into a common denominator that dominates his past. His past, her past, and the past of his father. The room is empty to him, trapped alone with his affliction whilst the only remedy moonlights as the focal point of the disease. His first name is forgotten.

She reaches the bathroom…the closest room to the exit. Her familiar plight allowing masterful preparations. The cruel, comforting irony of an experienced defence. Empty extinguishers litter her mind as her robust tactical deployments face off against her dwindling ammunition- she is exhausted. She hears groaning from the guest room; in bright daylight, the werewolf is howling. Grabbing her keys, she heads for the exit. The restart.

She returns that night to a semi-conscious beast splayed out on the hallway floor. Smashed bottles of whiskey add layers to the carpet. Someone quietly chaps the door.

“Today is the day Jane, no more.”

“I can’t!” she yells. The zoo begins to open as the man turns onto his side. His eye half-zipped, he spots his keeper. Too drunk to portray his love, the man relies on strict eye contact to propel the two back in time. Love and pity grace her taste buds- the sourest of cocktails.

“Look at me, honey.” says the visitor as she pulls her face out of the fire. Damnation finally accepted, the woman nods her head. Her feet sizzle as she takes the first step. Amidst the fire no more, but her burns will plague the restoration. The man, unconscious again, left with the shackles of his upbringing and the guilt of his totality.

Cheers