~500 words (Twilight & Wild)
The comforting presence I’d held each night became a stranger I knew. Thick fur and sharp teeth were replaced by taut muscles and soft lips, softer still were the words that fell from them. A gold-haloed being of light. A gift from Hylia, delivered to me - a creature surely unworthy of such beauty and devotion.
Some days I struggled to meet his eyes, afraid he’d see the weakness I kept submerged in mine. So sure the light that shone from him would dim, mirroring the disappointment of my own esteem.
His light only grew, however. Emboldened by new tastes that passed his tongue, the touch of soft fabric beneath his fingertips, the warmth of the midday sun on his back, the heavy scent of rain against the hot ground. Each new sensation only made him burn brighter. I had my own quest, yet couldn’t resist taking up another. I sought out more and more sensations to offer to him, that I might revel in the radiance of his smile.
Inch by inch, the moon waxed fuller. Be it from the press of my lips against his bare skin or the warmth of my body beneath his. My fingers savoured the golden strands of hair that ran between them, my lungs filled with his warm breath. I devoured every glimpse of light he had to offer. I was but freshly laid snow that glittered beneath him, melting at his touch. His palms left soft imprints upon my surface.
My victory became my downfall. The evil had been extinguished, but so too had the light that shone on me. My skies remained inky without a full moon.
As the ocean tugs from the shore in search of their celestial love, I retreated from my post. My so called purpose.
I was drawn back to the place I called home only when he was there.
I was graced by his light once more. The goddess had returned him to me. His wild protestations that it was I who had kept him from falling from the skies amazed me. I suppose a shining light has no sense of the darkness they leave behind in their absence. Any of my apparent luminosity was merely the high albedo of my soul, buffed and polished by him, reflecting his own.
Our lives were spent finding sensations to savour together. Our tongues tasted sweet wines on hot nights. Our palms stung as we carved the red earth beneath our feet. Our hearts swelled with satisfaction at the roots and grains that sprang from the dirt.
We hungered for little, save the taste of each other and the warmth of the other’s caress. My days and nights remained well lit. I had become so used to the unwavering light that I stumbled blind when it left.
My soul, still warm to the touch from the years of basking in his glow, will soon leave to join his. It is already growing weary of not being able to reflect his beauty. This cracked and tarnished mirror yearns to be touched by his light for eternity.
I’ll wake in darkness each day until then.