The night was as bright as day, and as Rusty ushered me forwards, it wasn’t long before the animals shrieked and howled as the door we were searching for came into view. They had seen it before, and yet it still provoked such a feverish reaction that one could be mistaken for thinking they were glimpsing it for the very first time. Even the trees couldn’t help standing upon the tips of their roots excitedly raising their branches as high as they could into the swirling sky. With the snow blowing about their ancient shapes, they formed a ring and circled the door, celebrating as one would do for a returning friend or the arrival of a newborn child. Some of the animals remained clinging to their trunks and branches while the rest descended onto the glistening floor of the forest. There they danced as if intoxicated, and just by observing them I felt drunk myself. Turning towards me, Rusty nodded his head. There were many words I wished him to speak, yet his silence was for now all that was needed. Letting my eyes linger on his, I shifted them to the white light of the door that stood head and shoulders above us all. The music coming from within caused my entire body to tremble, partly through fear, and partly out of disbelief, for the moment I had been seeking for so many years was almost at hand. Breathing in, the scent that carried to me was overwhelming, and as I gazed into the light, I knew that after so many years, she was far from my arms no longer.

A Journal for Damned Lovers UK

A Journal for Damned Lovers US

Anthology UK / Anthology US