Taking a step towards the door, I felt myself drawn by the same invisible force that had enchanted the snow. Not only did it have a hold of my body, but it had a hold of my soul, and even though I at first fought against it, the moment I surrendered, the music flowed through me as if I were water. Turning to Rusty, he nodded in approval as my feet lifted off the ground, and as I floated through the air, so the animals came and sat by his side. Even the trees temporarily ceased their dance to stoop down low enough to listen to the chatter that passed back and forth between lip and beak.

“Remember the things you’ve seen,” Rusty said, “and remember what it is you are.”

I made to respond, yet the energy coming from the door was doing many a strange thing to me.

“And above all, remember that all moments shine, so let them shine.”

Opening and closing my mouth, there were no words, but as he nodded his head at me and grinned, the look we exchanged was enough.

“Let them all shine” he repeated, and with this, he shrieked and whipped his tail. The animals by his side did the same. Those with tails did, anyhow. The others flapped their wings energetically and squawked at the top of their lungs as the trees groaned and moaned before rising once more to touch the sky. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, and yet I did as Rusty wished—I let the moments within me shine, and almost at once the veil parted, and what I saw was a billion stars and then a billion more. In every direction there were stars, and each one was made of memories and love, and there I was in the middle; a child of God finally seeing life for what it truly was.

A Journal for Damned Lovers UK

A Journal for Damned Lovers US

Anthology UK / Anthology US