Brother

DESIS

In the early afternoon we left our garden, and I knew I wouldn’t be coming back. I didn’t belong in Asgard and Valhalla anymore. And maybe Michael didn’t either. He plucked a tiny stem of Lily of the Valley and held it between us. I drank in the fragrance and closed my eyes. I would always remember this smell, and remember this moment, this day. The day I chose who I would be. And who I wouldn’t.

Michael tucked the flower behind my ear, pressing it there with a kiss.

I bent down and plucked up a handful of the little blossoms and tucked them into the baldric that crossed his chest.

“Really?” He looked down and shook his head.

“It’ll help you remember me.”

He picked me up and swung me around, kissing my cheek when he set me back on my feet. “My love, I have never, ever forgotten.” That shadow crossed his eyes again, just before he bent down, kissed my lips, his hands on my face, his lashes brushing against my cheek.

I pushed gently on his chest. “Michael.”