Anchoring Warmth

Jessamyn yearned to step forward, to reunite with the love of her life, Joar, to find peace in his embrace. The prickly feeling she felt all over slowly reduced as she entered a state void of any pain.

But the air around her changed. "I'm not losing you…"

Jerrick's voice cut through the haze, filled with a determination that pierced her soul. The taste in the air shifted—sour and salty, wet. Warm wetness spread over her skin, mingling with the saltiness she tasted on her lips.

The warmth engulfed her, a cocoon of safety, but she was too tired to move or even think. She wanted the peacefulness to last, to succumb to the quiet release it promised.

Then came the silence.

It felt like a thick smog, a suffocating blanket that stilled everything around her. It was as if a higher being had descended, prompting the lesser beings to hold their voices and even their breath.

For her, though, that presence that induced dread caused another feeling—desire.