Raven

The wind whipped and tossed the crashing waves on the solitary beach; only the roaring of freezing winds broke up the other wise unearthly silence of the late night scene. The man walked along the stony shore, his unnatural foot steps creating no sounds to be drowned out by the storm.

The man moves one hand in a graceful motion to push rain out of his long messy hair and to give him a look at the proud lighthouse, newly repaired and lined with thick veins of golden ore. For an unknowable amount of time he just stared.. unblinking, despite the wind.

At a cue heard only by him he wanders over to a ledge, a natural stone formation that was perfectly to sit on.. and sit he did. His eyes lingering on the small grasshopper style shaping of rocks left imprinted on the stone.

A voice, still hoarse from a lifetime of disuse, could be heard by anyone who had been close enough at that time.

“I miss you.. I know why you had to do it.. and the world won't ever know what you had to do.. but I will.”

The man glances at the lighthouse.

“We will, we”

Taking a moment to press a hand on the small rock formation the man in black reached into his pocket and there was the slightest snap and hiss of compressed air. The man walked away, back to the steep hill at the base of the beach, and started the walk up.

Back on the rocky ledge, untouched by the raging wind, sat a can of tab.. with the ring pull still attached.

One point of light, other than the powerful lighthouse, split the night scene.. and it was a small cottage with a single light coming from the window. Inside a woman sat beside a cracking stove with her knees held tightly against her chest. The weeks had robbed her of her tears but her eyes were raw as they took in the firelight.. her mind wandering light years away and navigating, through frosted windows, an ocean of futures that had been snuffed out in a moment. The smallest tap on the door pulled her back.

That pattern… the gentle 4 beat of a knock.. she.. she knew it.

In a flash she was on her feet and throwing open the door, the storm caught the momentum and went to swing the door past its natural hinge with violent force. A quick and powerful hand snatches the door before any damage can be done.. and through the soaking wet hair, two pitch black and piercing eyes stared deeply into her own.

“Hello”

His hands signing the word, just over his heart.