warmth.

she lay, in pieces, her back against the wall. a shaft of light fell across her pale body, concealing the scars, besides the dry blood splashed in distress across her forehead. veins, blue and mottled, vividly trailing down her arms, unnerving and distinct. her eyes were open. unflinching, they were bottomless. dead. yet her shallow breathing echoed off the concrete, in tune with the steady, single drip of water in the corner of the cell.

barely alive, barely human. when emotions had run dry, could she call herself a person anymore?

she clenched her hand into a fist; the first movement she'd made in hours. tears wouldn't come; she had none left to cry. no energy, nothing.

but her mind would not let go, would not give up. despite the cold seeping up through the ground and into her bones, she felt a deep warmth spread under her skin, and a light presence land on her still frame. she tried to jerk away from the contact, but somehow she knew it wasn't hostile. after a while, she relaxed into the warmth, sinking into the bliss of safety. however brief it may be, for she knew the illusion wouldn't last long, she couldn't help but surrender to it, slowly but fully.

the presence she felt behind her was now enveloping her back, chest, legs, arms. it melted into her, not invading, but protecting her fragile form. she saw an image in her mind: wings, the colour of her lover's hair, so soft to touch. they brushed against skin, fuelling a powerful sedative through her bloodstream and into her soul. so serene, she could barely breathe; yet she didn't need to. her heart began to slow, like a pendulum in its final days of ticking time away. unconsiousness drifted over her, like a blanket from her past laid over a child's delicate, sleeping shadow.

in the moments before she fell back through the tinted veil, she heard a whisper. a faint smile lifted at the corners of her lips. she knew he would stay until morning. then, she was lost.