a constellation of tears on your lashes; texarkana

[Devi]

a constellation of tears on your lashes
burn everything you love, then burn the ashes

The change of the wind was subtle, but it was there. It was not the icy bite of winter, but something more, something profound and meaningful. His ears pounded with the strain of listening so hard and he hardly dared to breath for fear he would miss a whisper. The only movement he made was a fluttering of his nostrils as he drank of the wind, filling his lungs as if he would never get another chance. And suddenly, there it was, that all too familiar sweetness he had missed for so long. It smelled of flowers, though he knew there were none here in the dead of winter. The scent in his nostrils brought on a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, taking him back to a simpler time when love was all they had and all they ever needed. Though his body betrayed him for the old stallion he was, his eyes were alight with the fire of his youth. He hadn’t felt this feeling in years; he had forgotten he could feel this way. When they had parted, she had snuffed out any fire that was in his soul. But now the signs were clear, and his heart leapt frantically at the realization.

It was her.

Though he was longing to run to her, he did not move. A part of him still feared her to be a mirage, a part of his foolish hopes. But then she spoke, and his fears were blown away with the bitter mountain air. “Devi?” she whispered and at first he could only nod for his voice seemed to have temporarily left him. “Yes.” he choked back at last, stepping forward and bridging the gap between them. “Is it really you? Texarkana? Is it really you?” His voice was teetering on the thin edge of tears but he did not care; let them fall, his heart screamed. He noted the milky white of her eyes and his heart leapt out to her, but he knew she wouldn’t want his sympathy. Instead, he offered her his muzzle to her muzzle. As he drank of her warm breath he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was her. With that realization he could hold the tears back no longer. They fell in earnest after having been held back for so long. They froze to his lashes and his cheeks and still they came. “Oh Tex…” he whispered, moving forward to push his chest to hers, to drape his neck over her withers. Her warmth was like home, and he loathed to ever leave it again.

DEVI