The morning seemed to hold its breath as it waited for Rowan return one last time to the shrine. The air was still. The birds silent.
There was a familiarity to it all, a certain kind of quiet that spoke to him of death and transformation, those intangible gaps in existence where he felt right at home. It filled Rowan with a sense of calmness that made this trip different than all the others.
Today he would finish what he'd started when he collected Wren's beautiful, scattered soul in the moonlight of the woods, before either of them knew that they were meant to heal each other. He would put all of Wren's pain to rest so that there was room for something new to grow in its place. Something strong and bright and happy, rooted in the future not in the past.
If things went well, Wren would finally be completely free. And then they would work together with their family and friends to set their reality free, too.
