This tale was inspired by Kevin Barnes's beautiful artwork called "Home."
HERE is a link
if you care to take a peek.
HOME
Tunnelmom
Evening had pulled its all encompassing blanket over the slumbering inhabitants of Below. Candles, scattered along the mazes of tunnels and chambers, flickered like stars on a clear moonless night. In one chamber, a myriad of candles cast their warm glow over an antique table where Love's promises had been carefully placed.
A leather bound volume, its cover worn soft by the hands which have held it through the years, lies open to a favorite passage shared earlier in the evening. The book is a very rare first edition but that is not why it is cherished. It was a lost soul's lifeline clung to in the darkness. It was an offering of comfort from another's heart that was awakening to life's most precious gift. It was the beginning of a fairy tale, the binding together of two restless spirits to make one complete soul, like the book's pages were bound together to make one complete story. For these reasons, the care-worn tome holds a special place in two hearts that share a unique bond.
Resting on the opened book, a small leather pouch rubbed smooth by uncountable caresses gently cradles a porcelain rose. The pristine white rose is the symbol of pure love; its delicate petals as fragile as the love first offered. Each day the exquisite bloom is carefully enclosed within its protective resting place. It is worn over a heart that beats to the rhythm of another, a treasured reminder of an impossible dream come true.
Beside the rose lies a flawless crystal, its purity unmatched. The polished facets capture the light of the flame, bend it, break it apart and then send it forth in a brilliant rainbow of colors. This crystalline jewel, so powerful and vibrant, is joined to a delicate chain. Carefully handcrafted to match the elegant contours, the gold fitting firmly grasps the gemstone so that it will not fall and shatter. It was a gift from a world and from a soul of contrasts; strong yet fragile, shadowed yet glowing with light, dangerous yet a safe haven, frightening yet beautiful beyond imagination. The crystal is worn with the knowledge that a whole world, a single heart, now depends on love's acceptance.
Within the soft halo of candlelight, a gold embossed frame beautifully surrounds an artist's portrait of Love personified. The couple is caught in a lovers' embrace, an intimacy once thought forbidden. The leonine man enfolds his long awaited soulmate safely against his heart as she leans back into his arms, secure in his love. Theirs is a passion that knows no bounds; a love that has never been yet now will always be, forever together as one.
Hours quietly pass unnoticed until night surrenders to the arrival of a new day. Morning finds this extraordinary couple exchanging their vows of eternal love once again.
She gently picks up the porcelain rose and carefully places it inside the soft leather pouch. Lifting it to her lips she lightly presses a kiss there before slipping the slender leather strand over her beloved's noble head. Smiling, she thoughtfully centers her token of love over his beating heart.
Powerful clawed hands reach with infinite tenderness for the crystalline pendant. Coming to stand behind the woman whose very breath sustains his life, he carefully fastens it around her graceful neck. The crystal nestles between her breasts and slightly trembles with each pulse of her heart. Unable to stop himself, he gathers her into his strong embrace and draws her close, mirroring the pose in the portrait. However, there is one small detail the portrait is missing--a circle of gold on the lovers' left hands.
As the newlyweds turn to leave their chamber, their home Below, the man pauses briefly to close the rare volume on the table. His hand rests momentarily on the cover as he finally realizes that all of his greatest expectations have come true.
The Beginning.