Love's Healing Touch
He let her touch him, understanding it did not make him who he was.
"You're different now," she panted, her hands frozen.
"Then you are," he answered on a gasp.
They stood there for a moment, locked, bodies still, hearts trapped.
"I love you, Adrian Lancaster," she gasped into silence.
He smiled, pulling her close. "And I love you, Elara Whitmore. With all that I am."
Outside, the leaves danced in the wind, and the stars gazed down on them, witnesses to love that had overcome abandonment, sickness, and fear—and found refuge in the earth of healing.