Lantern Against the Wind

Elena was lying on her side in bed once Gareth returned to his room after washing himself with cold water.
He slid into the bed next to her right away, wanting to heat up his chilly body with her warm one.
Gareth lay askew on the bed with his chest pressed against Elena’s back, hugging her waist with one arm.

‘Elena, my Elena…’ Gareth thought about how the woman next to him had become fed up and tired of everything to the point of almost abandoning her life.
He then rubbed his lips against the back of her neck, inhaling and filling himself with her sweet scent.

* * *

Elena woke up to strange sounds that night.
When she opened her eyes, she could see a shadow pacing back and forth in the dim moonlight.
Elena squinted her eyes and stared at the shadow, only to realize that it was Gareth.
He was walking back and forth nervously, sometimes picking up his sword that was on the table, suddenly pressing down on his chest, then hitting it with a clenched fist.
It was the first time Elena had ever seen Gareth do such things.

Before long, Gareth approached the bed again, prompting Elena to quickly close her eyes.
The man laid behind her and hugged her tightly with one arm, allowing her to feel his trembling body.
She wasn’t sure why he was acting this way, but remained still.
At that moment, Gareth climbed out of bed again and started pacing around the room, breathing heavily as he did so.
It seemed that he was somewhat… lost.
Elena continued to watch the scene before her.
Although it was bizarre, she wasn’t scared at all.
Instead, she felt sorry for him.

Elena couldn’t help but become taken aback when Gareth suddenly covered his face with both hands and began to sob.
It seemed that he was having one of his terrible nightmares again, as he was a man who never showed such emotions normally.
No longer able to bear the sight before her, Elena sat up in bed without Gareth noticing.
She carefully placed her feet on the floor and approached him, but the man still wasn’t aware of her approaching figure.

Once she was next to him, Elena could see the tears flowing incessantly through the hands covering his face.
Soon, Elena began to cry as well, unable to bear his deep sorrow that penetrated her heart.
She then recalled what he had told her a few nights ago.

“I frequently have this dream where I’m dead, but my family doesn’t even recognize me.”

Crying, Elena reached out her hand to gently caress Gareth’s hair.
She mulled over his bitter memories and the nightmares he had described, which helped her understand why he was weeping so sadly.
Elena moved closer to the man who was crouched in the corner of the room, opened her arms, and pulled him close to her.
Gareth hugged her back in response and held her as if he was relying on her.
He buried his face into her neck as he continued to shed tears.
Elena hugged him even tighter and stroked his hair, shoulders, then back.

“They must be thankful for your survival.
They must still love you… no, I’m sure that they love you even more than before,” she whispered to him as tears continued to fall from her eyes.
Elena couldn’t believe that the man had been crying alone like this until now, suffering from an endless nightmare he couldn’t wake up from.

“They must love you very much, like I do.
They must love you like I love you,” Elena confessed.

Gareth hugged her even more tightly in response, clinging to her as if she were his only source of salvation.
Elena let him place his head down in her lap and continued to soothe him in front of the warm fireplace.

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight…’ she thought as she observed her thighs which were wet with Gareth’s tears.
It felt as if the moisture was passing through her skin to reach a deep part of her.
Elena gently caressed Gareth’s hair as she thought about how difficult it was for anyone to control their emotions.
She then whispered once again, “I love you very much, Gareth.
Please know that I love you.”