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Were you alone? With family?
Were you huddled next to your dog, wondering what might come next?
When it all started, I felt like I was floating between two worlds. When it all came to an end, I was right back in that place in-between again.
No one believed our story. You can do all you can to take away the god in you, but you'll still be left with the memory of what happened. I was still on the outside looking in, but this time, I had someone on my side who knew the truth.
The reports on the attack were all scattered. Publicly, there was speculation that it was Russia or some foreign enemy yet to be discovered. Some believed it was an event orchestrated by the CIA and the deep state. Others insisted that aliens were behind the damage.
All photographs were scrubbed out of existence.
Not much was written about the portals. Nothing about the army of the dead. I guess they evacuated enough of the city. Enough people kept their mouths shut. The ones that were there for the final battle were made to seem crazy.
Raven's mom doesn't even believe the reports, and she won't visit the city to see the last remnants of damage. Any time we bring up our story, she laughs and walks away from the conversation. Gods and demons? How could that possibly be real? It's a hot topic for people to argue about, so we just give our best smiles and let it go.
We got menial jobs. Raven is a teacher. She just took maternity leave to prepare for the upcoming birth. I'm a manager at a local restaurant. It's not everything, but we don't need everything.
We just need each other.
I wake up in the middle of the night to see Raven standing next to the window. Her long hair flows alongside the light breeze, and her naked body is illuminated by the full moon.
She is everything a man like me could ever ask for, yet nobody has any idea what she has done to keep the world spinning. Some days, I wonder if she wishes she didn't give up her wings. At least then she'd be honored for her work and sacrifice.
I check the clock. It's nearly 3:30 AM.
I sit up and yawn. "You okay?" I ask. "You're not usually up this early."
She glances back and nods. "I just had the strangest dream," she says, hand sliding across her stomach.
Rolling out of bed, I gain my sense of self and walk over to her. I wrap my hands around her waist, sliding up to her backside, and lay my cheek against her shoulder blade. The scars from her wings are still present.
"I can feel her kicking," I say.
She laughs, but I can tell that something is keeping her attention. She gives one of her infamous "everything is okay" replies. "She's anxious to get out and see the world," she says.
"You're holding back your feelings again," I say.
Taking a deep breath in, she closes her eyes and leans her head back against my chest. "You always know how I'm feeling. Why is that?" she asks.
"Because you're the only thing I care about," I say.
She turns and runs her hands across my abdomen, bringing me in for a huge hug. "I'm worried, Ash," she admits.
I carry her with me as I turn on the light to the bedroom.
"Good worry or bad worry?" I ask.
"I'm worried about what she might have to face,” she says.
I nod toward the bed. There's nothing I want to do more than to hear her out and console her. "Come and sit down," I say. "Tell me about this nightmare you had."
Slowly, we make our way toward the bed. When we sit, I make sure to relax her body by massaging her shoulders. "That's the thing, Ash. It wasn't a nightmare. I dreamt we were at a wedding with Loki and Heimdall."
I chuckle and squeeze a tough knot beneath the crook of her neck. "Was Loki still acting like a jerk?" I ask.
She smirks. "Actually, yes. He was drunk and causing a lot of mischief," she says.
I kiss the back of her head and hold her. In this house, I feel so safe. I know that it's just a dream, but a part of me wishes we could go against the rules of the council and see them again.
