Icebound

Sally smoothed the tears off Valerie's face. Holding her lover's cheeks, she whispered, "The same way you take pain from Master. You take Master's pain because you love the results. Take the pain of the ice because you love Mike. Yes it hurts, but make it a good hurt, a hurt embraced in love."

Valerie looked into Sally's eyes and saw a love that embraced and shared her pain. She knew that now she could do it, embrace the pain of Mike's death and survive it. Now she had love to buoy her up. She nodded her head and reached down to retrieve one of the shards of the icicle. She licked at it, closing her eyes as a vision of Mike appeared and shared the cold treat with her. She felt his spirit smile and mouth silently, "I love you and yours."

Once the ice was gone, Sally asked, "Are you ready to go to Masters'?"

"Yes. I think so. Let me get dressed."

Sally wandered out to the living room to look at the picture of Mike again. It was the same as it had ever been. Mike and Valerie hugging each other with their faces turned towards the camera. Yet it had never registered that the picture had been taken in the winter. But there was the snow covering behind them. Then she noticed it. Framed by their faces, hanging down into the picture from above, was an icicle. Sally realized now that, six months ago when Valerie had chosen this picture of Mike to place in their new living room, her soul had remembered, even when her heart was unable to bear it. "We did pick the perfect picture that day," she thought to herself. Raising an invisible glass to the picture, she whispered, "Here's to you Mike. Valerie and I love you very much. I'll take care of her for you, Iceman, I promise."

She could have sworn that a man's voice answered, "Thank you, love."

The End

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