The more he tried to fight the vision, the more he realised it was inescapable. As he fought to keep his eyes open, haunting sounds and images burst through into his waking reality.

It began with a sound; the simple, fleeting, sudden beat of tiny voice, ending too soon. He clenched his fists, raging a sudden self-defense, as everything he’d known began to collapse around him.

He knew he couldn’t hold out. Pain flowed through him, rivulets of blood still running from his face and hands. His soul burned and fell away in the conflict between who he was and who he was meant to be. A last drop of blood dripped into the gutter, his last trace of humanity leaving with it. There was nothing left. Nothing.

Awareness lingered.

Slowly, in the emptiness, there was… something. The images began to make sense now. A burning sun… a flame… a red dress… a child’s warm smile. That fleeting sound again.. a smile… a bird’s song… a touch.

A touch.

A smile. Deep blue eyes.

Forgiveness.