"Cast Me Gently" by Lindsay Verde

I’ve seen a part of people that I never really want to share.

Baby soft wisps of hair tickled playfully along the porcelain cheeks, the skin smooth and unbroken. A soft, aristocratic nose rose, soaring above crimson rosebud lips that parted slightly as little puffs of air escaped. The eyes, such a moving blue, contained innumerable sorrows.

Can’t sleep, haunted by their faces, the sadness in their eyes.

A hand appeared, fingers poised in front of the eyes that held so much grief. The barest of touches sent out ripples that distorted the image into a blurry mass of waving colors. Leaning back where she crouched on the flat rock, the woman hugged her upraised knees, watching as the ripples spread. They swelled until they reached the pristine feather-white wings that framed her features, distorting them beyond recognition. This was the choice she had made, of choosing not to fight.

As the ripples went further adrift, they came across a lifeless infant, wings folded gently about its cold body. The angel took the finger she used to start the ripples and held it over the infant, letting a drop of the cool water splash onto its serene face. This was the choice she had made, to give birth to a life that would never be hers to share, for she was among the fallen. Her child would hold a life that she could never again posses.

The predawn light cast its gauzy veil over the calm waters, as the angel picked up her child and cradled the precious body in her aching arms. Gazing at the innocent expression on her baby’s face, the urge to cry welled within her chest even as her breast grew heavy with milk that would never be needed.

When the stars have all gone out, you’ll still be burning so bright.

Her child’s laughter would ring out over the clouds of Heaven as she grew, bringing sunshine and light to all those who had the grace to hear it. The grace that her mother had lost, a privilege she would never obtain.

It will all be worth it, worth it in the end.

A wistful smile passed over her face as she gently brushed the tiny brow, creamy silk tendrils of hair grazing her fingers. She had given birth to eternal life.

I can only tell you what I know, that I need you in my life.

With her daughter cradled in the curve of her arm, she gracefully waded into the water until it closed over her head and the light darkened.

Cast me gently into morning, for the night has been unkind.