Chapter 38 Come The woman had reached out,
Touched Rose's hand,
And all at once she was free of her mortal body,
Light as a rainbow on the morning air.
Rose experienced a moment of pure ecstasy,
But something tugged at her spirit,
Pulling it back to earth.
I must.
.
.
She glanced at the scene below her.
Already her body had been moved,
Taken across the road to the vicarage,
And she knew she had only moments before there was no return.
I must tell Davy,
Became her only thought,
Her reason to live just a few heartbeats longer.
And then she was in the vicarage,
And her spirit rose once again to survey Charles beside her,
His head in his hands,
Weeping as she had never seen a man weep before.
She had flown then,
Knowing she was going home.
A final glance towards Jory on his knees in the blackened church,
A longer moment with her beloved Davy,
During which she gently touched his face and kissed his lips as he slept peacefully in the bed they had shared only hours before.
And then she was flying home on the wings of the cool morning air,
The little chapel coming closer with every second,
Until she was standing amongst the fallen masonry and the running stream.
And they were all waiting for her,
The girl,
The young woman,
The lady holding the silver chalice,
And the guardian fashioned of the elements and the essence of the valley,
Who appeared only at times of great need.
Rose raised her face to the rising sun,
Feeling their love encompass her.
Then all became one,
And she was finally at peace.
And as the day dawned and a new era began,
One single pink wild rose petal floated upon the surface of the holy waters,
Glowing gently in the early morning sunlight.
