Page 78 of Devil in the Dark

Defeat the wind, drown the rain

Smother the pain they think they bring

No matter, baby, I’ll just breathe you

These waters are murky, but our love is clear

Wrapped up in you, nothing can hurt us here

I’ll take the lashes, not feel a thing

My soul came home

With the purchase of a ring

I’ll make you mine

Until the end of time

This vow I make before Heaven and Hell

I’ll just breathe you

Sinking deep into these murky waters

Poison promises of the past

Like talons tearing the flesh from my back

I’ll shield you from it all

Gasping and drowning

This toxic brew pouring into my lungs

No matter, baby, I’ll just breathe you

An apple of temptation

She tastes so sweet

I give my soul for this very feast

She’s the bargain I make to this darkness within

Smothered in her light I’ve found

My salvation

I can’t breathe. I know that song is for me. For us. It’s the gritty dark that has been our path to this hopeful light. My heart is so painfully full, it feels like any moment now, it’ll burst.

Emotion clogs my throat and burns in my eyes as I stare, clutching my chest, at my man. His eyes are locked on mine, every word he sang with Cash shining from the depths of his dark soul.

In response, my own soul stirs, fluttering in my chest.

Home.

He said my soul was home for his own. No truer words have ever been spoken, because I feel the truth of them like a scripture imprinted on my very being.