By Francoise
Disclaimers: The usual crap, FWIW.
Spoilers… yeah to MW books up to and including Book 7. This is how M*rr*ck should have ended.
I sat on the courtyard wall, watching him struggle with the box.
Louis dragged the coffin out of the back door, over the small porch and down the steps into the garden. He placed the thing lengthwise on the narrow walkway. He took a deep breath and sighed mournfully.
"Nice planter, Louis. Have you taken up gardening?"
Louis spun around to face me. By his expression, he was more than slightly stunned to see me.
"Lestat! What are you doing here? It is close to dawn!"
I hopped off the wall and approached him.
"I live here, remember?" I kicked the box with the side of my foot. "What's this about?"
He lifted his head.
"It is not any concern of yours," he snapped. "When are you leaving?"
"That's a nice welcome, Louis," I yawned. "I must say this is a charming greeting for me."
"One never knows when you are going to wake up and show yourself," he said quietly. "I hoped you wouldn't find out about this until it was over."
I placed my hands on his shoulders and waited until he would look into my eyes.
"Why, Louis?" I asked, softly.
"Don't try to persuade me not to do this," he replied.
"I won't." I said gently. "I just want to know what has driven you to this? Did I do it? Was it my fault?"
He silently stared at the empty box.
"Louis…"
"What is it?" He whispered.
"I know."
He glanced away.
"What do you know?" He answered "You don't know what I feel. You can not read my mind."
"I know you made another."
"How? He looked up, surprised.
"I could feel it. I know it wasn't what you wanted. I know it was forced upon you once more." I lay may hand on his cheek. "Oh, Louis… why didn't you come to me?"
He broke away angrily.
"How could I? All you do is lie on the floor and sleep. You aren't aware of anything. I don't think you even care!"
"I do care. I care very much about you."
He looked at the box again.
"Then, you have a very odd way of showing it."
We stood facing each as the minutes passed.
"How can I get on with this with you standing here." He glared at me.
"Do you want me to go away?"
"Yes. Leave me."
"Not until I know why you want to end it." I said firmly. "Then I will go."
He looked me in the eye.
"You want to know? Very well, I will tell you. It seems I am so weak and simpleminded that my mind can be controlled by any number of beings. Armand did it years ago, and now this Talamascan woman has placed me in a state of enchantment. The I gave her the dark gift, as she wished, and now the only thing left for me to do is end my miserable life." He drew in his breath sharply and turned away from me.
After he regained control of his emotions I moved close to him.
"I love you, you know."
"That's what you always say." He muttered, brushing his tears with the heel of his hand.
"I do, very much. If you were to die, I would be very lost without you."
"What would you do?" He looked up at me, crimson still staining the wells under his eyes. " Go back to sleep? How unusual that would be. Perhaps you could get another book out of my demise." He glanced at the box again.
"There is no one else like you. I would miss you very much." I sat down on the step and leaned my elbows on my knees. "There would be a great emptiness in my heart and life." I looked up at him. "Isn't there anything I can say to dissuade you from doing this? God, Louis. I can't bear the thought of you ending your life."
"Why not?" He said, our eyes meeting. "You tried to once."
"What did I get? A nice tan and scoldings from everyone I know." I held out my hand to him. "Would you at least talk with me?"
"It will be daybreak soon." He looked up at the sky.
"Louis, the sun will not be up for a few hours. You're so upset your timing is off." I stretched out my hand again. "Please? Talk with me?"
"Where? Here? What if David returns or the Mayfair woman decides to leave her lair and come here?"
I thought for a moment.
"Come to my place uptown."
"No, not the orphanage. I will not go there." He shook his head adamantly.
"No, I didn't mean that old barn, come to my house on Prytania Street." I studied his face. He seemed to be softening towards me. "Louis? Does that suit you?"
He nodded.
"Very well." He thought about the house. "It's a bit of a wreck, isn't it?"
"Only on the outside. It's nice inside. Very comfortable."
He nodded and took my hand.
Before he could complain, I wrapped my arms around him and we took to the air. It was the fastest way to get to the Garden District. When we landed in the back garden of the house, Louis quickly disengaged himself from my arms.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" I smiled.
He shrugged.
"We've done worse."
He glanced around the overgrown garden.
"It's like a jungle."
I nodded.
"I like it. It gives me privacy. Shall we go in?" I led the way up the crumbling cement-block steps to the equally crumbling back porch.
"Are you certain it won't cave in around us?" He gave the place a very wary looking over. "All this place needs is a good strong gale and it will turn into a ruin."
"Trust me. We'll be safe." I opened the back door and stepped inside. "Please, come in. You can leave when ever you wish. I won't stop you."
Hesitantly, he stepped onto the porch and into the house.
I switched on the hall light and Louis glanced at the Victorian furnishing.
"I never thought this to be your style," he said quietly.
"I find it very comforting. Something warm about it, don't you agree?"
"As long as it's not too cluttered," he replied, as he followed me down the hall to the small sitting room.
"Clutter?" I lifted an eyebrow. "When have I ever been predisposed to clutter?"
For the first time that evening, I saw a very small smile on his lips.
"You've had your moments." He said quietly and slid into an armchair.
I grabbed the foot-stool and pulled it over to the side of Louis's chair and sat down.
"Now then." I took his hand and wove our fingers together. "I want you to tell me what has been going through your mind. Why in the name of God did you want to destroy yourself?"
He sighed.
"Why are you being nice to me?"
"I told you. I love you. I always have."
"Oh, Lestat."
"Oh, Louis." I lifted his hand, kissed it, and then moved a little closer to him. "Talk to me. Please tell me what has been going through your mind."
He was quiet for a few moments. He glanced around the room, his eyes settling on a sentimental painting of a child and a dog.
"It has been as if I haven't been in control of myself. I say things, I do things, and it's not me."
"Is it as if you are on the outside, watching yourself?" I asked.
"No, it's as if I were a puppet."
I nodded.
"This woman is a Mayfair witch, is she not?"
Louis touched his hand to his brow.
"She's not like any witch I ever met. She's … she's …"
"A Mayfair." I grunted. "That alone explains it. They are a breed unto themselves."
"What ever she is, she had control over me… and David too!"
"Well, that's his own damned fault for messing around with her," I snapped. "He should have told her where to get off once he noticed you were spellbound. He could have made short work of her, after all, he is a vampire, and she was a mortal."
"It doesn't matter now," he sighed. "The spell was broken as soon as she took my blood."
"Do you think she has much power as a vampire?"
He shrugged.
"Not from me, but you know she will turn to either David or you."
"She's not getting as much as a tip of a hat from me," I snorted. I looked into Louis's sad eyes. I knew he was in such pain.
"Louis…" I began, as I moved still nearer to him. "Would you let me hold you? Would you lie in my arms and let me comfort you?"
He nodded.
"I need you tonight, Lestat."
I squeezed his hand.
"Come upstairs." I rose and pulled him to his feet. "We'll be comfortable there." I put my arm around his shoulder as I led him to the stairs. "I won't let anyone know where you are. I will protect you."
"I should be able to fend for myself."
"You've done that for years and years. Now I'm going to take care of you." I smiled slightly. "Even if it's just for a night or two until you regain your equilibrium. Now come along. Would you like a hot bath before you sleep?"
He shook his head.
"No. I just want to sleep. I need some form of oblivion."
I led the way up the stairs.
"What you need is rest. If this woman has held you under some sort of control … for how long?"
I stopped and turned to him.
"Several weeks."
"Why didn't you come to me?"
He glared up at me.
"Oh? What was I supposed to do? Toss a bucket of water over you? You've been in a stupor for months!"
"I haven't!"
"Well, then, you've done a very good impersonation of someone in a stupor." He reached the top of the stairs. "I don't know why you had to sleep on the floor of that ghastly ruin of yours."
"Let's go into my motives later." I wanted to tell him, but now was not the time. I opened the bedroom door.
"Here we are. Just get comfortable. I'm going to get a breath of air first."
I let him settle himself while I wandered out onto the balcony. The streets were deserted, the houses still dark. There was not a chirp from the first bird of morning. I inhaled the humid, predawn air and went back into the house.
Louis had removed his shoes and stretched out onto the bed. I checked the windows to be certain of our security, and then sat next to him on the bed.
"I can not tell you how sorry this whole thing happened. I should have been there to prevent it," I said.
He shook his head slightly.
"What's done is done and there is not anyway to undo it or change it." Louis said,
"There's always a way, Louis."
He turned onto his side and closed his eyes.
"Not for me."
I watched him for a moment, then lay beside him.
"May I hold you?" I asked.
"I would like that," he replied.
"We'll talk more tonight."
I waited for a reply, but there was none.
In silence, we lay together waiting for sleep to claim us.
I was at his side when he awoke the next night. He turned in my arms and faced me.
"Have you been awake long?"
"Long enough," I replied. "Do you feel rested?"
"I don't know how I feel." He sighed. "At least…"
I watched his face as I waited for him to complete the sentence.
"At least… what?"
"At least I am no longer under that person's control." He looked into my eyes. "You don't have any idea how horrible that is - to know that you are not acting under your own volition." He rose from the bed and sat on the edge staring at the wall.
"It's over now, and you must not think about it," I said, as I sat up. "You need not have any more to do with her, you know."
"Why didn't David DO anything?" His voice was sad. "Why didn't he stop her?"
I reached over and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't trouble yourself over it. It is all past."
He was on his feet.
"I should not have come here."
"No, I want you to be here. You need to rest. I've never seen you like this and it worries me."
"I need to feed," he said, half embarrassed. "I hadn't fed yesterday, and when everything happened…"
I nodded.
"I understand. I will go out with you."
He gave me a very annoyed expression.
"But I won't watch you. Is that alright?"
"I guess so." He answered quietly.
We left the house and walked together.
"I hate this, you know." He said.
"What? Being with me?"
"No… feeding. Taking another life." Louis shuddered.
"The lives you take are not worth saving. You don't kill the innocent. You never did. You take those who would welcome death."
"Even a little child?"
I knew exactly who he was eluding to.
I took his shoulders.
"Louis, for God's sake, that child, fevered and starved, would not have lasted another night if we hadn't taken her."
He averted his eyes from mine.
"She hated me for it."
"And how do you know?"
"Merrick performed a seance and called her."
"Who's idea was that?" I snapped, angrily. "Not yours, I trust."
"No." He said sadly. "It was David's. He thought it would bring comfort to me."
"He's out of his mind!" I yelled.
Louis touched my arm.
"Hush… please, don't raise your voice…"
"I'm sorry." I placed a kiss on his cheek. "It's just that …" I swallowed my anger. "Never mind. You don't need me to rant and rave."
We continued along until we came to the cemetery.
"Why not hunt in there? I know you can find something amongst the tombs." I sat down on the ground and leaned back against the wall. "I'll wait here." I closed me eyes.
He didn't answer. I could hear his footsteps as he walked away from me.
I shielded him that night. I shielded him from anyone trying to find him. I knew the Mayfair woman could not hear his thought, but I did not know if she had other means of finding him. I knew David would be looking for him, perhaps even myself. We would have to be careful and not wander the streets tonight. We would have to return to the house as soon as Louis fed.
I didn't have to wait very long. He leapt the wall and landed a few feet from me. I opened my eyes.
"That was fast."
"I don't waste time," he said.
I got up and brushed off the seat of my pants.
"Shall we go back to the house? I've some nice books, and some CD's, if you are interested."
"Thank you. Don't you need to hunt?"
I shook my head.
"No. I can do without."
We walked back to the house with silence between us.
Part 2
We passed the rest of the evening with barely a word spoken. I watched him as he sat curled on the end of the sofa, immersed in a book of Robert Browning's poetry and prose. It was all I needed, to have him there with me, under the same room. A simple pleasure to be sure.
Once he finished the book, he placed it on the shelf and wandered over to where I sat.
"May I ask you something?"
I offered him my hand and he took it.
"Of course. Come sit by me. Tell me what's on your mind."
"I want to ask you … if I drank from you, would I change very much?"
I sat upright, surpised.
"Would you take my blood? Would you drink from me and gain strength?"
"I asked, would it change me?" He said, his eyes earnest. "All these years I have been afraid to change."
"Louis…" I held onto his hand for fear he would suddenly change his mind and stop this conversation. "Have I so changed? You knew me before I took the blood of the ancients. Tell me, what changes have you seen?"
"Only in appearance, and that you are much less volatile. You are much the same." He still looked into my eyes as if wanting to say more.
"What is it? Please... ask"
He hesitated, then after a quick breath, began again.
"Would I have the strength to prevent someone from over powering me?" He asked.
"Yes. Without a doubt."
"If I had been stronger, then, this entire fiasco would not have happened in the first place?"
I wanted to gather him into my arms.
"Who know? Who can say what might have been?"
I moved close to him and placed my arm around his waist.
"Are you asking to share my strength?" My voice was barely a whisper. This is what I had wanted more than anything else in the universe. To share this gift of strength with the one I loved.
He lowered his eyes and nodded slowly.
"You'll accept it then? You will drink from me, and I from you?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain? I don't want to force this upon you…"
"I want this. I think it is time. Now."
I rose to my feet.
"Come with me, then."
We walked to the stairs together.
"This is what you want?" I asked once more.
"Yes," Louis answered solemnly.
We began to walk up to the second floor.
"It's not an ordeal, Louis. We've done this before." I smiled at him as he looked up at me.
"Yes. I remember." He paused at the landing. "That was many years ago"
I joined him on the landing and we ascended the last few steps together. "It is what I have always wished for you." We walked to my bedroom door. "You will be strong. As strong as I am."
"As strong as David…" he murmured. I noticed, not for the first time, the bitter edge to his voice as he repeated my fledgling's name.
"Forget David. Forget everything except the two of us."
His head tilted slightly to one side.
"As it was when we began."
I placed my hand under his chin and drew him to me.
"Better, much better. I promise." I kissed him. "Better than you could ever expect."
Now it was our time together. We would sit side by side in each other's arms and I would take his blood, and he would drink mine. I wanted this intimacy. My devoted Louis. My most beautiful one.
We entered the bedroom. The air was stale and thick with humidity, so I opened the windows and louvers to let the air circulate. I kicked my boots into the corner and tossed my shirt onto a chair. Louis sat on the edge of my bed. When I turned from lighting a few candles, he had pulled his sweater over his head, and shaken back the hair from his face. In the dim light, his pale skin shimmered opalescent. His hair, so beautiful, flowed over his shoulders, gathering blue and purple highlights from the core of the flickering candle flames.
He looked up at me almost shyly as I walked over to him.
I took his hands and tugged him to his feet, into my arms.
"You are so much better than I am in so many ways." I smiled. "Put your concerns aside. It's not important."
"But, it is. You gather energy from other's strength. You feed on it as if it were blood."
"You are all that matters to me," I interrupted him. "I should have told you. I wish that I had." I lean forward and brush my lips across his cheekbone. "You must know I've always loved you more than any other breathing soul."
He lay his head on my shoulder, his silken hair spilled over my chest.
"I have had such love for you for so long," he said quietly. "I fought it, my cravings for you; the touch of your hand on my body, your kiss."
He sighed, his breath a caress on my skin.
"That is why you must drink from me," I stroked the back of his head. "I want you to have the strength that is mine. I want our blood to mingle, to become one blood that is ours and ours alone. Not to be shared with any other, ever."
He lifted his face and steadily gazed into my eyes.
"Do you mean this?"
I nodded. Taking his hand, I pressed a kiss into his palm.
"Just you, Louis. Only you."
He slipped his hand under my hair and rested it against the nape of my neck.
"I never imagined you would tell me anything like that. I never imagined your voice speaking such words to me."
"It's true," I whispered. "I want you with me for all time." I touched my mouth to his and we shared the spirit of each other.
We held each other, enjoying the nearness, touching skin to skin, aware of the heat rising between us. His hand remained at the back of my head while he slowly traversed my body with the other. Louis languidly kissed his way along my shoulder to the base of my throat and under my chin. My head lolled back, so immersed was I in the sensation.
"Such passion," I whispered, as I felt his fingers knead my thigh. "It has been far too long since we have been this close."
He brought his mouth with in a fraction of an inch from mine.
"Don't waken me if this is a dream," he said.
I captured his beautiful face in my hand and kissed him hard, our mouths devouring each other's. I wanted him beyond all reason, I wanted more than his perfect body or his lovely face. I wanted to claim his soul and never let it go.
We freed each other from the confines of our remaining clothes. I hadn't intended for this to happen, but now I knew the exchange of blood would only be secondary to what was about to happen. Louis had momentarily stepped back from our embrace and slipped out of his jeans. I have always prided myself on never missing a cue, so I quickly removed mine.
"You are amazingly beautiful." He smiled as he brushed a lock of hair from my eyes.
"You are just amazing; beautiful as always, but just amazing." I took him in my arms once more. We sat on the bed, side by side.
"Such a perfect night for us," I whispered, as I broke the kiss. "Just us and the softness of the summer night."
"Aren't you going to secure the windows?" Louis asked, as he glanced at the open louvers and the curtains moving ever so slightly with the breeze.
I stroked his hair.
"I will do all that is needed for your care and security."
He smiled slightly.
"I trust you."
"Do you? Really?" I laid my hand along the side of his face.
Louis leaned into the caress and closed his eyes.
"Yes. I do. Completely."
I lifted his hair and smoothed it back away from his neck. I placed a kiss on his skin.
"You must drink from me, mon Louis, as I will drink from you."
We lay in each other's arms, his hair fell across my chest. He looked down into my eyes.
"I think we should begin with a kiss," he said.
"I'd like that. I've always loved your kisses, " I whispered as he lowered himself to my lips.
As the kiss deepened, the warmth grew. The passion was there, but more as an undercurrent. What seemed to be the main tide of this union was how right it was, what comfort it was to us both. Comfort, peace of mind, trust, love, with a healthy overdose of good old-fashioned lust tossed in for good measure. I looked at our hands, our fingers threaded together and I knew we would be together for all time
He lay back and drew me over him.
"And now we begin," he said, his eyes shone with love.
"Oh, yes, Louis. We begin…" I took his mouth and was filled with desire for him. I kissed his face, his closed eyelids, the sweet indentation at the base of his throat. I could feel him nuzzling under my hair, licking, tasting my skin. I did not have to wait long for the sharp sensation of his fangs penetrating me, his mouth tight against my neck. He wrapped his legs around my back and pulled me to him. He opened to me, so little pressure and his body swallowed me. With a cry, I fell on him, my fangs piecing his flesh.
I could feel his mind touch mine, not with the gentle touch I would expect from him, but a great golden whirlwind of emotion. I knew he could hear me as I poured out my love to him, into his mind and heart. It took two hundred years to finally discover that our souls were one. The bond created this night would never be broken. And afterwards, by passion spent, we lay in each other's arms.
"May I ask you something? Why did you spend so many nights sleeping time away on that chapel floor?" He asked, as I stroked his face.
"I was tired," I replied.
He rolled onto his back laughing.
"Tired. Such an answer."
"Why didn't you waken me?" I leaned on my elbow and looked down into his face.
"No one dared to touch you after you sent Armand flying with but one swat from you."
I frowned. "I didn't want him to drink from me. The blood is not for him."
"You knew he was there?"
"Yes. What of it?"
He shook his head.
"We thought you to be in a coma of sorts."
"Who is 'we'?" I asked.
"David, Gabrielle…"
I waved my hand. "Ah, the intellegencia of the coven."
He shoved me onto my back.
"You mean to tell me you were not unconscious?" He feigned shock.
"I'm too fucking nosy to be unconscious, Louis."
A pair of sweet addictive lips silenced me. I pulled him down and, once more, the flames of desire blazed brightly.
Even though I was thoroughly worn out by his demanding passion, I could not sleep. He lay draped across my chest, his hands in my hair. I held him in my arms whilst he slept, and watched the changing patterns of light on the wall. All he had given me would soon be repaid.
After a peaceful sleep, Louis began to slowly rouse himself. He drew in a deep breath and turned his face towards mine. I could feel him smile against my skin.
"You've worn me out," he said, his eyes still closed.
I stroked the back of his head and smoothed the hair away from his face as he opened his eyes and blinked drowsily. He smiled.
"I'm still dreaming," he whispered, and closed his eyes again.
"What makes you say that, my dearest one?" I kissed his cheek as he snuggled close to me.
"I often dream of sunlight… rainbows tossed on the wall by the crystals on the lamp… the sound of the songbirds in the trees… the scent of warm sun… that sort of thing," he smiled, his eyes still closed.
"You never told me."
"You never asked." Louis opened his eyes again. This time the smile on his lips was replaced by an expression of shock.
"What is it, my love?" I drew my finger along his jaw.
"What has happened?" Louis gasped and sat upright. "Lestat! There is light coming through the louvers! There are birds singing! It is morning and we're awake."
"I didn't want to be bothered with getting out of bed, traipsing across the room, closing the louvers then getting back into bed."
He continued to stare.
"We should burned… we should be DEAD! Why aren't we dead?" He whispered. Slowly, he rose from the bed and advanced towards the sunlit window, his hand outstretched. Tentatively, he placed his hand in the beam of light filtering through the louver. He drew it back and spun around to me.
"Lestat… I must be dead… "
I joined him by the window, and slipped my arms around him.
"We aren't dead," I kissed him and caressed his face, "not any more than usual."
"Then… why…?" He looked from me to the window and then back to me once more.
I took his sweet, confused face in my hands.
"While I was confined to my dungeon, and half mad from my guilt and grief, Maharet cared for me."
He nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with the sunlight?" He held his hand out into the beam again, and then fearfully pulled it back.
I kissed him.
"Please, listen to me. I know you are distracted, but listen to what I am about to tell you."
He took hold of my wrists and nodded.
"Very well," he took a deep breath, "please go on."
"Each night, she bade me drink from her. It appeased my hunger and gave me the ability to heal my mind."
"Yes. I thought as much." He nodded, but very much distracted by the patterns of sunlight on the floor.
"Maharet has infinite strength and power in her blood. She shared this with me, and I in turn have given it to you."
He was silent for a moment as he pondered my words.
"You are tell me that Maharet gave you back the sun and you have given it to me?"
"Yes." I nodded emphatically.
"But how did you know?"
"Don't you remember she told us she never slept?" I kissed him. "Don't you remember Jesse saying that when she visited Maharet as a mortal, that one day she found Mael and Maharet in a room. Mael was asleep on the floor, but Maharet was sitting up with her eyes open."
Again I kissed him.
"Because while you and David and all the others were sleeping, I was prowling around the attic of the old orphanage, and eventually, I got up enough nerve to try walking in the garden, in the sunlight, and then walking around The Quarter." I smiled. "The only thing that happened was my tan deepened slightly."
He gazed at me in amazement.
"Here…" I took my bathrobe from the hook on back of the door and helped him into it. Then I shimmied into my jeans. "I want you to look out into the world."
Hand in hand, we walked to the window. I watched as Louis folded back the louvers and opened the window. He shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted at the brightness of the sunlight. Before us, the garden welcomed us in all it's wild and unhampered beauty. The roses that covered the old trees blazed in brilliance. I felt Louis' arm creep around my waist.
"Who else…?" He whispered, still amazed, "who else has the gift of the sun?"
"Maharet, Mekare… Jesse, I suppose." I took him by the shoulders and turned him to me. "This is for us and us alone."
"This is why you would not let Armand drink from you… "
"Yes." I nodded. "There is only one with whom I would share the sun."
He looked into my face, his eyes brimming with blood tears. He took a lock of my hair and fingered it.
"Your hair is the color of sunlight! I always had always wondered, but now I see it with my own eyes."
"Shall we get dressed and go for a walk?"
"No." He shook his head. In the sun, I could see it was truly blue-black, not a hint of red in his mane.
"What do you want to do?"
He leaned in and kissed me.
"I want to take you back to bed."
I smiled at his words.
"What ever with the others think when they find that we are together? What ever will David and the witch say?
He took both my hands in his.
"I don't care. Soon they shall know they are no longer a part of our lives. Let the witch have her immortality. She'll soon tire of David. You and I belong to each other."
"And what if she begs you for strength?" I asked. I smiled and waited for his answer.
"Then I shall turn her to a pile of ashes."
"If I don't do that first."
We laughed. The sound of it filled the room.
"I must tell you, though, there are side effects to all of this power." I said, my voice stern.
"What is it. Tell me. I am not afraid." His green eyes radiated confidence.
"You won't need to hunt or kill any longer."
"Are you certain of this?" He asked.
I nodded.
"Then…" He looked out of the window once more, out onto the garden below. "Then, that is the greatest gift you could have ever given me."
I gathered him in my arms, lifted him and carried him to the bed. He raised his hand and caressed my cheek.
"Now it is just the two of us once more." He smiled wistfully. "We belong to each other."
"My dearest Louis." I bent and kissed him. "My Morning Glory. The world would be a gray and empty place without you."
We watched the sun illuminate the leaves and listened to the sound of the wind in the trees. To know that we loved each other was a greater gift than all the glories of the earth.