Through Your Salvation

“…and you don’t want to die! Do you?” she snapped. Her words stung, but there was something beyond the resistance. Underneath the layers of frustration and anger, I glimpsed fear. Terror in those hard brown eyes flecked with gold and amber. She was afraid for me. My shallow heart sinks deeper into my chest. I see her die, just a little inside, in actions nearly identical to my own self-destruction. Every cut and every visible bone in her body bleeds. I’m beyond her help, but still in reach of her heart. It occurred to me only at that moment that she felt nearly as helpless as I. No- she was past helpless. She was powerless. Paralyzed by fear of the things she also, couldn’t face. Her similar misadventures are told by brittle hair, and the scars on every gaunt feature of her and trembling body. There was a time, it seemed so long ago, when maybe- just maybe- she could’ve saved me from myself. These days of salvation through this compassion, are long over. She knows this better than I. Only one person possesses the ability. I am the only person that can rescue me. The problem? I haven’t the slightest idea how…