Heart of Fire

🔥Fifty-Five🔥

Song: Mercy- Brett Young 

I woke up standing in a meadow, and that was when I realized I was inside mine and Theo's minds. When I turned to the left, Theo was standing there, watching the clouds move in the sky. He had on a pair of dark denim jeans and a v-neck paired with a flannel. Glancing down, I saw I was in a red sundress, and I held a pair of flip-flops in my hand. I walked closer to him, and he smiled at me.

"Where are we?" I questioned, and he returned his gaze to the sky. For a couple seconds, we were silent, and the ghost of a smile formed on Theo's lips.

"My mom used to take Hazel and I to this meadow every Sunday. She always said it was the only place on earth where you could actually see a piece of heaven. We always walked to this meadow after church."

Theo bent down, pulled a white rose from the ground, and then he turned to me, holding out the rose to me. I shot him a smile and grabbed the rose, breathing in its scent. Theo grabbed my hand, and we started walking through the meadow.

"I don't understand." I said, glancing at his profile. "You hate me, so why would you bring us to this meadow inside our minds?"

He remained silent as we continued to walk through the meadow, and stayed silent until we reached a spot where we could sit. Theo sat down first, and then he pulled me down, causing me to ever so clumsily fall in his arms. He laughed under his breath, and then he situated us so I was sitting between his legs with his arms wrapped around me. I laid my head against his shoulder, watching the clouds glide through the sky.

"Hazel told me she let you visit your dad while I was dead, and at first, I was mad at her for letting you do that, but when I killed him, I watched you fall apart so badly, and it felt like I had witnessed my parents dying all over again, but this time, I did it to you, and I took away the last piece of family you had." He sighed and grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. He brought my hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against it before he continued. "I knew you were depressed over never getting to see your family again after you visited him, but then I killed him, and now, you'll really never see him again. I will never live with myself for what I did to you, Melody. I hate myself for even thinking of doing that to you."

My eyes welled with tears, and I swallowed the lump in my throat, glancing up at his face. His eyes held so much regret when they met mine, and that was enough to make the tears in mine escape. I lifted my hand to caress his cheek, and he continued to stare down at me.

"I don't want you to beat yourself up over this, Theo. As badly as it destroyed me to watch my father die right in front of my eyes, and as badly as it hurt to watch the person I love do that to me, I couldn't live with myself if you constantly let that rule your life. It killed me when I learned I had done the same thing to you, and I can't live with myself either for knowing I took away your parents." I held his face in my hands, leaning closer. "I know you're not a bad guy, Theo. Please don't hold onto what happened. I forgive you."

More tears trickled down my cheek, and I saw him swallow hard before he wiped away my tears with the pad of his thumb, his own eyes becoming glassy as his arms tightened around me.

"How can you forgive me so easily?" He asked, and I sighed, looking away from him.

"You always forgive the people you love."

"I'm sorry, Melody. I'm so sorry." He whispered, wiping his eyes before he leaned his forehead against mine, and I closed my eyes, relaxing against his touch.

"I know, Theo. I am too."

We returned to reality, and I woke up to see Theo's arms still wrapped around me, but he was still asleep. As I laid and watched him, I realized no matter what bad he did, I would always forgive him. Everyone deserved forgiveness, even if you never forgot what they did. Forgiveness was the only way we could move on from the past.