Please Me: The Exhale [Fiction]

The tingle of static. I sighed, torn between the sweet lure of sleep and staying awake as my magic flared unconsciously.

He was doing it again. As he'd been doing for the past three years since the war ended. Should we have survived? A question I battle every morning as I wake with the rising sun.

By all accounts, we should be six feet under the ground, decaying, and nourishing the earth with our flesh while our souls lived on. Watching the country we loved and fought for survive the harsh scars of the war.

Tears flowed. The bloodshed was unceasing, like a running stream. Everything ceased when the white flags were raised and the powers beyond appeased.

The quiet ones who led with love survived, not the haters. It took courage, faith and sacrifice. And afterwards, we started to build our home as our beloved country was being restored.

Every night, his heart pounded fast and loud, his breathing uneven as he lay awake for hours after I'd fallen asleep. Watching over me and our children. How much more could he please me?

“It's going to be alright,” I whispered to calm him. “We made it, remember? We survived.” Sometimes, I would let out my magic to soothe his nerves, inducing him into a deep, healing sleep.

Every morning he would wake with a playful murmur, “I know what you did,” followed by a hearty chuckle that made his eyes crinkle and his lips curve into a smile.

He was doing it again then. His heartbeat thudded in my ears. Post war traumas were real. Even more, they attacked his faith and courage. Ate ravenously at it.

I didn't want that. I wanted my husband right beside me as we watched our children grow into strong and intelligent adults. Would there be another war? I was no seer but I held out hope that our relentless works would not permit such again.

I reached across our son curled against my bosom and placed my hand on my husband's chest, right over his heart. He gripped my hand and exhaled a deep sigh.

“Sleep, my love,” I whispered yet again. “We’ll still be here in the morning. We are safe.”

I hope you enjoyed reading this short piece. It's inspired by the Freewrite #dailyprompt phrase "please me".

Thank you for visiting my blog.

^{Image credit: Nika_Akin}