The two sat together under the tree, he and the girl.  It was raining.  They had rushed there when it started to avoid becoming soaked.  The air was still warm and thick, serving as a heavy blanket that held them in comfort, he and the girl.

     He leaned back against the tree and sighed and thunder rolled across the sky.  She was staring out somewhere into the distance, listening intently.  The rain was speaking, so he remained silent with her lest they miss any of the words, he and the girl.

     After a time, she fell asleep.  Night was falling.  There were no stars, but a glow seemed to come from somewhere.  He could still see the outline of her features.

     And as he fell asleep, he wondered if he could make it rain for another day.

     In the rush of the river, I finally came to understanding of where I had been.  The ice had finally broken through in the midsummer's heat, and the wasteland began to show signs of wanning.  I was still wet and cold as I sat on the pounding river shore, the roar of its power still carressing my ears.  I stood up and stretched as I walked forward on the water towards the girl in my dreams, the girl who keeps haunting my footfalls.

     I reached up to touch her face as my hand passed through her hair.

     Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.

     The words echoed in the near background as I stared dumbly at her face.  My heart kept beating hard as I took more and more of her in.

     Love her, and she will watch over you.

     Somewhere, I had heard these words before.  Was it before, or had I just been imagining it again.  Memory faded into dream, day faded into night, and week faded into year.  The darkest place in me had turned into the light, touched.

     "My name is Wisdom," she said to me, calmly carressing my ears.

     Do not forsake Wisdom, and she will protect you.

     I had no name to give her.  My life was her's.  It had been since I was a child, as long as my memory could serve me.  It wasn't the end, merely the end of the beginning.  Or was is the the beginning of the end.  Fading together...

     Love her, and she will watch over you.

     The words echoed again in my mind.  Was she putting them there, or were they coming from another place.  Her white gown flowed effortlessly with the wind, kissing the clouds with her sleeves, the ground holding her up.

     By Wisdom, the Lord laid the earth's foundations.

     Life grew at her footfalls.  The forest grew up around us.  The rock, the clearing.  All life moved at her breathe, the sweet wind sung through her hair.

     She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

     Had I finally come home?

     I finally crossed the wasteland and came to the mountain.  There was no way around it and the mark of inhabitants had yet to etch its name into the side of this permanent ledger.

     Ascending the slope, I came to an oddity - a vast plain.  Snow had fallen evenly over everything, no blemmish marring the hillside.  Near off in the distance, ice delicately clung to the branches of a grove of naked trees.  The rising sun bled between the slim figures refracting into promise.  A warm breeze blew into my face, carressing my hair in a familiar way - the smell also strangely familiar yet I had never been here before.

     A girl with a long, flowing dress...

     I looked around trying to remember something.

     ...white as the snow around me...

     Was it here?  No, it couldn't have been.  I was only a child then.

     ...with long, flowing sleeves that kissed the air...

     So why do I feel like I've knwn this place for ever.  I've only just arrived.

     ...and her hair whispering to the wind.

     I ventured further forward onto the plain being careful to not disturb the perfect purity and beauty around me.

     She came and murmered in my ear and her scent was that of content.

     The scent of the wind...

     ~Flicker