Soulmates.

The clearing is dim from the slight rise of a full moon.
Edges of the woods throw a shadow of their presence.
In the deep shadows of the woods she sits and waits.
The ritual is nightly, long and lonely, but she waits.
Small animals scurry in and around the clearing,
But her hunger is not physical, it goes much deeper.

On the far side of the clearing rests a small lake.
High banks of rocks and trees surround one side.
The full moon has fully left her place of rest and
shines brightly casting full shadows now.
At the edge of the lake on the highest rise,
a figure moves slowly towards the high edge of the water.

She raises her head to sniff the air but stays calm.
Is it he? Her heart pounds hard with possible excitement.
She watches as he climbs the highest point of the rocky edge.
Taking a careful step backwards as to not disturb this moment.
His figure is a silhouette against the great moon.
He sniffs the air as if he seems to know he is not alone.

A fog has settled on the lake, lite and wispy.
She has edged farther in the shadows to witness
this ritual and remember a moment in their past when
it was routine to play in a meadow and not think about
what was expected of them as alpha's, heir to their thrones.

Not knowing one choice could change their future.
He stands and looks around him thinking of his pack,
knowing his responsibility, but his heart is stripped.
The spirit to lead is gone. He only wants to walk away.
Something is missing in his life. Something he missed maybe?
The emptiness in his soul is as vast as the night.
The loneliness in his heart as deserted as the clearing.

He takes a step forward and eyes the night sky.
The moon shines so brightly. He looks about him,
"This is my home, this is where I live and hunt.
Why is it such a stranger to me?" Again he looks
towards the night sky and there he sees a glimmer.
The evening star winks back at his gaze. " I remember... "

He raises his head and brings forth a low sweet howl.
It echo's off the hill sides and down the valley.
Again he repeats the sound, not knowing why he makes the call,
but it does seem to help ease a longing he's felt for so long.
Going back to a time when his soul and life was free of such pain.
"Can the spirits hear my plea of the past?"

She turns her head to the sound, so strange and so familiar.
It draws her forward as it did the first time she heard him.
Brushing aside a bush, the white petals of a Cherokee Rose
softy float around her. It is spring, a time of beginning.
Stepping forward into the silvery glow of moon light,
she proudly watches him speak to the night.

Going back in time, she remembers a night like this,
the very first time she came upon this lake.
Following small herd of mustangs who had lead her to this spot,
she had witnessed him standing alone upon the rocky rise.
The sound of a howl chased away the ponies,
but sight of him took her breath away.

The time is late and she has to go.
"Time to go my beloved soul mate" Star whispers
"but I shall return on the rise of the moon."
"I love you"