Talas woke intertwined with Asha still kissing to keep him alive underwater. Looking up he saw the surface of the pool still tinged with blood red to burnt orange coloring across ripples. Feeling the babies cry at the edges of his awareness there was something different. More “cooing” instead of gnawing? Shaking his head he felt Asha’s grip tighten. Her groggy thoughts touched his.

Talas, you, ok? Still not safe. Only when light gone. Her thoughts gently caressed his mind and heart. Her tone soothing to him, he tightened his hug feeling her smooth warm body against him. How long, Asha, we need to hunt for babies. This thought stunned him, he felt a need to care for the babies, for Asha. He knew she was still weak and needed to eat.

Asha felt these thoughts that wafted through Talas’s mind. His concern for her and her babies touched and melted a heart she once did not have. Her love for Talas now whole and complete. There was no turning back from this abyss of feelings, desire, and commitment. She belonged to Talas and he to her.

Talas, I love you. Tonight, and maybe another day. Sun angry, bad angry. Babies be ok, Asha be ok, she in your arms. With that warm thought wrapping around Talas’s mind Asha wrapped her body even tighter into Talas. Their thoughts blended.

 She delved into Tala’s heart; found his desires, his most secret hopes, Asha found his heart and devoured it completely. Talas laid bare and did not hold back. He felt her penetrating into his most precious thoughts and feelings. His memories of love, the broken heart as a boy, all of it. In turn he felt her void of loving memories, the hurt she felt when rejected by him, the raw, primitive desire to love and be loved. Loved by him, to love him. Only him. Talas realized.

 There could be no physical coupling between these two. The body make up would not allow it.

 Asha though danced and spun webs of desire and passion within Talas’s mind. He followed with abandon. The two became one in heart. Each one’s mind alien to the other, but the hearts, those knew each other. It was through Talas’s own heart that Asha grew one. They made love in the most intimate of ways, through the mind’s eye. Each a breeze or torrent of passion within a shared waking dream throughout the night and day.

 The Dark Star’s raging solar storm lasted for three full cycles day and night. Asha and Talas stayed in that in between awake and dream state with each other the entire time. Even in sleep Talas felt her and Asha felt him.

 Night fell, the surface of the pool was dark, both Asha and Talas looked up while in their life/love embrace. Each clung to the other not for just life but for existential existence.

I want to stay here… The thought was simultaneously both of theirs. The emotional and mental hug and deep kiss would move poets to tears if there were any present to see and know. There was nothing physical, it was in the minds of Asha and Talas which created a singularity of a heart in each one burning to never part from the other.

Asha, I adore you. Thank you for not eating me. Talas mentally laughed.

Asha happy no eat Talas too. I love Talas. I will learn ‘adore’ Talas. The pureness of those feelings overtook Talas.

His tears went unnoticed in a pool of water.

Talas, no sad, I love you. Feeling his tears instead of seeing them, Asha was confused by the waves of emotions coming from Talas. She physically caressed him on the cheek while gazing through the water into his eyes.

Asha, oh my Asha. These are tears of not just sadness but joy too. I found you. They are bittersweet my love, because it took so long to find you, but find you I did.

The two Lovers stayed submerged another two hours wafting together through the passions of the heart.

(continued) -d²