BANE

There were two of them. Both were young, broad-shouldered and healthy. One was taller, with a lean, statuesque frame. He was blonde, and he walked with quick, long strides that covered the ground in no time at all. The other was stockier, and his muscular body moved with purpose, his walk showing the measured pace of an ex-soldier. He was strong, dark-haired, and a few years older than his cousin.

They were walking along their own property, near the fence line of the back forty. A car had trespassed into their cornfield and disrupted the orderly row of crops, crushing a few acres wantonly in a spree of destruction. It had been a deliberate act of vandalism for reasons unknown.

The driver responsible for the damage silently watched the two young men. He sat concealed within the heavy branches of an oak tree and waited for them, like a patient hunter.

The late-season corn was tall and golden, and the rows that remained undamaged provided some cover for the hunted. Soon, however, they would reach open ground. A rifle was brought to bear on the targets, one steady finger resting on the trigger. The hunter quelled his emotion and focused. The timeless, delicate moment of the kill was at hand.

A stray breeze rustled the dry cornstalks, and the low voices of the prey carried to the hunter. The two young men had stepped into the open, and were looking at the matted corn in puzzlement, assessing the damage. Around them, the sounds of nature chirped and sang and buzzed without concern. The hunter held his breath, and felt an instant, ethereal connection with the prey that he stalked, the seasons of life and death standing motionless within the span of a heartbeat.

It must have been instinct that caused the two men to suddenly turn and look in the direction of the oak tree, their stance rigid like startled deer. The blue eyes of the hunted searched the cornfield, sensing a threat that could not be seen. The posture of alarm in their bodies sent warnings to the wild creatures around them, and nature ceased it’s melodies.

Another breeze stirred the cornstalks. Two human hearts pounded in fear against the hidden threat, their bodies remaining frozen in the late autumn sunlight. Their faces, as seen though the hunter’s scope, were clean-shaven and handsome, the features of a shared bloodline etched in deeply in their profiles. Slowly, they turned to face each other, regarding one another with a last look of farewell. No words passed between them in that long, heavy moment.

Their embrace was sudden, and only then did the blonde man tuck his head down into the shoulder of his cousin, shutting his eyes and wrapping his arms around the strong back that was squarely in the sight of the hunter’s rifle.

The dark-haired one bowed his head over the blonde hair and nuzzled it in response, stirring it with his breath, whispering something that made the younger man tremble. The blonde suddenly raised his head, bringing one hand forward to touch the face of his cousin, tenderly brushing his fingers over the carved cheekbone. The dark-haired one tilted his chin into the touch, not minding as his younger companion guided their faces closer, until the barest pursing of their lips was enough to melt them together.

The kiss sank them inwards, until their arms locked around each other’s bodies and their mouths, pressed together, claimed what their hearts had always known. They were one, bonded forever in a shared moment that was too long in coming, too short in it’s discovery. Yet the parting sigh that followed relaxed them utterly, as if their souls had fled into one another’s body, and abandoned all doubt in the exodus.

They stood again and faced the oak tree, shoulder to shoulder, each with an arm around the other. Sunlight bathed them with the mellow warmth of a blessing, and they faced it’s deep glow and their shared destiny without blinking. They were one, and it was enough.

Dry leaves rustled as a mild breeze swept the branches of the oak. Sunlight broke through to reveal patches of bark within the foliage.

The hunter was gone.

Love had tested destruction, and won.

For the two young men who had just admitted to it’s power, love would also test them, as society would endlessly question what nature itself did not. That which bonded them together would also sever them from those who could not understand.

Of all the creatures of nature, only humans treated love with rules, laws, and traditions.

The two young men would face other hunters, ones who would be less concealed and far more dangerous. Instead of a bullet, they would face anger, scorn, hostility and ridicule.

Love, ultimately, would test them against themselves.

In the fading sunlight, they sank to the ground and held each other. The matted cornstalks creaked under the weight of their bodies, cushioning them. Whispers, murmurs, and then only wordless sighs came from them as they treasured one another’s flesh, their bodies joined in the union that their souls would share forever.

They were one, and it was enough.