Darkness falls across the land As a young girl cowers in terror At the loathed night approaching her On winged feet she flees Faster, and faster Unable to escape the nightmare scene Which slowly, inexorably gains "Who might save me now?" words flung into the wind no answer, no answer The silence rings loudly upon her ears As she flees faster, faster Pushing herself to the limits of mortality And beyond Her labored breathing comes harder As she reaches the limits of her mortality Weakening, slowing, slowing Hope leaves her As she turns to face the darkness Bravely, with honor All that is left to her The darkness nears, closer, closer Engulfing everything within its reach Uncaringly destructive Suddenly, unexpectedly, she hears a whisper Echoing in the growing darkness "Never lose hope," it says and she remembers the gentle heart that said it once upon a time His kindly embrace, His deep blue eyes As she thinks of him, the darkness trembles Losing potency In the face of her loving longing The demons freeze, dismayed Unable to fight, unwilling to turn A voice in the distance speaks The words in her heart "I love you…" with a final, defeated wail the demons, the darkness retreat defeated by the Power of love