The old man, long since bowed with the weight of the world, slowly wheeled himself to the pyre. He ignored the staff who beaconed him away. They didn't matter all that mattered was already gone. The warmth of the flames wrapped around his ancient body as if from a lover's embrace. He inched forward, the wheel on his chair, catching on the uneven ground as the warmth slowly seeped into him, washing away aches from his long life. He slowly rose from his chair, his eyes fixed on the ever-shifting patterns of the golden flames. His first step in thirty years is stumbling but quickly firms as the heat sinks dealer into his weary body, filling his muscles with strength from a lifetime ago. A vision slowly takes from in the flames, and shimmering heat haze as the scent of pine and rain fills the old man.
He steps ever closer, letting the heat drift into his old bones, burning away the pain from brakes long since forgotten. His mind drifts to a scene not that long ago, but what feels like a drift age as he steps an arm's length away from the roaring fire. He does not see the flames reaching out to caress his cheek. All he sees is that day, that moment, the last moment with her.
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His hand holds her with all the strength his old frame can muster, as if that alone is enough to ward off what they both know is coming next. He looks deep into her eyes that, even then, were filled with delight and mischief in equal parts. He wished he had more time with her. It was a cruel world that would take her before him, but no one ever claimed the world was kind. She raises her free hand to wipe away his tears. As she is about to chastise him, the reaper steps in and guides her to her next journey.
The shell of a man, now filled with the warmth from her pyre, takes that one last step. The golden flames eagerly embrace him. His feet carry him forward even now to the center of the conflagration. He takes her hand once more. A small smile plays across his face as the borrowed strength leaves him. He slumps next to her, leaning his head on her deathbed, letting the flames take him.
The flames rage higher into the night sky crackling in a perfect symyphony. Two figures can almost be seen in the flames as the bell tolls midnight. Their bodies press close as they start to dance to music unheard. The drift higher into the sky never separating. As the fire dies the figures slowly fade off to their next great adventure together.