the black robed man sat in silence, as the desert wind whipped around him. he watched as the young girl, first still and silent, surveyed her surroundings. then, startled, she struggled in the prison of her own making, unaware of this other, and that this shell of hers might very well keep her alive if she let it. 


a storm was coming, and the wall of sand and wind would be upon them by sunset. but he was unafraid. after all, he knew how to turn himself into the wind.


but on she scrambled, cursed the skies, pounded her fists and let her frozen feelings, thaw, and finally flow. slowly, she broke through the barrier around her simultaneously breaking down that which surrounded her very heart. 


the stranger watched, impassively. she had not noticed him. and he made no effort to be noticed either. but he nodded to acknowledge the presence of the man in white. he too watched intently, but with an invested interest the other cared nothing for, and the girl had all but forgotten. 


the man in white stood up as the girl broke through her shell, now sobbing, failing to satiate the always thirsty sand. she was weak when he reached her, and she seemed to know him not. but that mattered little to the man as he bent low, picked her up, and whispered in her ear.


"the ice was in your eyes and around your heart. but all the sharp edges were pointing inwards."


but she was already asleep. 


the black robed man, witness to this spectacle, looked on. she would be safe now, and he would not be needed. he watched as the two walked into the red setting sun, slowly drowning in the darkening sky, as the wall of sand and wind quickly descended upon them. the man in white would turn them both into the wind, the other knew for certain, for he had taught him well. 


then, he stood, faced into the storm, and vanished.