Angel and Pain

Her pain was unbearable, inflicted on her by those who claimed to love her.

She simply wasn't prepared to enter the cage.

She wasn't prepared for the searing pain his love would bring.

She was unprepared for the sharp sting of his entry.

The tearing of her flesh, the internal bleeding.

He was the first, but there were more.

She would become quite familiar with her pain, his pain, THEIR pain.

This would be a usual occurrence for years to come.

Her pain came and went: the emotional, the physical, even the spiritual

They were all the same, they would find a way to hurt her and make sure she assumed the blame.

They forced her down, and lay down on her as if she was mere furniture, a worthless mat or towel, put there to soak up what they let go.

They flattened her body as they smashed out her humanity.

They tore from her the humanity that she was too young to miss.

She would learn from this torture, they would not see it coming.

The first monster, the pompous bastard, found another like himself and left the woman, with her pain, to die.

The second died in her eyes and lost all of his worth in her heart. He is better off dead than the way she left him.

The third forced her to care for his child when he would not, he threatened to kill her, he told her that she was worthless and her body manifested itself in such a manner.

The third - and last - monster was vanquished by an angel, and the woman told him of the horrors she endured.

The angel showed the woman kindness and patience, he showed her the worth she possessed and how precious was the remainder of her heart.

She gave the angel her heart and he nurtured the tattered thing until it became strong again.

He showed her the folly in her demons, and their weakness became the strength that bound her to her angel for the rest of time.

They watched the demons burn from their canopy in the trees.

The angel showered her with love and adoration, he would not allow another demon to sink its claws into her fragile form.

Her pain was vanquished with the demons, and she was finally able to release their hold on her.

And finally, the cage door now open, she was free.