She grips the narrow ledge in a death grip. Far above is the light, no bigger than a pinprick down here. How long she has been here, she couldn't say. Forever it seems. Her arms and legs cramp furiously and shake violently. She doesn't know how much longer she can fight. The voices that whisper inside her head don't help her at all. They tell her that her struggle is pointless, that everything would be easier if she just gave in. Each time they come, she wards them off. But eventually, she grows weary, and after one last fight, she loses her grip, falling into the void below. She accepts her fate, almost welcoming it. Her struggle would finally come to an end.
     He sees her falling towards him, and watches as the glow of her soul flickers and fades into darkness, blending in with the emptiness around. He reaches out as she falls past, suddenly overcome by a desire to save her, to protect her. Grabbing her by the waist, he pulls her up, and carries her to his shelter, a shallow cave made accessible by a small crevice he'd dug himself. He then lies her down, and lies down beside her, holding her protectively. He was on the verge of tears.
     She opens her eyes, and is momentarily blinded by the bright light. When her eyes finally adjust, she finds the source of the light to come from a young man, whose lap her head was resting in. She wonders if he is an angel, if she is now dead. As if answering her unspoken question, he speaks.
     "I assure you, my love, I am no angel."
     The girl sat up, and turned to face the young man. And that's when she finally noticed. The horrid voices that had plagued her for so long were gone, seemingly chased away by the young man's glow. She throws her arms around him, clinging to him.
     "Please don't leave me," she pleas.
     "I swear on my life that I will never leave you, my love," he promises her, meaning every word. He didn't know why it was so, but he had fallen in love with the girl. The feeling was foreign to him, yet he knew this must be what he felt towards her.
     The girl looked up to meet his gentle eyes. The young man seemed to almost thrive in this cursed darkness, she noted. But whether this was due to a strong will, or because he had been born of it, she didn't know. Neither did she particularly care now. She had found her peace, and he had promised to stay. She clings to him tighter, and cries with relief.