If you were the sun

I’d lie in your rays for eternity.

If you were the earth

I’d spend my life on the ground.

But you are only a man

So let me exist enfolded in your arms.

Time had stopped for the span of one afternoon. But now, the sun was sinking swiftly in the western sky. The Sad Boy and the Sad Girl reluctantly acknowledged that they needed to return.

Slowly they pedaled the boat. Hand in hand they walked up the mountain stopping every few feet just to look in to each others eyes. Their steps were slow although they knew the Sad Girl was expected to return.

They couldn’t go back to the world yet. They were just found and didn’t want to part. The bottom corner of the Sad Girl’s lip was a little swollen from too much sun, too much salt water and not enough kisses. When she pointed to her lip, the Sad Boy smiled and shook his head. He knew what to do. The Sad Girl already knew he did.

They stopped at a café. The Sad Boy said something to the barista then led the Sad Girl to a private garden with tables and chairs scattered under the trees. Drinks were served along with some ice for the Sad Girl’s tender lip.

They made plans- for the next day, for their life. It was only the Sad Boy and the Sad Girl. Nothing else mattered, for what was tinder without spark or spark without tinder? It’s only together that fire burns.

The Sad Girl heard a voice in the distance. The Sad Boy motioned to her- a finger covering his lip. She rolled her eyes at the sound. Reality, in the form of her brother-in-law, dared to intrude. Frantically he was asking if the Sad Girl and the Sad Boy had been seen. The barista’s answer was no. He had seen no one. The Sad Boy was never seen unless he wanted to be seen. The Sad Girl was happy to know that.

They finished their drinks. They both knew it was time to return the Sad Girl.

With a whispered kiss and plans for the next morning, the Sad Girl closed the car door then walked inside to be greeted by a frantic sister and brother-in-law.

They asked about her day not mentioning that they had been out looking for her. The Sad Girl told them she was getting married AND she was not returning home. The Sad Girl, the rock in the shoe, had suddenly turned into a diamond or a pearl in the space of an afternoon and it was left to her sister to inform their mother. Their mother would not be happy.  The Sad Girl did not care. She feigned sleepiness and retired for the evening telling her sister that she had plans for the next day.

She showered reluctantly. She didn’t want to wash off the smell of the Sad Boy on her skin. She could still feel the Sad Boy.

She laid her head on the pillow and whispered to God a thank you. It was her 24^th birthday and the love of the Sad Boy was the best present she ever received.

All night he filled her dreams but when she went to reach for him, only her teddy bear was there.

Goldilocks