Wednesday, August 15, 2007

To Fly Away

I spot her on a leaf a whole branch away, and right then I know that it's got to be her.

By the time I inch my way over, the Sun is beating a hasty exit over the horizon, urged on by a revitalized Moon hungry for the centrestage. I'm panting and my legs are all sweaty, but somehow I manage to force the words out.

"Please, be with me. I need you."

She turns to look at me, blank-faced for a moment, then the import of the words hit home. She swallows her mouthful of leaf hurriedly, but her shuffling feet betray her self-consciousness. Her voice is as sweet as I had imagined.

"You know how difficult it will be in the morning."

"I do, but that's a problem for tomorrow."

"You don't understand. Parting will hurt. We'll be different for each other then, completely diff..."

"If I tell you I don't care, will you set free your worries too?" I smile as reassuringly as I can.

She hesitates for a while more, but I know her heart is mine. Noiselessly, we shuffle towards each other, and the feel of her warm skin on mine electrifies me.

Our leaf shook in the wind, threatening to dislodge us both, but for the moment nothing could remove me from the perfect world we were sharing... we were swimming in a pool of liquefied bliss.

***

Sunlight rends apart my peaceful sleep, and I awaken to see her perched on the edge of the leaf, ready to take flight. And sure enough, she is different.

"Goodbye, and fare you well," she says, in a smooth, steely voice devoid of the warmth I craved so much to hear again.

A magnificent flap of the wings, and she was gone.

I sit alone on the leaf, watching the spot she occupied just moments ago. I bask in the memories of yesterday, but soon shrug them off.

Another magnificent flap of the wings, and gone too am I.