By Shannon McIntyre
Sunshine poured in through the blinds casting dusty rays through the air. I’ll never forget how those stripes met the curves of your body; squiggling through the crevices and lying over the planes of your flesh. You’d gaze towards me so effortlessly, sparkling with the complexity of stained glass. I’d nestle into your neck, imprinting kisses into your skin, muttering something adorable… Can we stay like this forever?
Lifting your eyes from the menu, you stare, lips pursed, unfettered, into my eyes. . I open my mouth to ask what’s wrong, when a door slams. I’m startled. Are we beyond recognition? Unspoken wonders stunt me from the inside out; I cannot move. I race to say… something…. but each moment passes out of reach. Empty. Must life cycle so soon?
Leaving the restaurant, her eyes rest on a maple leaf just beyond the curb. Picking it up, she follows the reddened veins out to its periphery. She hears herself softly exhale, and—seeing her breath on the cold air—she smiles.
About SMcIntyre
