She was wandering through the
market as the sun showered the world with its last golden waves, the smoke of wood
fires and incense drifted in the breeze and one by one lights sparked alive,
electrifying the air with energy and laughter.
The next instance, strong arms reached out from behind, wrapped around
her waist, and drew her in tightly. She
gasped but didn’t struggle, she knew those arms, the scent, powerfully male,
and the growl of delight and promises in her ear.
She relaxed into him without a
word, the surrounding people and festivities having suddenly lost their appeal in
his familiar warmth. Sighing she turned
around to face him, eye to eye, thigh to thigh.
Then he drew away, took her hand and led her through the throng down to
the river now rippling silver in the moonlit night.
Under a tree away from the lights he
kissed her, fierce was the longing of sinking souls long deprived of oxygen. In
time they sank to the ground and started talking, laughing and asked and told,
words flowing easily and unhindered as if they had never been apart. They kept reaching out and touching each
other to reassure themselves the other is indeed real, reclaiming
familiar lines and contours with almost a feeling of reverence.
Then she sat back and looked at him,
‘So, why are you here?’ ‘I said I’d see you again, I had to, come with me……
will you?’
Her entire being stilled at these
words, a million thoughts, doubts and dreams flashed before her eyes, she had
no air and he had just breathed the freshest, cleanest air into her being. Silently, her eyes still locked with his, she
stood up, stretched out her hand, ‘Come, let’s go’ before breaking into a smile
so bright it ignited the fire he’d been carefully controlling for a long time,
it was their time to light up the skies with their dreams……