Spring, 1995.
They sat on the bed together, side by side, knees touching, heads down.
“How long will you be gone?”
“A month, five weeks tops”
“You coming back?”
“Yeah” she sighed.
“You are not.”
He shook his head, not convinced.
He took her hand in his, clasping it to his chest.
“We need some space. I need to clear my head”
“What will happen when you come back?”
“I don’t know.” She was non-committal.
He looked at her. She looked at the floor, avoiding his eyes. They sat in silence.
“You need to get some sleep” she finally said.
She got up. He was still clutching her hand. He followed. He took her in his arm, circling her waist, searching for her eyes. She smiled. He cocked his head to the left. He smiled. Eyes locked. He pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his chest, his hands on her back, his face buried in her hair. They stayed in the embrace for what seems like eternity, but not long enough. She didn’t want to let go, he didn’t want to let go.
“I need to get packing. My ride is coming early morning.”
He didn’t respond. He kissed her hair, the corner of her eye, the tip of her nose, the side of her mouth. She tilted her head a little and his lips found hers. And the whole universe evaporated in that one kiss. Her emotions flooded into that one kiss. Their feelings summarised in that one kiss. She felt light and heady at the same time. Her knees felt weak, her body quivering. And then they came up for air.
“That felt like goodbye.”
She didn’t answer. She walked him to the door, not trusting herself to speak.
They embraced. He kissed her on the forehead.
“I’ll be here when you come back.” |
