Feels Like Hello, Tastes Like Goodbye

She lay across his arm and stared up into the darkness. The dark was good. There were things she did not want to see. Unfamiliar traffic in the unfamiliar town sounded just like the traffic at home. She smirked at that, with only the night to see it. She sighed and nestled closer against him. His warmth felt good against the night chill. She rested her head against his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing and listening to his heart beat. Its steady rhythm soothed her restlessness. She paid attention to the details of it; his skin against her cheek, his warm scent, the shape and feel of his arm under her, the texture of the soft blanket over her, his solid body stretched out alongside hers, their legs touching. They would haunt her in dreams to come. Dreams she knew could become nightmares later when she would wake up to find him gone, stolen by the sunrise. She would welcome the dreams anyway and lock the pain behind a smile. Regrets were a waste of time. And time was too precious to waste. She turned her head to lay a kiss upon his chest then shifted a little, one arm across him protectively, determined that at least for this one night, she would not let dawn take him away.

Hours later, she squinted against the morning sun, shining summer through the curtains. He shifted beside her and she watched him sleep. The light was good. There were things she needed to see. His face and no other, not like anything at home. A smile lit her face, with only the dawn to see it. She locked the pain down tight, but it looked out barred windows from her eyes. She stroked his lips with her fingertips, ever so gently. Regrets were a waste of time, but love never was.

"Hello" she whispered in his ear, then leaned over and kissed him awake. She tried not to think of goodbye.

©Sonja Torres 2006