Collab 2: Summer Miracles

"No. No. No. No. No. This can't be happening! Not now!" Your mind races keeping pace with your labored breathing as you run with her hand in hand. As the bus stop comes into view illuminated by the few dim lights surrounding it you know you're too late. You glance down at your watch only to find confirmation of your fears. The two of you had missed the last bus for the night and found yourselves stranded. You turn to see her expecting to be met with a dejected face, but instead as her face comes into view under the flickering lights you see her soft smile. The two of you sit on the bench, her hand still grasping yours firmly and her body inching closer by the second. Was it worry that pulled her closer or was it something else? Your mind wracked with thoughts of how to remedy this situation never even gave this the slightest consideration. The only thoughts resounding in your mind were those of your own fear. "Where did this all go wrong? How could I let the time get away from me on such an important night? She has to think I'm an idiot. She's probably scared. I have to find a way to fix this!" As you stared up at the clear night sky littered with flickering dots you replayed the evening that lead you to this moment.

You had both been overloaded with work. Between the hustle and bustle of everyday life and other obligations that weighed you down, you had barely been able to spend any time together. Just like the city, it seems like you two never slept. And so the idea had come to you: to take her out of all of this, if only for a day. You wanted to show her the slow country days, the peacefulness of the rolling rural hills. If it could relieve some of the stress weighing down your hearts, then you would pursue it no matter what. She was slightly more skeptical: “Hm? The country? Isn’t it slightly silly to just visit for a single day? If you want to go together, that’s fine, I suppose…” Her doubts had soon turned to smiles the second the expanse of green was laid out before her eyes. It had been far too long since you had visited more simple lands. You had resolved to spend the day as relaxed as possible, to let time completely pass your mind by. Between walking along verdant fields, listening to the gentle treble of a small brook, or just chatting with a small group of local residents while you relaxed at a small café, the time had just flown by as you watched the cares of the world fall off of her shoulders. But that was also how you ended up in this incident, as you hadn’t even paid attention to the setting sun.

The twilight had long since set in by the time the two of you realized. Her smile, nay her presence, had so lit up the night with a brilliance that to you made even the deepest of darkness look not unlike the noon shy. Now here you sat stranded with her. You lean your head back and lay your arm over your eyes. Your mind drifts and in mere moments you find yourself lost deep in thought. You hear a voice ring out, though distant at first it grows clearer in your mind with every passing moment and you begin to realize it's your name. Her voice tugged at your heart and pulled you out from behind the veil of your own worries. "Honey, come here!" She had let go of your hand while you were lost and walked to a single tree standing tall in a verdant field. Even through the darkness and from that distance you could see the beautiful flowers on the tree. "Isn't it gorgeous, honey?" she called to you as you made your way over to her. She was certainly right, but your eyes focused only on her. Her hair and skirt dancing in the breeze giving you a view unlike any other, her form beautifully framed by her outfit against the blackness behind her makes her seem almost ephemeral, and her eyes filled with excitement at the beauty she had found on that summer's night.

No matter how many times she draws your attention to the gorgeous greenery, the beautiful buds covering the tree, you always find your eyes wandering back to her, the gift you were given that you never deserved. Despite your current troubles, she doesn’t seem bothered in the slightest; it seems almost as if she’s enjoying this alone time with you in the dark countryside more than anything else. Slowly the two of you settle down beneath the swinging boughs of the enormous tree, your backs rested against its firm trunk. As the two of you gaze out across the vast, dark expanse, you see the twinkling of small lights, the signs of happy families settling down for the night. Your mind begins to wander before you feel a warm touch on your hand and a pressure on your shoulder. Your eyes drift to the side and there on your shoulder rests her head, her twinkling eyes fixed on yours, the lights you saw before no match for the brightness in those lustrous pools. Her face turns upward toward the night sky and your gaze follows, the night sky more vibrant than you’ve seen in years. But this sight still fails to compare with the beauty beside you, the warmth flowing through your heart and mind. Slowly she raises her hand and points towards the sky.

You turn your gaze to the sky following her silent guidance. There you see, in the endless span of blackness above you, three stars shining brightly as if reaching out to one another across countless miles. She turns to you with her eyes dazzling as brightly as the stars which had so captured her fancy. "You know, there is a story about those stars. Would you like to hear it?" Too lost in her beauty to respond all you can do is nod your head at her words. She begins to tell you the story of two young lovers so lost in their passions for one another that they neglected everything else. Your mind is brought back to your day and the mistakes you made, and as she continues your heart is filled with a deep sadness. The two lovers are cast apart by the girl's father in a rage and only thanks to the her pleas are the two allowed to meet once a year and spend a brief moment in one another's arms. You feel a tear roll down your cheek as she finishing her tale. "What's wrong?" she asks with a worried look on her face. "I was reminded of our day, and I never want to lose you because of my mistakes." As those words pass your lips you feel her arms wrap around you and pull you to her chest, enveloped in her warm grip your tears freely. "Even if we were forced apart by the heavens themselves, I would never stop loving you." Two souls brought together across an endless expanse by the flames of their passions which continue to burn as brightly as the day they met, even if only for but a fleeting moment in the grand tapestry of history, is the essence of what it is to be in love.