* * *
A touch so light, yet it takes my every breath away. Warm, calming, stealing the very breath from my lungs.
He scares me because of it.
And that is why I love him.
No more empty promises, I reassure myself. No, not like the others. This isn't a lie. This is real, a fantastic thing I once thought was possible only in dreams now unfolding before me like a paper fan. Crisp, clear. A purity beyond the clearest of light, pure as the warm rays of the sun that melt the fog at the waters' edge, gently revealing the crystaline seas beneath. A treasure valued more than all else in the world, one which lasts only a short time, but can be savored as long as the memory remains intact. An invisible diamond, ever shining in the back of the mind this feeling will become.
Pure. Clear as Shiva's icy gaze, pure.
A sensation smooth as silk, a familliar touch from hands that are learning with every movement, still inexperienced in their craft. Learning, yes, but learning fast. It's only natural that he should know that which he has never practiced before the present. Smooth, so smooth, smooth enough to mask the roughness on the surface and make every gesture polished, gentle. Still it takes my breath away.
There is certainly something different about him, about this time, as though I don't feel like I owe him this. No, this time it's different, and I fear he feels he is indebted to me. I don't want him that way, no, I'd rather he did as his heart told him, not his conscience. I want him to have no hesitations, feel no regrets...
Pure.
Still, still he continues. His heart cries out in the silence, speaking through his delicate touch. His voice, almost inaudible, sings of his love for his beloved, whispering my name as though if he said it any louder he'd wake from this dream and find himself alone again. I feel the need to reply, but remain silent. My words would seem so meek in contrast to his actions.
Love, is this your true face?
His lips fall silent as they brush against my own. A kiss of sugar - delicate yet insatiable - a sweet taste of things to come. We pause momentarily, frozen in the moment, our breathing nothing less than halted.
A single moment of purity, forever ensnared in our minds.
Time moves on too soon, but still, I am thankful for the brief interlude, a moment that allowed memory to absorb the moment in its entirety.
Ah, sweet angels would be envious of the moment, a time that so clearly expressed the reason for this: Love. Certainly it was more than what they seem to think love is, but there's no other way to describe it. The guardians above smiled at that moment, thankful that at least two people have not forgotten the true meaning of the word.
His body suddenly weightless, the feeling less severe than it had been. Still, regardless of the sensation, I know he is there, still, hovering over me just beyond touch. I close my eyes, and feel him again when he falls back down from the heavens to give me one more delicate kiss. My emotions then became untamed, my mind set free by his act of love. I felt all, yet sensed it as though I was detatched from my own self.
Pure.
The time flowed through my hands all too soon, the moment of release passing by me prematurely. I returned to my body as he fell upon me once more, exhausted from his angelic flight.
Yes, even the king of the gods was smiling now, smiling through his tears of joy. His queen, too, smiled, just as the sun parted through the clouds and into the sparking eyes of the united.