~They left the garden once Garry could function completely. There wasn't an uncomfortable silence between the two from their experience in the garden, in fact they both lively described different things they would do if they could be any aquatic animal for a day.
Moments like these were Garry's favorite because it was fool-proof evidence that they shared an extraordinary understanding. Ib was special in that she wasn't one to dwell on the past. She would learn from events and she wouldn't forget them entirely, but she would not let sour occasions darken her blue skies. Garry knew fully well that if anyone else had been in her position, there would be nothing but an oppressive stillness on the car ride home.
Because it was the first exceptional day of spring, Garry decided to surprise his compassionate and loving friend.
~A right turn? But his apartment's the other way… Where are we going? Ib pondered as she glimpsed behind to see the vanishing intersection.
She simply shrugged her shoulders and returned to facing forward.
It was gorgeous out. As they wound through the canopied road, Ib watched in awe as the blooming leaves filtered the sunlight and became a natural stained glass. The shifting light waltzed atop the dashboard, sending Ib into a trance. A warm breeze caressed her cheek as her eyelids fluttered. The fast paced tempo of "lonely boy" melted into the honey like murmur of Laura Marling. Eventually the savory notes faded to an inaudible whisper. The last Ib heard before drifting into the darkness was an acquiescent, "I whisper that I love this man, now and for forever."
….
"Rise and shine, sleepy head."
Ib felt a tender nudge on her shoulder. Her eyes sluggishly flickered open to find a pair of gleaming cerulean ones smiling at her.
He was standing outside the opened passenger door, letting the smell of salt waft through. She could make out the distinct cry of gulls harmonizing with the lulls of the curling, crashing waves.
Ah, he brought me to the beach. She beamed, stretching her stale limbs.
"Surprise! It's too nice out to be locked up in my stuffy apartment." His violet hair gleamed into silver from the sun behind him.
"hah, I guess you're right. Well done." Ib chuckled as she swung her legs out of the car.
~The shore was speckled with a few figures, but it was mostly scarce of humans. The deep blue of the sea barely differentiated from the rich azure of the sky. Only the movement of the bobbing waves on the horizon swayed the line between the two.
Garry and Ib raced over the scorching sand to reach the rejuvenating shock of the icy Long Island Sound. He held his shoes in his hand as he rolled his pant legs to his mid-calf, not caring too much about the welfare of his trousers. He looked over at Ib: she threw her shoes to the wind way back on the beach, obviously enjoying the water too much to mind.
Garry did the same and tossed his shoes back onto the sand by the high tide line of seaweed and shells. He undid the top button of the shirt, allowing the sea breeze to kiss his collarbone. He pushed his previously rolled sleeves up past his elbow and made his way over to Ib.
She was crouched in a shallow tide pool, looking intently at its inhabitants. She heard Garry's softened footsteps upon the wet sand and called to him, "There are so many hermit crabs!... WOAH, that one's HUGE!"
He squatted beside her and looked where her finger pointed. A crusty hermit crab the size of his fist sat motionless by a patch of snails. Its antennae swayed in the calm current. Its claws grew algae as did one of its disproportionate eyes- clouded over with a white fog. It seemed almost primal with its rusty legs and ancient shell.
"That hermit crab better be careful if it doesn't want to get eaten." Ib spoke aloud.
"yeah, what a beaut." Garry agreed.
They enjoyed the rest of the day until the sun gave a last farewell before diminishing beyond the blue of the sea. The violet and red of dusk embraced them both in the implausible light. With sun kissed faces and whisked hair, Garry and Ib returned to the desolate parking lot.
-Time is restless and mostly unforgiving, but on days such as these, Garry and Ib become invulnerable to any disembodied force as prevailing as time. Human limits lose all relevancy in the presence true bliss. -
