Love always, Anonymous

by basil and dill

The letters Arthur and Merlin have written to each other throughout the years. The one trip up is that they never see the light of day.

2. Space

Dear Merlin,

For one night I lived in space.

Everywhere there was darkness – pure, satin darkness. I rested on a piece of rock, jagged and unrelenting beneath my back. I watched the universe pass above me as I floated down the current – a feather caught in an updraft. I watched my faults grow smaller and smaller as I drifted away, until I could no longer see them. I watched missed possibilities suffocate and slowly crumble into dust. I watched dreams grow, layer by layer, shining brighter and brighter. These dreams formed a star which burned so bright I had to shut my eyes, but I could still see it burned into my retinas. They burned brightly until one moment where they shook and exploded – fragments scattering and seeking a new home.

And then, there was you.

You took my hand and nudged me past my shattered dreams. You brought me to Saturn and sat with me on the carousel until my lungs didn't feel so heavy and the colours spun before me – my sadness drawn out of me by the centrifugal force.

You took me dancing on the sun – me in my scuffed shoes and you with your sleeves rolled up to your elbows. We danced until my loneliness burned away.

For one night I lived in the space between you and me.

Yours,

Arthur