Pages Stick Together….

At the end of the night you pull me in for an embrace. Our bodies press together, a familiar heart beats against my own. The pages of life turn languorously as I linger in your arms. But as I begin to pull away....reality flickers....the pages stick together.....and I slip into another story . A sequel to this life. A tale in which I fall asleep every night, head on your chest, lulled to sleep by the comforting rhythm of that same heartbeat. A tale in which that pulse quickens each time I approach. A tale in which my touch makes that heart skip a beat and only my voice can pacify its anxious race.

But then you laugh and the pages fall apart. The portal closes. Time unwrinkles.

Back in this cold reality, your hand clasps my shoulder as a friend. A collegial squeeze delivered thoughtlessly, a casual nod to a friendship treasured. As your hand falls, our fingers tangle clumsily for a moment and then.....reality flickers.....the pages stick together.....and I'm remembering another lifetime. One in which our hands brushed together for the first time and electricity sparked between them, igniting a passion that would burn for decades. A lifetime in which that hand steadied me, stroked me, and cradled our children. A lifetime in which that steadfast hand was the last one I would hold as it led me lovingly into the blinding light.

But then my hand slips from your grasp and timelines unravel. In this iteration of life, I'm falling alone. And your soul doesn't remember it was destined to catch me.

I inhale deeply one last time, face still pressed into your neck. I'm drunk on your musk as we begin to draw apart. Delirious with restrained passion, I relish the warm whisper of your breath sliding along my jaw. And then....reality flickers....the pages stick together...and I slip through a crack in eternity. I begin to read a love story not yet written and I'm confused by the plot. Why aren't you pulling me in for a kiss? We never part without one. As sure as the moon coaxes the tides, your mouth drinks me in each morning and your tongue stirs me to ecstasy each night. And, without fail, your lips steal my breath each time we say goodbye.

But then I stumble out of your arms and the continuum collapses. I fall through a rend in the heavens back into a stark landscape devoid of goodbye kisses. Where love has never teased at the edges of our reality.

I hold your gaze as I walk away. Your eyes are warm, but vacant. They see me, but do not recognize. At times your pupils dilate, your breath catches, and for a moment, I hold mine hoping you are about to remember. But then the flame of recollection flickers out and I'm standing alone. Guarding our story. I ache for each lifetime. For all the ones that were and will be. My Love, I will remember for the both of us. I will remember until I forget. And even then I will remember love.

Jusqu'a la prochaine fois mon amour.

Until next time my love.