Saturday, October 09, 2004 3:10:23 PM

A narrow crescent along the length of her thy absorbed the last of the days heat. She felt the coolness in the instant the last of the sun was gone. She had been suspended somewhere in between the two halves of wakefulness and sleep, though she wasn’t sure for how long. Though many images had been in her mind she couldn’t remember their relation to each other and had not considered their relevance. She had been perched on a precipice and only tried to stay balanced there. All else flowed by in her periphery, she stayed focused on the point.
Stepping down she turned her head to where she had left her lover. He was still there, though she could not discern whether his eyes were opened or closed. Only when he smiled slightly did she know that he had been looking at her.
They lay there naked above the rising tide and looked at each other, each willing themselves not to look away and confronted by the urge to break the gaze. She knew he couldn’t see into the shadows on her face. That afforded her the safety to be more exposed than she would otherwise allow. He thought how strange it was that he felt no discomfort or aversion to being stared at by a stranger, but to have her looking directly into his eyes was almost excruciating. It was fear, he knew, but could never tell her. Introspection was not something shared between them. He had tried several times, but it had never worked. She couldn’t understand the value of it and told him often enough that he secretly swore not to bring it up again. If the sun had not set behind her and let a cape of shadow hide her face he would have seen the tears from her eyes, her body’s violent rebellion at such vulnerability.
She reached out across the space between them and laid the back of her hand down on his. He spread his fingers slightly to allow hers to fall between his. She felt his warmth. He felt the tiny grains of sand between them.