Where am I?

What city is this?

It's dark, night, late, very late.

Cobblestone. Not in the best upkeep, but old.

Avoid the holes, pull her with me.

Wait, her? Who?

Hands clasped, we move together as if we had been doing it forever.

Is this a memory? A dream?

What world is this clear, without distraction, without limits?

The night is clear. So many stars. Winking at us, smiling at us.

“What if?”

The words are not heard, but felt.

They echo from the top of the Mountain where She stands at a gazing pool,

down the sides of the Mountain through the valleys all the way to Her ocean shores.

The foam rises on the shore with the words,

and the waves pound in the rhythm of a slow heartbeat.

My heartbeat quickens. I feel alive, more so than I have for a long time.

I have felt the small but sharp pinprick of the arrow.

But did it hit my heart, or my hand?

My hand! I can still feel the mark on my palm. Was it a brand?

There is no mark, I know this even though I don’t let go to look.

I don’t want to let go.

I can certainly feel her first touch down to my gut, the touch, her finger touching at my soul.

“What if?”

The echo rises in my ears, repeating the words again and again.

She smiles. I can’t help but smile in wonder.

She was the one who reached for my hand, something that just. doesn’t. happen.

But it did.

Now what the hell do I do? My partner knows, of course.

I could hear her smiling over the phone. “Be safe, be smart, enjoy.” Her only advice.

Wisdom from the lady of the crossroads, mixed with roses.

I see a dark corner, under some trees. I gently pull her with me, and put my back to the brick wall.

I can’t see her eyes, but they feel closed to my lips…

I feel her heartbeat racing mine, a stag and doe chasing each other.

We can barely breathe, but the touch is light, teasing, tempting, very surface level.

Wondering, wishing, asking.

“What if?”

The hallways are bright, but with many corners and side paths.

It’s too late for anyone who knows us to be up except in the lobby that we walked through, but the staff is starting to move around getting ready for the dawn.

We keep looking.

We finally find someplace where it’s unlikely we will be seen.

She leans back against the wall this time, and I hold her there as our knees shake and our hearts race.

It’s been a very long day, and a long night.

“What if?”

She’s packed, but she grabs a quick drink of water.

My friend and I have just had breakfast, and we’re getting ready, but she had come in because she wanted to say hello and goodbye before her flight.

She gets up to go and heads towards the door. I follow, and after we turn the corner out of sight, I pull her towards me.

No words, very quick, but very clear. Third kiss, third touch, third brand that might never heal. Worth it. She smiles, and disappears.

Like a dream, like a memory, like an echo.

“What if?”