I escape through the water drops and before I knew it was racing ahead into the night. Flitting between the nascent green arbors, bouncing off the white flat roofs that humans live in, lighting their square dwellings, I chase the stubborn shadows away. Such thrill to make way as I shine through alone. A privilege I could have for a short span of time before I join the rest of the crowd.
Around a corner I go and there was the deep violet sea, and the white homes tiling the slope above. Spectacular was the scene as the tinged hues with the sound of the ocean against the walls sighing whispers, a tune more melodious than from what we hear above. I stood hung in space for a few moments lost, not realizing I had stayed much too long at a single point.
Long enough to hear a barely audible moan. A sigh perhaps.
Pause.
There, I hear it again.
Impulsively breaking rules, I move closer to the white wall ahead. A window was open. I hesitate. Should I move closer? Would that risk me being seen? Did it matter?
Thin curtains stretched across the window sway in the breeze. A mock as a prelude. What I see beyond draws a part of me in. I gaze onto a novel vision.
In the semi-darkness I see white sheets, and two figures, I think. A candle dangerously close to its end flickers on the table next to the bed. A deep sigh and one form that I later understand is a man, shifts to lay flat on his back. The other snuggles in closer and lays her head on his shoulder nestled in the crook of his arm.
The scene was at once calmly comforting. Yet, I smelt a whiff of desire in the air.
Impatient, I wanted more. Stepping closer, I was aware of the thin sliver of light I brought with my gaze into the room. With every step, I shone my way up the bed post, along the sheets till I reached the man’s feet. Up his toned calves I see a bare thigh lay across his knee. A single white sheet lay across them, crumpled and casual. The woman shifts closer and the man moves to let her in. His palm hidden under the sheet, resting on the small of her back. Smooth and curved in the golden rays, the woman’s back lay petite and naked, protected across his chest. Her left arm curled around his neck, while his right rested on her wrist. Long tousled hair lay thick across the pillow. Wayward curls framing her face tremble in the breeze looking for escape.
Unable to take my eyes off of them, I step closer. To peek beyond her back, wishing to see her face. He opens his eyes and I halt dead in my tracks. I needn’t have worried. Lost in a state of thoughtful stupor, he tilts his head and for what seemed an eternity, gazes at her, then resting his face on her head and stares up at the ceiling.
The silence, broken only by the rustle of the curtains and her breath, whispered volumes to me. A background score to what was to happen next.
With a resigned sigh, he tucks an errant curl behind her ear. Eyes as slits, he traces a forefinger along her face. I crane my neck to see his route as he..
Corners a creamy shoulder
Dips into the hollow of the collarbone
Raises onto a stretched neck
Angling the sharp dimpled chin
Mount the soft cheek
Shelling the curved ear
Resting in the hollow behind
Walk along the temples
Tracing her arched dark eyebrow
Drawing onto her closed eyes
Back along her straight nose
Dive down onto the little groove above her upper lip
Along the thickness of the middle
Through the curve of the edges
Teasing
The woman parts her lips, and her eyes flutter open. The look in her eyes I couldn’t fathom, but his changed dramatically.
Was it pain?
Was it remorse?
Was it desire?
Was it an intensity un-named?
A depth turning his eyes a few shades darker, he bends ever so slightly. Tilting her chin up to him, he kisses dewy eyelashes. A small slow touch, barely audible. Gentle.
I shudder. Being a voyeur was exciting, but becoming a trespasser loaded guilt onto my soul. Retracing my steps, I turn one last time.
I see a shimmer on his lip, reflect the one at the corner of her eye.
I step outside.
