THE ROAD

Part One:

She sat next to him, her hand upon his thigh. He felt good. He felt real good. His juiced up heart beat within the rhythm of nature. The swirl of wild landscape that cascaded past them was more alive with vibrant yearning than he ever thought possible. He knew that it wouldn't take long for them to reach the city and that when they returned to that land of pavement the feeling that he was currently feeling; the one that coursed through him like hysteria, the one yet to be named; that feeling would shrink back down into its shadow. It would lose the light that it was so eagerly seeking at the moment. They would be okay, the two of them. They would go back to their natural comfortable existence that they always knew, but perhaps that what was truly sad about the entire affair.

Out here, amongst the trees, free from power lines and subway lines and shopping lines, they found a freedom that spoke to each other's hunger in a new way. They reached deep for once and, quite frankly, it was exhilarating. There was a big part of him that didn't want to go back but what else could they do? They had lives that they wouldn't throw away. They had jobs, family and friends. They had obligations, responsibilities that went beyond that secluded clearing. After all, it was impossible to remain in heaven forever. They always ended up coming down somewhere, sometime. It seemed such a fantasy to assume it would be any different this time.

They looked at each other for an instant and everything vanished. Their hearts understood the clarity of the situation. It was possible to hold onto what was guiding them in this precious moment. They could ride it out, drift past the mundane monster and find a warm room where their hearts would continue to beat for each other. The had found it out here amongst the clean air and heather and dandelion after all. It did exist. They had felt its touch.

Her eyes echoed his exuberant thoughts and he knew that anything was possible. But, then he saw the shiver in her, a brief hesitation and he mistook it for what it wasn't. He would regret it for the rest of his life.

(go to Part Two)