It had been a while since he looked at her. Hell, sometimes it felt like he was forgetting her. Some days, when their paths didn’t cross, he didn’t pay her no mind.
It was hot. It had been raining for days, and when the rain stopped, it combined to create a dank, sticky, hot mess. If you dared to open the door to stick your face outside, the air was muggy and thick, like a hot boxed dorm room full of students. Inside, it was cooler. Air conditioned but still not comfortable room temperature like they grew up with. Sitting still, a line of sweat could still grow on your brow.
He walked over to the sink and opened a tap. The cool water on his skin was like a cool caress, and he held his hands under the running water for a longer than was needed. He spashed some water in his face before looking in her direction again.
She was comfortable in her own skin. In the heat, she spent most of her time in her underwear. Other people would think it’s a black bikini today, but the reality is that she preferred her own skin over tight clothes. Her back was towards him. Her lines are perfect, clean, and beautiful. The dark lines perfectly shaded against her skin like stars against the black of night. The red petals and grey-scale tattoo’s perfectly placed on her back. His garden of eden in human form.
It was busy around them. These days, it was always busy. A breakneck carol in a whirlwind snare. He had so many things he wanted to say to her. The opportunity just never came. He picked up one of his notebooks and started paging through it.
I know you think this is unhealthy
She was still.
I would never do anything to hurt you or anyone else you love on purpose.
Her back was still turned towards him.
We are intrinsically tied together. Two beings, melted together by the same star before shooting across the universe.
He found the page he was looking for: a drawing of two people lying on a bed, holding each other, their legs intertwined like vines.
I’m afraid that you are starting to forget to me. I know you are because I can feel the memories fading. Would it have been easier if we never met?
“Did you find what you were looking for?” the voice almost appeared out of nowhere.
“Yes. Is this what you had in mind?” He showed the drawing in his notebook.”
That’s beautiful. Now if you can make it look like they are floating through a lake that’s reflecting the stars of he night sky, that would be exactly what I want.”
He picked up a pen and sat down at his desk. “Give me a couple of minutes to get the drawing ready. Then we’ll figure out the placement and do a stencil.”
He started drawing, and then she asked: “Who’s the woman in the photo? Did you do the tattoos on her back?”
“She had those when I met her. She’s someone that used to know, and she used to know me.”