A storm was shaking the
Woods outside the hut. I heard the rain tapping on the roof like frightened
fingers of fear squeezed through choking clouds, plunging to their
doom, searching for a place to call their own. But the tiny gasps
of nature's tears was but a distant whisper, for we were protected
in the warmth of the fire's amber glow as I lay awake in our bed,
watching Maya sweetly sleeping. The firelight gently danced along
her naked body, tenderly caressing her. A tear of joy dripped from
my cheek and rested upon her lips. She opened her eyes, and smiling,
pulled me down towards her.
When the sunlight first
crept through the curtained windows we were still languishing in the
glow of our entangled desires. I drifted in and out of a joyous bliss
of consciousness and dreams, and between the two, I watched Maya arise
and cross the room to stand before the mirror. She stared at herself
in awe as she brushed the long auburn hair that flowed over her shoulders
and down her back. She turned to face me with a smile that melted
my soul in joyous reprise.
"I can't believe how beautiful
you've made me," she sighed, almost laughing as she walked towards
me and her hair fluttered behind her like angels' wings.
"I..." I stuttered as
she kissed me and slipped beside me. "I'm sorry, is this not as you've
always been?"
Maya blushed and looked
away. "Well," she sighed, sadly this time. "I..." Tears gently flowed
down her cheek and, leaning forward, I brought her face close to mine
and kissed her eyes. "I don't know," she whispered softly. "I don't
remember what I looked like...before," she admitted.
The clairvoyant clarity
I had felt the night before had faded in the new day's light. I could
only see glimpses that disappeared as I strained to reach them with
my mind.
"Who am I?" I whispered,
suddenly frightened and afraid, for I realized I had no idea of the
answer to such a simple question. My head was swimming in confusion,
and it ached to think at all.
Maya placed my head against
her breast and rubbed my hair gently. But the pain was too much. I
couldn't feel her fingers at all. I tried in vain to speak, but only
blood-stained whispers leaked from my lungs:
"Wipe away the pain, and
make it right.
I am lost insane inside
the crippled light."
