Sunset Interlude

She stands silhouetted in the window.  Her naked body shining in the setting sun.  The arch of her back, the placement of her feet, speak of the grace and poise of a cat.  Slowly she turns to face me, a small smile playing on her lips. She reaches out to take my hand, moving with slow deliberation. She’s playing with me. She knows that the teasing is driving me wild.  Her eyes gleam with love and more than a little lust.  Our hands are about to meet.  Tonight, our love will be consummated.

            The ringing alarm shatters the dream and drags me from sleep.  The image of her stays in my mind, burned into my soul.  I reach out and turn off the alarm, angry at the interruption.  I never get to touch her.  I think sadly.  If it’s not the alarm going off, it’s the trash truck outside, or the cat.  Something always wakes me just before I can touch her.  I had been having that dream off and on for more than two weeks.  I am beginning to have trouble concentrating on my work.  The dream keep intruding.  Unlike most of my dreams, I can remember every detail.  The way the muscles moved under her skin, the smile on her face.  Nothing is ever forgotten. 

            I slowly climb out of bed and prepare for the day.  All through my shower and shaving, her image hovers in my mind.  It only leaves when I cut myself with the razor, the pain forcing me to be more alert.  That lasts till I’m on my way to work.  The long boring drive leaves me with far too much time to think.  By the time I arrive at the office, I can’t remember any of the trip.  I’m lucky I didn’t wreck.  I have to be more careful.

            I go to my desk and look through the papers stacked there.  Hopefully, there will be something there to take my mind off of the dream. I settle in to my work, finally able to think of something else.  By the end of the day, I’m drained. Thankfully, it’s Friday. I can sleep in tomorrow.  I drive home and fix myself a lonely dinner.  Not interested in the garbage on the TV, I turn on the computer and browse the internet for a while. 

            Before long, I decide to go to bed.  Part of me looks forward to a repeat of the dream while another part dreads it.  I don’t know how much longer I can take it.  The frustration of being so close to touching her, is intolerable.  Thinking of her, I fall asleep. 

            Once again, I see her standing by the window, with the sun behind her.  The dream continues on it’s usual course.  Again, just as we are about to touch, I’m awakened.  This time by my cat jumping on my chest.  I growl at him to leave me alone, but naturally, he doesn’t listen.  Finally, I decide I might as well get up.  I don’t have any real plans for the day so I take my time getting dressed.  Looking around the apartment, I figure it’s as good a time as any for some serious cleaning.  I spend the day cleaning the whole place from top to bottom. I even go so far as to clean and organize all the cabinets.  Boredom can be a wonderful motivator sometimes.

            By evening, I’m exhausted.       Feeling sweaty and dirty, I decide to take a bath and relax.  Sinking back into the hot water, I close my eyes and let my mind wander.  Before long I am asleep and the dream begins again.  This time the dream takes a different path.    

            This time, She doesn’t reach out to me right away.  Instead she moves toward a door in the wall to our right.  I had never noticed it before, but then I had been fixated on her.  As she goes through the doorway, she beckons me to follow.  In a daze, I trail after her like a puppy on a leash.  Down a short hallway is a spacious bedroom.  She leads me through the bedroom to a huge bathroom.  There’s a whirlpool tub already full of steaming hot water. As I go through the door, she is slipping into the tub.  I slowly move toward her. As I near the tub, I begin to feel lightheaded and weak.  When I am right next to her, she reaches out and touches my hand.  I feel a shock like a bolt of electricity shoot through me and black out.

            When I wake up, I’m in my whirlpool and the water has gotten cold.  I chide myself for falling asleep like that and climb out. As I dry myself, I think about the dream. I was finally able to touch him.  It’s a shame it ended there.  I would have liked it to go farther. I haven’t had a lover in too long.  Ah well. That’s the price I pay for being a model.  Who knows what the future will bring.  Time for bed, I have a long photo shoot tomorrow.  This time I don’t dream.

Reviews

[Richard Held]

I selected this piece at random.

First, the question on your heart is whether you should continue your pursuit. I would encourage caution when seeking this answer from others. If you truly have a message, the message must be delivered.

Bravo to you. I enjoyed it thoroughly. In specific, the last paragraph confuses me. "I was finally able to touch him." Isn't the subject a female? Beyond that, I would consider the necessity of the model reference. It's quite a surprise in an otherwise haunting piece.

I look forward to reading more.

Richard