me.
“I—I know that this is out of character for me, but, there’s so
many things that we haven’t talked about.”
He still stared out at the water and didn’t speak.
“I want a love that treasures can’t be spent. At
least by anyone else but me.”
“That water,” he began.
“I see you floating in it every day. I—I can’t jump out there and
get you be—because my body is paralyzed.”
I frowned my eyebrows and glanced over
his face. A face so blank as it looked to the lake
that I didn’t think his soul was present.
“What, what do you mean you see me in water?”
“I know what you’re thinking...I’m crazy right?” he said finally
looking at me in the face.
“No, but from what you say about my dreams, I would think you
wouldn’t have—”
“Have you ever noticed how real dreams can seem? It’s like, when I
wake up the first thing I do is call you...” he said as he leaned on a tree
trunk that limbs and leaves hovered over us like a grandmother’s warm
protective arms.
“You just started doing that. Two months ago.” I said wondering
why I was getting morning calls from Myron now more than ever in the past.
“Yeah. But mine isn’t a dream while I’m asleep. It’s...
a day dream. I can’t escape you...you floating from me.”
I stood in
front of him. His serious, one raised brow, stark face staring back at me. A
breeze blew around us. Hugging us. Pushing
us closer together. My eyes welled, confirming his fear. Just abruptly
as my tears fall, Myron’s body sluggishly fell to my feet. His
head nestling between my thighs, and sheer groans and cries of hurt leaving his
lungs. They then turn to a loud scream. An aggravated,
horrible scream. I almost thought he was dying.
“I—I was right there—but I couldn’t save you!” Myron said leaving me lost.
“Save me from what?”
He looked up at me. His nose now turned up and
anguish rinsing his tears away. He stood from my feet and began talking
to himself.
Then he broke down again swinging in mid-air at nothing. Whatever
he was doing, I knew he was battling himself. Myron sat on a rock close to the
water. His deep curls and waves in his hair sparkled off the sun. I sat down
beside him.
“I’m sorry.” I said.
He didn’t respond. He just kept throwing rocks.
We sat there silent for twenty minutes before he spoke again,
suddenly asking,
“Who is he?”
I felt the second storm about to roll in as I closed my eyes and
slowly said,
“Slim.”
He looked at me, his eyes blinking repetitively. His face became
stone, his stare mirroring betrayal beyond belief.
“Slim?” he asked.
I nodded my head yes.
“Sky? Nah, not my boy.” he
chuckled until he saw that I was serious.
“It—it just happened.”
“When?”
“I—I—”
“WHEN—DAMNIT?! How could you do this...now I see
what this all is about. Him.”
“No, I don’t want to marry you because of your scandalous ways.”
“I changed and I’ve told you this.”
I laughed at him making him sneer at me a hateful glance.
“You are full of it!”
He looked at me, his nose flared and eyes dilated.
“Tell me what happened?” his voice strained.
“I don’t know. Time changed
us? It seemed you never really cared either.”
Although I could see the hurt in his face, I couldn’t hear it in
his voice. In fact his voice was now calm and in a state of tranquil it seemed.
I readjusted my attitude towards him, balancing the faults of his habituating
past with my now, as he was making it seem, “malleable promiscuity”. I simply
just wanted my freedom.
“I thought you loved me,” he began as his voice cracked.
“Was down for me!” his hand gripped my wrist tightly.
“Myron you’re hurting me. I do love you!”
“I told you I was sorry. Damn!”
Myron grabbed both of my arms tightly.
“Yeah, we gone get through this...we’ll handle it a’ight, ‘cause
we gettin’ fuckin’ married! I know what I got to do!”
He picked me up and