A Winter’s Tale
written by: Natalia Aeschliman
@NataliaAeschlim
It was there in the darkness
When I first saw him
A strong back
Yet so exhausted
Hair painted by the desert sand
I didn’t want to move
I didn’t want to breathe
I felt
If I stood there
Frozen
I would be invisible
On top of that hill
Looking down at the valley
With so much spontaneous life
Happening at this very moment
I quietly
Took a step forward
I didn’t want to disturb him
I refused for the corner of his eye
To get a glimpse of my lonely shadow
Standing there behind him
I have so much to say
If I could connect my brain
To my tongue
I would speak in poetry
If only
My boots took another step closer
And there he began to notice
He was as soft as the breeze
Moved his head a bit
Reacting to my movement
But then slowly looked away
As if I wasn’t there
As if it was only a memory
I stood there
Frozen
My breath getting deeper
My body temperature rising
Over one hundred degrees
On this cold winters night
Frozen by the sight of this stranger
Attracted to the attraction
Of knowing his soul for eternities
In other worlds I’ve loved him
In other moons we’ve embraced
Reacting softly
To his magnet
I took one more step
Suddenly
He turns
And In between the light of the moon
I can see his grey white eyes
I know it’s him
The one
He says nothing
I don’t move
“Breathe” I remind myself
One more step
And I stand beside him
Looking into that valley
Too afraid to look into his eyes
Without notice
He reaches for my hand,
I smile
He smiles
We step forward
And in that second
We turn and look into each other’s eyes
We know this moment
We’ve dreamt it
One more step
We fall.
Finally
We are alive.
