Everlasting Kiss
written by: Karen Southall Watts
“I get it. Your husband left you, but Mya, you’re going to grow roots into the couch if you don’t get out of this apartment.”
And with those words, and a flyer liberated from the bulletin board at the co-op grocery store, Mya’s new hobby was born. The day it happened, she thought Amber, her best friend, was being cruel, but now Mya knew better. Sure, she’d spent a fortune on sunscreen, bug repellent, and internet storage fees, yet none of that seemed to matter anymore. Her hiking and nature photography club was her community now.
Six months after the day Amber had pried her off the furniture, forcefully wiped her nose, and sent her out to the first meeting, Mya was a new woman. She had lots of friends. Her days were spent with people who were more interested in her thoughts and admiring her perfect shot of Turkey Tail fungus on a fallen log than ogling her ex-husband’s expensive car. Amber felt a little left out, because she was allergic to most of nature, and failed to see the thrill of squatting in the mud to catch the moment a toad, snail, or spider perched on a mushroom or “beautiful piece of rotten wood.” Yet, she couldn’t deny that she was happy for her friend, especially now.
“A date, eh? Do you mean a real date, or just sharing the same granola bar while slogging through the muck?”
“Very funny, Amber.”
Mya produced a fancy black and gold invitation with Halloween Costume Banquet emblazoned across the front.
“You mean that bunch of wood sprites and Bigfoot wannabes is going to shower up and stay indoors?”
“Look, Amber,” Mya lowered the invitation, “this is my first date in years. Can you just help me? I’m not sure I remember how it’s done.”
“Okay, don’t worry. I’m here for you. Let’s start with the basics: the guy, the dress code, and do we need to go shopping?”
Several hours later, Amber was up to date on Orin, the tall, ginger-haired guy who had braved divorcee melancholy to ask for a date. She dispensed dating advice to Mya as the two of them hot-glued moss, felt leaves, sequins, and nuts to the cape of Mya’s costume. When everything was dry, both women knew she’d be a convincing and seductive woodland witch.
A few days later…
“Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“You have got to be kidding me!”
Amber was stalking around Mya’s living room, now furnished without the dreaded couch of bad memories.
“I came over here, delaying my own party plans, I might add, to help you get ready. Not to mention the hours working on a dress to turn you into a hot version of Mother Nature. Now, to the bathroom and the makeup—march!”
The costumes were amazing. Leave it to a group of nature photographers to bring the magic of the forest indoors. There were realistic birds with feathered masks, several creatures with antlers, and a hedgehog who everyone soon learned needed lots of clearance to avoid tangling his spikes into gossamer wings and spiderwebs.
Orin, who knocked just moments after Amber’s departure, was dressed as a giant mushroom. His skin and clothing were a creamy white, and his red hair was covered in an orangish-red cap. The fit was seamless, or perhaps it was the realistic gills that helped hide any snaps or zippers. Mya wasn’t sure, but she was impressed. It must have been comfortable too, because he had no trouble getting into or driving his car, while Mya fidgeted after sitting down wrong on an acorn.
“How’s the food?”
Orin had gone to fetch two mugs of mulled cider, while Mya filled their plates. As part of her new-life-new-me philosophy, she dug in enthusiastically instead of shunning calories as she’d done to please her controlling ex. Orin knew this. It was one of the topics they’d talked about as their relationship warmed up. He smiled at Mya’s happy, yummy sounds.
“Try the cauliflower. It’s great.”
They spent the next while munching on spicy roasted veggies, and homemade bread topped with pomegranate pulp. Across the table, another couple, dressed as owls, fed each other slices of apple covered in walnut dip. Everyone was having a great time. Quiet excitement built up until it was almost time for the nocturnal nature walk.
“Okay, everyone,” a spectacular red stag called for the room’s attention, “it’s time for the main event. Of course, anyone who’s not comfortable with a nighttime walk is welcome to stay inside and dance. The music, food, and drink will keep flowing. Everyone else, meet me at the back door.”
Each couple was issued a special red flashlight for observing nocturnal creatures and a whistle for emergencies. Just off the path, with the sounds of the other partygoers fading behind them into the forest, Mya and Orin leaned against a massive oak tree.
A group of mice scurried about, eating acorns, seemingly fighting over the best ones. Mya and Orin stayed still and silent, watching the chaos, until a rush of air came in from behind them. An owl made off with a mouse in each talon. The couple crept away and moved further into the darkness.
They approached a huge fallen tree. It was one of Mya’s favorite photo spots. There always seemed to be a new moss, a new fungus, or a new creature waiting there for her discerning eye. Under the red light, it was magical and otherworldly. Snails and slugs decorated the wet, mossy surface. Moving slowly, leaving glistening trails, they were oblivious to the fat toad crawling along the log picking them off as snacks.
“This is one of my favorite spots.”
“I know,” Orin reached for her hand.
First kisses are weird. Part of your brain and your body are there, in the moment, while one strange niggling bit of your mind runs through every other first kiss you’ve ever had. Mya remembered the boy at the movies who tasted of popcorn and soda, and her ex-husband with his breath reeking of top-shelf whiskey and cigars. Orin’s kiss was unlike any sensation she’d ever known. She felt a tingling from her lips that itched across her entire body. It was like every cell in her being was jangling for attention. The taste was like sweet roasted carrots, smoky turmeric, or a rich, earthy beer.
“I wish we could stay like this forever, but I’m not sure I believe in forever love anymore. Is that stupid?”
“Of course not, Mya. If someone you love leaves you, it’s bound to change you.”
Mya smiled and leaned in for another kiss.
“I think finding the right person can change you, too.”
Before long, they were sitting on the cool, damp ground, and Mya knew her fancy dress was bound for the rag bag after the night. Orin held her hand, and they watched the forest alive and busy in the dark. They talked quietly for a while, then settled into silence.
It could have been hours, or it could have been eons. With every breath and sigh, Mya felt herself sinking into the earth. She couldn’t tell where her hands, her lips, stopped and Orin’s started. She was at peace. She meant to say something along those lines, but found she couldn’t talk, and found she didn’t care. They melted into each other and into the earth.
Weeks later, the only trace of Mya was her muddy and decaying costume. The crime scene notes mentioned the impressive growth of poisonous Fly Agaric mushrooms nearby, but there was no trace of Mya. One detective returned to the site at night, just to be thorough, and thought for sure he heard a woman’s contented sigh. He wisely did not commit that to paper.
Three years later, Amber ran across a flyer for the nature photography club in a different store. She ripped it off the wall and threw it away.
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