Bullets from Paradise - Melbourne

May 1
‘For better of for worse,’ he said wryly as they crossed Collins Street on their way to see a movie. The church bells where ringing loudly.
‘What a shame: I’ve only just found you and already you must go.’ His voice was sad but then he smiled. ‘We’re just going to have to cram an entire relationship into the next two weeks!’

In the ash coloured twilight of the room, she could see the glow of the moon trace the bow of his neck, and his bare shoulder doused in slivers of light. He was lying opposite her on the bare mattress, his head resting on his elbow. He kept his eyes fixed on her; in the half-light a flash of pride crossed his face. She caressed him and he felt endlessly giddy, almost drunk. She purred like a cat. Touching him reminded her of something familiar, something safe, and the pleasure of it took her breath away. Together they sank deeper and deeper into a tangle of pillows and sheets. She felt as if she’d lost all memory of who she’d been up until that moment. Everything about her life dissolved the moment in which he’d touched her the first time. All of her, her entire life, her past and her future were concealed in his embrace. In the ash-coloured twilight, the moon traced his neck with a silver finger and once more doused his bare torso in a milky sheen.
‘I love you forever.’ She wowed secretly with her head buried in the feather doona, while he dozed beside her. He was the object of her every desire, the light of her eyes, her north and her south.

The passion they shared with a child-like enthusiasm had ignited within them unknowingly, taking them by surprise. They were unaware of the depth of their feelings, until their eyes had found each other across the table that odd and fateful night in a dingy pub. Now she inhaled the sweater she’d bought in his company in Greville Street and which she’d worn on their weekend away. It smelled of happiness. The day prior to her departure, she carried his shirt around with her all day, inside her handbag. He was everything she’d ever wished for.

On their last night together, he doused her in his perfume, so that she could carry his scent with her.
‘This last week together has been the best of my entire life.’ He said and his stomach twisted into a series of sad and bitter knots.