My hand was empty

A glad stream fell from its dark night into a bright morning. We held hands at its threshold while a golden light surrounded us.

Hand in hand we stepped forward to step into the stream and we walked for a while with the water comfortably just covering the tops of our feet. We felt warmed by the brilliant light and enjoyed the way it gently highlighted our faces to the point that to each other we were the most beautiful people on earth. No one else was even worth glancing at.

Together we continued like this was a long while, the brightness stayed high in the sky and the environment around us remained full of joy and sparkles. The stream had got fuller and wider and our steps followed its natural current.

I was lost in your face and failed to notice how deep the water had got. I stayed true to my commitment and clung onto your hand even with the water constantly rising around me. I stopped and looked at the sky, looked at the stars and for the first time realised how dark it was. Darkness had fallen. The golden light had disappeared and I found my hand was empty.

I wanted to save you so much but your feet had got sucked into the river’s bed and taken you under the water. There was nothing I could and knowing there was nothing I could do I turned my back and swam to the side to pull myself out.

I lay there shocked for sometime, rolled onto my back and then saw how beautiful the darkness was.