Touches of Love

Touches of Love

The sun stirred me from my sleep, calling to me to wake from my slumber and come spend time with it. It was a perfect day; I knew the temperatures would soar into the high eighties. I showered, pulling my hair into a loose ponytail with a creamy lace ribbon at the nap of my neck. Strands of my hair came free, curling about face. I put on celery colored sundress with matching sandals. My skin already golden from times spent in the comfort of the sun. I brushed some pale green shadow to my eyelids before lining my eyes with black eyeliner and applied some light mauve lipstick to my lips. Grabbing my beige straw bag, I threw some bottled water in my bag grabbing a couple of candy bars, the ones with the deep, dark chocolate and sweet, soft coconut, then headed out the door to go with the sun.

I drove, the windows down, the radio blaring out love songs, over the hills to the state park that sat on the lake. The wind whispered promises to me. I couldn’t make out the words, but I felt the joy of them in my heart. The sun beckoned me to our meeting place. Parking in the lot, between the lake and the trails that wound through the hills above it, I picked up my bag and locked the doors of the car, before I went to greet my date.

Finding a bench close to the beach, I sat, pulling my sundress up above my knees as I kicked off my sandals. The sun came to me as a lover, (much as you had), the brilliance from his smile, calling me to rest in him. Slowly, his rays began to massage his warmth gently against my skin. I closed my eyes, lost in the feel of the caresses his gentle touch brought to me. With the skill of one who knew me well, each touch from his rays reached deeper into me, until he’d touched my soul. A breeze came to kiss my cheeks. So real was the feel of that kiss, I opened my eyes, thinking perhaps…

As if sensing the sadness that crept upon me, the sun dip his head behind the fluffy white cloud, which had been dancing in the distance when I first sat on the bench. It was then I heard the whisperings in the wind once again. A melody sang to me from the trees above me in the woods. I threw my bag over my shoulder, and went in search of the song that reached out to me, for it seemed to beckon me to a promise.

Working my way along the trails, I found the trees now fully dressed in their summer gowns. Wildflowers of different purples and whites welcomed me, with their simple beauty and fragrance. They seemed to smile at me as I stopped, bending down to inhale their sweetness and feel the softness of their petals upon my face. The birds chirped in their perches above me, telling stories to one another.

I’d gone a distance on the trail, when I left it. The song I heard on the beach was somewhere off that path and I followed it, as if mesmerized by the sound of it. Carefully, walking through the deepness of the trees and shrubs, I stopped at times to just feel the wonder of creation that lived there. That wonder consumed every part of me.

The sun returned and we played tag as I walked and he darted in and out of the branches of the oaks, as they waved their arms in praise towards the heavens. I laughed with the pleasure of our game. Teasing me, he skipped ahead of me, but I knew he would be waiting. I smiled as I continued walking.

I looked to see his dazzling smile, and realized it had come to rest just ahead of me, and I pulled my dress up above my knees, walking faster, now anxious to catch up. The song in the wind was there in the sun. I found an impatience to bask in it.

Pushing my way through the overgrown brush, I came to the edge of a clearing. Ahead of me, the sun now cast his eyes upon a meadow. The green grass lay lush upon the earth, wildflowers splattered among it, as if a painter had taken his brushes of wet paint, shaking them and the colors landed here and blossomed. Holding court in the middle of this paradise was a huge lilac tree, bigger than I’d ever seen. His branches were heavy, drooping, with the hundreds of sprays of deep purple lilacs that made their home in his green foliage.

The song that echoed through this place was that of angels, I think. My breath caught in my chest as I stood taking in the splendor of what lay ahead of me. I felt my tears stinging my eyes as I opened my spirit to the sight and smell of the place I was in…

And then, I slowly walked towards the tree of lilacs…for they held a place in us…

Going across the meadow, the sun warmed my face and the petals of the wildflowers reached out to tickle my bare ankles. I giggled from their light play, often reaching down to run my fingers across the silkiness of their colorful faces, delighting in the magic I felt in my fingertips. All the while, as I walked, the peace of the heavenly melody filled my heart.

Reaching the king of the meadow, with his bounty of blossoms, I reached up to pull the nearest branch full of purple sweetness to my face. I wanted to bury myself in the fragrance that spoke of love to me. Lay my face against them, and hear the beat of creations heart, just as you had laid your face to my breast to hear the rhythm of my heart calling to yours. I remembered on that winter night when you had touched the scent of lilacs to your fingertips from a small, cool bottle of perfume you’d gifted me with... You’d traced the scent across my breasts bringing your fingers to rest upon my heart, before you lowered your head to rest it against my chest and receive the whispering of my heart.

I slipped my sandals from my feet, standing on the tips of my toes to reach the flowers in their full bloom. With loving hands I pulled them to me, just as you’d pulled me into you, with such gentleness the heavens sang. Gently, I broke from the bough a bouquet to hold against my heart, before I went to lay in the love from the sun.

I tugged the ribbon from my hair and let my hair spill loose upon my shoulders, before I sunk into the velvet of the meadow. Lying on my back, the lilacs resting upon my breasts, I closed my eyes, while the sun came once again to caress my skin. The whispers came upon the breeze lulling me to sleep.

A kiss brushed upon my lips…soft…then I felt the breath warm against my neck, before the sweet strokes of hands began to dance up and down my body, as they worked their way to my soul…and once again you had found me…coming to claim your heart…ready to fulfill the promise of our fate.

(C) P. Carlton