Passion Replay

[Continued from Hell, And so it ends, Risha, A new friend and Irreconcilable]

It's been years since their relationship ended, so it's natural that he hadn't thought of her, except a few and far between instances where he can't help recalling their time together. Dennis is now married to a loving wife, and to a job that pays really well. One would think, at this point, that he would know how his life would unfold, and sure that there are some chapters in his life there is no turning back to.

But last night his dream told a different story. In that dream, he was alone in a cold darkened street. No one in sight, except the ghostly street lamps, and the gushing river a few feet away. He felt alone, like a presence of a flesh, placed in the middle of concrete surroundings. The heart pounded wearily against the hardened chamber of urban existence.

Alas, he's in a strange place. He knows not where to go. A step in any direction would not make any difference. But a step is all I can take now, he thought to himself.

________

"I'm scared, Sabrina. I'm scared that when we look at each other, we see only strangers," Dennis whispered.

"Dear, I'm scared too."

Their hands squeezed into each other, letting go was not an option. With her ear pressed against his chest, she could feel his heartbeat. The sound of both life and love.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" she asked.

With his eyes fixed on hers, he nodded.

She moved her hand down below, feeling it as it rose steadily. There was a kind of unsettling feeling, the same feeling that one was about to make a horrible mistake. Reason plays no part here. Just what you want to do.

He moved his hand down behind her. The memory of the steady slide down the curve and up around, never lost its vividness. She shifted her whole weight onto him. Pressing a bit harder where they supposed to meet. The slow rub of her hips back and forth makes her more pleasant to look at

With her face lighted only by the moonlight, she was beautiful... Simply, and nothing short of, beautiful.

________

Having seen and experienced something like that has a way of casting a different light on your outlook or perception. It seems to mark the moment when a boy becomes a man.

However, back in the street, a sound of a woman giggling suddenly broke the ghostly silence of the night. It came from about a few blocks away in front of him.

There, under a street lamp, against the moonlit sky, a couple could be seen in deep embrace. Although seen from a distance, there is no mistake that their lips are still locked together.

Feeling awkward, he thought it's better that he turn around and take another route. But a sudden sense of familiarity froze him in the spot.

He turned back and looked again. What had only barely registered in his mind earlier, now became clear. The woman kissing another man, was his ex-girlfriend, Sabrina. But seeing her again, even in this dream, he saw no stranger. It was still the same face that he knew and fell in love with. Nevertheless, he didn't know how to react at that moment.

To make matters worse, 'the other man' she was kissing wasn't another man after all. In fact, that man was Dennis himself.

(The image above is an adapted work of Ash Berlin, in accordance with the applicable terms of copyright license)