It's Real Estate

It looked like they were falling. Her body was in a runner's stance, laying sideways on the sheets. Their right arms against each other under her pillow, hands cupped like their bodies. He had her, all of her, and he wasn't letting go. Both of her arms were free to move away, her legs even mimicked the 90 degrees in the bottom half of the bed. He had her though, only with one arm, tucked around her middle, across her hip to chest. His legs were together and spooning the back part of her body. His face was in her hair, at the nape of her neck.

A teal branch, smooth and thick like a tree trunk, laid in front of her. She was unfamiliar with this type of jungle and before she had the chance to touch this mysterious new bark, it began to blink and move. On the left, two metallic black eyes appeared and her eyes stopped believing it was all connected to the tree. A baby alligator, bright blue green turned it's face to her and on its right, only a foot below it, another set of eyes opened. It began to flex it's mouth and turned to her, pupils resting on her surprised face and outstretched palm, eager to touch only a moment ago.

She woke suddenly, the light from another room finding it's way to her dreams and blasting it to bits. She was conscious of it and broke free from his tender clutches to turn it off. How long had they been asleep? She had turned off her alarm and left her phone in the other room. She never did that at home. She didn't bother checking. Time didn't need to exist right now so she allowed it to disappear. It could be an hour from morning, or five minutes from when they had laid down to cuddle, catching their breath. There was no telling. She let her feet be heavy, but not loud. Lifting the blankets revealed he was woken by her absence, or merely not sleeping at all. His arm lifted up the sheets to tuck her back in. He gathered her up and held on to her body while her head rested pitifully backwards on his shoulder. She didn't care; too tired and hungry for his warmth, she drifted back again.

A steep hill was before her, perhaps a landslide that only was dry for now. A few trees stood majestic, growing sideways out of the path. This used to be the path, she bit off a piece of dried skin from her bottom lip and contemplated, I bet I could still make it this way, if I tried really hard. My legs are strong enough to pull me up there. She frowned as a voice behind her assured her there was another way and to let it go. His gentle touch on her shoulder comforted her and she walked away.

When she woke up, sweat on her upper lip and startled again, he jumped up to make the room cooler cued by her mumbles. She turned over and he slid behind her, squeezing her belly, raising her mouth to a silent smile. She felt like Alice in Wonderland, falling backwards into a world that made no sense. It was lovely. It was freeing to need control and not have it in that moment. She was simply falling and he had her. She was safe and free.

Somehow, she found herself on a treacherous path. This one had gravel and was far less steep. Not an easy feat. There was a starter point though, roots of an old tree that had grown almost sideways, like a bridge built by nature. She reached up to grab a root aware of his presence behind her. Patiently watching without helping. She climbed and found footing to be easier than anticipated. She couldn't see what was ahead with a large bush covering her path at that angle but she could tell it wasn't nearly as bad as the first path she considered. 

It was her birthday. She was being handed a gift. A shiny pale pink wrapping over a rectangle with a picture perfect dusty rose colored bow. She had a few presents around her but didn't open any of them. Instead she wondered how it had been only his birthday yesterday. It was March 22 but that didn't make any sense because his birthday was on the 20th. But not even in March. The concrete was a grey white and blended against a white picnic table. He had only left his house a moment or two before. He had only let her go for a moment and somehow six months had passed by. They had been in a room together, a door before them, slightly ajar. She felt comforted by his clutch, not wanting it to be over and knowing she was feeling the warmth of his ghost, long left behind. He was elsewhere. She knew. She didn't know where or with whom, but he wasn't there with her. Her body radiated heat and searched for him. But, that was so long ago, and now she wasn't sure if she wanted anything inside the stacked boxes. There must have been twenty different perfectly wrapped pink parcels waiting like layered cakes in precarious piles. She looked down where her hands were usually, and instead at the iridescent wrapper of the box he placed on her palms. She wanted to tell him she didn't need the box. She only wanted what she saw inside of him.  

The candy store had it all. She wanted none of it. She knew what she wanted. They didn't have it. She didn't want to buy anything that wasn't that sweet in particular. Rows and rows were before her, under her hip level, she couldn't even read any of them clearly. The familiar beeps of a convenience store chimed in unison and off key, taking turns fighting the tones. She felt like she had what she wanted already. None of this was even close to it. She felt a squeeze in her middle. A line across her chest, pulling her back home. 

He was speaking to her then. She barely heard him but replied just the same. He was finding his way back to her, still warm from where he was and where she dreamt. How long had he been gone? What time was it? It still felt dark out. It smelled like fall. Crisp and cool, like earth and ash. A hint of smoke and decay while summer's warmth still lingered with the chilly breeze. She took it all in deeply, allowing him to surprise her with his words. He had her and he wasn't letting go. She let herself be tucked into his body and sighed, pleased, and drunk off of knowing she was wanted.