He fingered each bone in her back as she fell asleep. Her spine curved slightly at the small, only noticeable to a finger trace. He kept tracing even when her breath changed so that he knew she was sleeping. He stopped at each knuckle-like bone until he too was asleep.
When he woke up the sun was in his eyes. He clasped his wrists around the circle where she had slept but she was not inside it. She always left in the early morning. He would often try to stay awake long enough to see her go but would lull himself to sleep on her backbones and wake up clasping his wrists. The sheets next to him were unwrinkled.
The next night as she lay in his arms, he traced her spine first with his finger and then with his lips. Her skin was so smooth it was almost slippery. He counted each bone until a cool half-light came through the blinds. He felt her stir. Her eyes peeled open at the first sign of morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment