ENCOUNTERS - SOUNDS

…while my head was gently placed by purposeful hands on an overstuffed down pillow. His hands softly brushed over my eyelids, encouraging me to close my eyes for a while. I listened closely for a clue to what would happen next. But the thief of time abducted my sense of place. I neither saw nor felt, neither heard nor smelled. When I eventually opened my eyes, he was still there sitting next to me on the bed – still buck naked – with one hand on the bed to prop himself up while with the other he stroked my hair, finger-combing the ash-colored shock that covered my now wrinkled forehead. Once again, I gazed upon his face and then I focused on his eyes. For the first time I sensed that we were both ready to speak.

My lips parted and I surprised even myself when I quietly asked, “Why naked?”

He answered by asking, “Why clothed?”

I slightly shrugged, then nestled in, as I heard another voice, this time inside my head say, “Welcome home!”

Those were the last words I heard.

Those were the first words I heard.

The End