autumn was near, and it was becoming hard to walk. he didn’t seem to notice. when she would sigh and ask for a rest, his lower lip would jut and his brows would lower and he’d look over his shoulder toward the stream as if remembering something important…. she was pretty sure he knew by now that doing so spurred her to stagger to her feet and try to stumble a little further. she could no longer see a piece of flesh without his markings. her body seemed one great tattoo of his odd words, sibilants and sighs that she […]

summer came. for some time, she had followed his zig-zag footsteps. she began to notice little things. things that, at first, didn’t seem to make sense. they would spend days roaming far afield, sometimes the mountains, sometimes the meadow, sometimes a hidden canyon. but no matter how far they roamed, he insisted they return to the stream each night. only by its cooing rush could he sleep. she noticed too the patterns, the pre-cursors, the things that signified the onset of the next spasm. sometimes, she forgot and her arms were criss-crossed with his happy reminders. she told herself the […]

She met him by a campfire, in the woods. Didn’t know he was there until he giggled and, when she looked up, tossed her a snappy salute before running away. Curious, she followed. Found him in a clearing, by a campfire, next to a stream. Sitting, she smiled. He was distracted. Something in the water. She waited. Eventually, he turned and gave her such a brilliant smile that her breath left her, “Isn’t it beautiful?” He asked. Stuttering softly, she blushed, “Yes. Yes, it is.” For the night, they just sat close. Rarely talking. Whatever it was in the water […]