the week before autumn’s end she spent carefully arranging the braided flower crowns, refreshing them with raindrops collected each morning and storing them in moss to preserve their freshness. the morning effort complete, she set out for the far rapids, the place near the falls, where that which she sought might be found. they were heavy, but she carried them with a smile, mind filled with images of his surprise and glee to find them, to see them carefully decorated and tenderly placed… there… all his favorite things gathered together where he might fully enjoy them. placing them carefully, she […]

When she woke next, he was gone. Curiosity overcame caution, and she crept to the bank of the stream, peering over the slope to see if she could make out what enticed and compelled him so. There, in the bend, a small depression, in which was carefully laid a large, black stone, with amazingly flat, matte surface. She spent some time looking at the stone, trying to figure out what about it made it so different, so special, so magical and unique. Over time, she found the courage to touch it, fingers dipping lightly into the water and disturbing its […]

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 […]