He took me by the hand and led me barefoot, both of us, to the lush green fields that were given to us.
The enchanting sunset was our audience. We danced in circles as I gracefully twirled and twirled within her embrace while holding my fingertips below our heads.
Our eyes met. longed for It was love? or lust?
It felt like love. At least, at this very moment. I believed it. I believed us.
The tingling sensation and wetness under our feet didn’t bother us one bit when all we could focus on was each other.
After the dance, he chased me across the vast fields. We laughed and the laughter spread like wildfire. It was as if time had stopped for both of them. Nothing could replace this absolute moment. I found comfort and relief in her presence each time I turned to see if he could reach me and we looked at each other there and then.
There seemed to be no end to the fields and the sun, which was just out of reach, but right before our very eyes. Before I could extend my hand to “fit” it into the palm of my left hand, he grabbed me from behind.
“It is understood!” she said, hugging me tightly around my waist.
I felt the warmth of his hands under the sheer fabric of my white lace dress and I didn’t want him to let go of me, not until the end of time. But who was he kidding? She was waiting for him at home with three children of her own. They have been married for nine years. And today is her wedding anniversary.
Tonight he is going to make love to her, in a very different way than we did before. My heart reeked of jealousy and sin. An unforgivable sin with no turning back, no turning back to the days without him, to the days when I wasn’t “the third.”
“Ca… can you stay with me today?” I asked, placing my hands on top of hers.
She sighed softly but didn’t let go. And that’s what she loved about him. It was the little things like this that drew me in. He attracted me how kind she can be, that even with that question, she never raised her voice to him.
“You know the answer.”
“Can’t I be an exception?” I pushed my luck even further.
He turned me around quickly and silenced me by locking his lips with mine. I couldn’t help but crack a half smile, and so did he. We kissed for a long, long time. It was so romantic, something as simple as this. The landscape was awesome. The air smelled of lavender. And our hearts beat at the same time, coordinating the rhythm. We were in happiness.
After endlessly chasing each other, we felt exhaustion in our bones and caught our breath. We lay down on the grass and clasped our hands together, now looking up at the purple-blue sky and listening to the howling wind.
Your phone range. She ignored him and silenced the ringtone. Out of respect for me, he never answers his phone calls, even if it was his wife calling him on her wedding anniversary. I loved this man tremendously, I thought as he looked at his beautiful face from the side. He smiled and turned in my direction as well, not wanting to miss a second of looking me in the eye. We acted like children and we both found it silly, but that’s what brought us closer.
He bought me white and pink flowers in a bouquet. I felt like the most beautiful and lucky woman to receive them from him for the first time.
“Why did you buy me flowers?”
“I don’t need a reason to buy you flowers. I wanted you to have them.”
“Thank you.”
“You like?”
I nodded, a little embarrassed.
He flashed a captivating smile, proud of his gesture.
“Perfect,” he said pulling me closer so I could rest my head on his ample chest as he played with my hair.
I fell asleep and when I woke up, he was gone. He helped me put on my shoes and placed the bouquet near my face. He wanted it to be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. There was a note inside the bouquet that wasn’t there before.
The note read: “It’s over between us, Julie. I’m sorry. I loved you. But I have to go. Don’t look for me. I no longer breathe the same air you do when you read this.” . Forget me. Marry someone better than me. Goodbye, my forbidden love.
I crumpled the note in my hand and held it close to my heart, bursting into tears, moaning at the top of my lungs in the translucent moonlight.
Once again, he was alone. Only this time, I was swallowed up by loneliness and darkness within my surroundings and in the depths of my heart, unable to free myself from this “betrayal” that I brought upon myself.