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Never Leave Me

She seemed to radiate a dazzling white glow, in the dim lightning of Crescent Road Park. I rubbed my eyes. I must be dreaming, I thought, but there she was, standing in front of me, smiling. Her smile spread across her face, wrinkling the corners of her eyes. I knew those wrinkles so well. She beckoned, beautiful hands extending towards me. I wanted to hold those hands; to embrace her; to never be parted again. I dropped the cans of beer I held and stepped forwards...

“But how...?”, I whispered, full of wonder. She shushed me and stroked my unshaven face. Her blond hair dazzled me. She walked- no, glided gracefully to a bench. My eyes stared after her hungrily, taking in every one of her movements.

“Come, David. Come.”, she said. It was mesmerising. Her voice was a melody I wanted to listen to forever. I cried. She cried too, the tears falling onto her white dress, glistening. I moved voluntarily...it was all I wanted to do.

Her finger was on my lips, softly pressing them...the sensation burned. I looked into those blue eyes, rimmed by long lashes. A memory stirred at the back of my mind. She was no longer smiling....

“Come on then Davey”, Lily teased, licking the three-scoop ice cream. The sun bounced off her long, curly hair, making it shine like the sun itself. Her eyes were full of laughter. The sea would be envious of that blue colour. She kissed me lightly on the lips and danced out of reach. I chased her, my feet sinking into the soft and pleasantly warm sand. It tickled my bare feet. The beach was nearly deserted. Too hot a day to be out, I thought, wiping my sweaty face.

She stopped by the edge of the sea and lay down on my towel. I lay next to her on hers. Even stevens, I thought. God, we were like little kids. My hand found hers. We stayed there, for hours, in the blissful privacy of a deserted beach.

I leaned towards her, again, finding her lips, kissing them with passion. The setting sun cast a bloody red glow on us...I closed my eyes and sighed with pleasure.

We trekked the long distance back to the main road, carrying our bags. We were silent. It was a contented silence. Her skirt danced in the wind with every step. It was a pretty skirt, showing more leg than would be necessary, but I loved it. Her hair was tied in a little knob at the back of her head, and her lips had the fullness and the colour of a supermodel’s.

The road we came to was a familiar one. The grey cracked asphalt and the fading lines were all visible in the summer eve’s light.

“Davey”, she called to me, her voice soft and quiet. No one called me that, except her. I hurried to catch up. I walked a pace behind her, still deep in my thoughts. I wanted to know she was really there; not a figment of my vivid imagination...

“Lily”, I called, staring at her. “Hmmm”, she called back. I laughed at the incredulousness of my recent thoughts. She waited, at the crossing, hands on hips, a little cute pout. I pouted back playfully, watching her struggling to resist a smile. She began to cross-

“Lily”, I called, again. A sudden constriction of my chest. Over-excitement. She turned, in the middle of the crossing. I struggled to breath with my asthma. I could see the worry in her face, then I watched in horror as a car skidded round the corner. FAST. It raced towards Lily. She turned in horror, staring at the car, a millisecond’s time to glance and smile at me.

The car crashed into her frail body. I could literally hear the crack of her bones, the pain in her scream and the thud of hitting the groud after a flight through the air. Then her body lay still, crumpled, bleeding. The car drove away as fast as it came. I collapsed and crawled my way to her. To my love. Tears fell down my face with the effort to crawl and the misery....

I held her hand, even as the took her body. I stared into those blue eyes, rimmed with long lashes. I cried and mourned and never stopped....

I held her hand, confused. She smiled at me. Still, I cried. “This isn’t the way, Dave”, she said, pointing at the beer cans. She shook her head, her curls bouncing up and down. “There is no other way, Lily”, I whispered, sobbing harder. She stood up, pulled me up with her. Her eyes locked onto mine, willing me to understand. “There’s always a way, Davey. There’s always a way.”

She turned to leave. I knew, as I know now... “Are you an angel? Will I ever see you again?” “Anything is possible”, she smiled and kissed me softly on the lips. “There’s always a way.”

She laughed and with that flew from my life, but never dissapeared.

I whispered after her, quietly, yet audibly: “Never leave me.”