Every month, they met to spend the night in the mountains. Nighttime in the red mountains was quiet and cold. They dreamed big—with their juicy encounters in harlequin settings—until spring drew to an end.
She had set off to climb the mountain at a blistering pace, and once she arrived at its peak, she flashed the blushing mountain an unapologetic smile. She was dizzy with happiness. After making sure there was no one there to see her, she closed her eyes and started spinning around and twirling. Thus, she would be able to provide herself with an explanation for her dizziness that she could come to terms with. Suddenly, she realized how many more mountains she had left to scale before she’d be able to find herself in a position where she wouldn’t feel out of place for wanting to sit on top of the world. Hence, she knelt down and prayed. It was not as if she were reaching for the stars, or even contending for a place in the sun, she just wanted to breathe easier and to see the clouds on the horizon in a somewhat more quantifiable state.
It had been the first time she’d felt like she was levitating. Initially, she’d thought she might be high on sugar. She had tried so valiantly and for so long to keep her feet on the ground that it knocked her for a loop to suddenly find herself so adamantly aiming for the moon. Had she already started to see things that weren’t there? Her heart was pounding and she was uncertain whether she should be concerned or feel relieved. However, upon reflection, she decided to yield to that nameless hunger to conquer the world. It felt too good, too empowering, to risk ruining it by calling its raison d’être into question.
The first time they had met, they had let their eyes do the talking. The chemistry between them had been so strong that she had feared getting too close to him, lest he set her on fire. Butterflies had fluttered in her stomach. She had been torn between her heart and her head. Being close to him brought her the same kind of guilty pleasure that one derives from watching innocent people get butchered in horror movies. She wanted to get rid of her inner turmoil at all costs but didn’t know how to. She would’ve probably gone postal if she hadn’t started levitating. The magic formula to put her feelings into words had been pulled off the table a long time ago. Therefore, she reconciled herself to goggling at him and left the sky to figure out how best to index her feelings.
If only we could have frozen time at that very moment. Silence reigned and a sweet scent hung in the air. Now, we have only our hazy memories to turn to when seeking solace from our almost unbearable longing for the past. Perhaps, we should have paid more attention to each other and less to all that surrounded our encounters in order to work out who we really were. However, instead of listening to reason, we tuned into our emotions.
I raise my head to the sky. My God does it hurt! He cheated on me and broke my heart. I wish I could at least cry, but I am beside myself with fury. I’m shocked and feel helpless. At times I feel like killing him. Other times I feel like forgiving him, though I fear I may never be able to forget him. No matter how hard a lady tries to ward them off, scoundrels will always come crawling back. Thus, she simply has to steel herself for when it happens so that she can convincingly snub the man in question. After all, he has squandered his shot at making her happy.
Written by Areej Khaled.