Chapter 3 - All the beauty in
the world
The sky during sunrise was breathtaking; a
beautiful red colour occupying everything in his line of vision, echoing a
subtle tranquility since the dawn of man.
Many have tried to reproduce this natural beauty but their efforts have
failed in comparison. Alex needed to see
this every day as it represented the closest thing to heaven that his mind
could comprehend; providing him with a distraction from the pain inside. The air is cold but it does not bother him as
the warmth from his beating heart fires his soul. Alex loves this moment and he could spend an
eternity embracing it all. The birds are
singing from the trees, the grass is soft beneath his feet and the gentle
breath of the wind glides over his skin moving the hairs on his arms, the
sensation electric. Within the walls of
his strong chest, his heart is racing and the love he feels, infinite. Alex drops to his knees, tears streaming down
his face, his heart breaking; as sometimes all the beauty that the world holds
can be overwhelming. The sun climbs
higher and higher and Alex’s teary eyes are fixated. Alex places his hands over his face and cries;
he cannot stop himself as each ray of sunlight cascades downwards from the
heavens encircling him in such a beautiful peace. Alex looks down at his watch to check the
time, his watch reads 5.45am and he realizes that he must get to work or he’ll
be late. At the same time Susan awakens
from a sleep, she is crying and doesn’t know why. She glances at her alarm clock and it reads
5.45am. Susan sits upright in her bed
and sobs her heart out, her body shaking, full of emotion and overwhelmed by
some mysterious force. Alex is walking
towards his Van whilst reaching into his pocket for his keys when he suddenly
feels an ache in his heart forcing him to grab his chest, he has never felt
anything like it and then he turns away from his van in the direction of
Susan’s house as if drawn by a powerful magnet and he can feel her pain; he
doesn’t know how or why, but he can.
Susan turns her head towards her bedroom window, quickly jumps out of
bed and then rushes to it opening it frantically, turning her head towards the
hill on which Alex stands. Susan touches
her chest and her heart does not feel like her own, the rhythm stronger, the
beating deeper and she could swear that she could feel him. The cold air blows through her window
covering her soft skin in a gentle frost and she feels nothing, only the
beating of his strong heart. Alex cannot
move; he is nearly six miles from Susan’s house but he feels like she is
standing before him; he reaches out towards her and cups his hand as if he were
touching the soft skin on her face, his heart beats faster and Susan can feel
it. Susan closes her eyes and can feel
the gentle touch of Alex’s hand on her face, she feels his thumb wiping away
the tears from her eyes and she smiles.
Alex smiles and then slowly turns and then walks away, gets into his van
and then drives towards his work. Susan
closes her window and then climbs back into bed, pulling the duvet over her
shoulders and then places her head onto her pillow and feels content. As she drifts off, she imagines how it would
feel to lie next to the man she loves and feel his warmth against her
skin. Susan for the first time in a long
time feels safe and although she cannot reach out and touch Alex; his presence
can be felt all around her. Later that
morning when Susan awoke from her sleep, she felt different. Her daily routines which she has performed
like clockwork may as well have been new and unique. Alex felt the same; he found himself
approaching his working day with an unusual enthusiasm and everyone knew
it. Every delivery was executed with a
smile and where he usually found himself constantly looking at the amount of
deliveries he had remaining, on this day, he never checked once. It was a beautiful day and both Alex and
Susan felt as if the air was purer than normal, a cup of tea tasted heavenly
and that life in general was on the up.
Susan sat in her garden wondering if what happened this morning was real
or some figment of her imagination. Are
there forces of nature surrounding us that we don’t understand and can the
incredible powers of the universe give us a nudge towards our soul mate, the
one who we were supposed to be with?
Susan watched as a little Robin flew past and then landed in her flower
bed where she grew her Roses. Susan
smiled as she watched the little bird looking for worms amongst the earth, its
spindly legs walking gently across the surface so not to disturb the worms
underneath. The Robin turned and looked
right at her and then took off in flight towards her, circling overhead and
then landed on her left arm. Susan
gasped with surprise and then said ’what do you want little one?’ The Robin started to whistle a beautiful tune
to her and Susan started to giggle. In
all her years, no wild bird other than pigeons, had ever even come close to
her, never mind landing on her and she wondered once more, what is happening to
me? Susan’s heart was leaping with joy
and she felt truly happy. Aimee appeared
at the patio doors and said ’mummy, what is that bird doing on your arm?’ Susan replied giggling ’I really don’t know
honey, but it’s cute isn’t it’ Aimee
stepped out onto the patio and then sat right up against her mum, her bright
little eyes amazed by their new little friend.
The Robin chirped at Susan and Aimee and then flew off round the side of
the house towards the driveway with Aimee running behind it screaming ’come
back, come back.’ Susan laughed and then
she could hear Aimee shouting ’mummy, mummy, the man’s at the door!’ Susan’s heart started to beat fast, her
breathing changed and she slowly started to rise to her feet, time seemingly
slowing in pace as she turned towards the house and then slowly walking through
the patio doors, journeying into the depths of her home to reach the front
door. As Susan turned the corner out of
her living room, she could feel a warmth coming from the door, behind it stood
her man in black, his eyes piercing deep into her soul sending lightning bolts
deep into her heart and she could feel her legs beneath her going weak at the knees. Susan opened her door and looked straight at
Alex; time seemed to stand still while the two gazed into each other’s eyes,
the cars driving past behind him in slow motion while not one single word was
spoken. Alex gulped slowly, smiled and
then said simply ’Hi!’ Susan nearly
breathless replied ’Hi!’ Time seemed to
stop once more and then Alex slowly reached out his right hand towards Susan;
in it was his hand held scanner. Susan
did the same, her right hand extending out towards Alex, accepting his scanner
into hers; when Alex’s right index finger gently stroked the inside of her hand
and Susan gasped for air while a million nerve endings fired all at once
sending her mind into another place.
Susan visualized a world full of pure love where Alex was by her side
laughing in bed whilst sharing a joke, running his fingers through her hair,
Aimee laughing on top of Alex’s shoulders and Susan giving birth to their child
conceived together. Alex experienced the
same, his strong jaw tightening while the beautiful images ran through his
mind. Susan started to feel faint,
clearly overwhelmed by the emotions coursing through her body and she felt
afraid as her legs began to give way beneath her and then suddenly there was
only the dark as if someone had draped a black cloth over her face. When Susan started to come round, she felt great
warmth and a floating sensation as her vision started to return, displaying the
ceiling above her as she drifted through her home. Susan slowly turned her head and there was
Alex smiling down at her, ’welcome back’ he said. Susan turned her head the opposite direction
so that she could see down and the floor was moving beneath her and then she realized
that she was being carried in the arms of Alex.
As the pair approached her sofa, Alex kneeled down and without effort,
gently laid her down onto the sofa, supporting her head with a cushion. Susan smiled and then said ’what
happened?’ Alex in a soft tone said ’I
think you fainted, are you ok?’ Susan
reached up with her right hand and touched his face saying ’I am now!’ Alex smiled and then said ’I’m sorry that I
entered your home without your permission, but I had to make sure that you were
ok!’ Susan smiled and said ’you don’t
need to apologise Alex, I’m glad you are here.’
Alex sat down on the floor beside her and then ran his fingers through
his dark hair while Susan looked lovingly at him. Alex felt at peace, a feeling he only usually
felt while he watched the rising sun and then it hit him, hard; maybe heaven
doesn’t need to be felt standing on a lonely hill top in the early hours of the
morning, watching the sun rise above the mountains; perhaps his heaven was
simply sitting on a hard floor, while the woman he loved lay behind him on her
sofa, safe, protected and cared for.
Susan felt the same, an empty void in her life could be easily filled by
the presence of a kind man who she met through an act of fate; a man whose very
presence, made her feel that the outside world didn’t exist and that the world
instead was contained within the eyes of the one she loves.
No comments:
Post a Comment