A Midsummer Night's Dream

15

THEODORE

My brother and I walked back home from the market together. He had gotten himself a new pair of sunglasses with pink lenses and I had bought a blue hat with "carpe diem" written on it. Marcel had spent a bit of his savings to buy the both of us these things. We even got ice cream.

"You know when I go to Paris, I'm gonna miss you brother. I won't have you to get me food and make my bed." He said and laughed.

"Shut up." I said.

He punched me in the shoulder in a playful way.

"I can't believe you're getting married." I said.

"I know, it feels so exciting but nerve-wrecking at the same time. Something I am sure of is that I need to get out of here. This small village is the death of me. I'm almost dead. Look at me. Feel my pulse. I'm literally bordering on dead from behind here."

"You're acting like you're family isn't here. Don't you wanna be with them?"

"Sure but all I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life with Lorraine and get out of this place."

"Doesn't she want to go back to America? What would happen then?"

"She doesn't. She said she hated it there and preferred France. Her sister is a different story. Lorraine said Diana still has her flight back booked for September 9th."

I stopped in my tracks.
September 9th.
14 more days until she's gone and is left a memory.

"What happened?" Marcel asked, looking back at me.

"Nothing. Nothing." I said, and continued walking.

"Bit of a shocker huh? I know you fancy her. I can see it whenever you two are together by the way you look at her."

"It's none of your business who I fancy. Besides, she's not talking to me right now." I revealed.

"I'm you're older brother so I'm saying this; go get her. Talk to her and make up. You're gonna regret it if you don't. Now go." Marcel said, pushing my back urging me towards the estate.

"Right now?"

"Yes, now. Man up and go."

I swallowed and took a deep breath and started walking towards the hill. Thunder rumbled above me but I didn't care. I had to go talk to her. I had to see her.

I was halfway up the hill when I saw her coming towards me on a mint green Vespa. She had a black helmet on with the visor up.

Diana stopped in-front of me and looked at me for a moment, the two of us taking in what we had and will have. It really was absurd to me, that we had been so lucky to find each other in this moment in time. I mean the odds of existing at the same time as your soulmate are one in ten thousand lives. Why were we being like this? We had so little time left and so much to do.

I took the helmet off her head and placed it on the back of the scooter.
Diana got off the scooter and stood before me.

She breathed harshly and sighed.
"Theodore." She whispered my name like a melody.
"Diana." I said back.

"I..." I began, unsure of how to properly weave the complexity of my feelings, halted only by the soft press of her finger against my cheek and the sweet whisper of her voice.

"I know." She replied as a tear rolled down her cheek. She smiled. "I understand because I feel the same way. I love you, Theodore."

I was frozen in place, trying to take in what she just said. She had confessed her feelings for me and I was astounded that the girl who I despised a mere 78 days ago and with who I had gone through turbulent waters with had loved me and fallen for me, just as I had for her.

"I love you too, Diana. So so much." I revealed.

We both laughed lightly as the rain started right above us. The rain hit our faces and fell around us but that didn't bother us. Rain was beautiful. Rain has infinities over finiteness. It has rainbow over dullness. Every drop has a story, every drop has remembrance.

I lent in ever so slowly. I closed my eyes breathing in the cool salty air. I gasped lightly as she placed her hands on my chest. It was soft, like rain, yet it sent a shock through me like lightning.

As her lips met mine, the world melted away.
The fragrance of summer rain and the taste of warm honey on her lips was intoxicating. With my eyes clenched shut, her warm breath felt like a summer breeze. Her delicious lips melted like chocolate in my mouth. She uttered a delightful moan as my tongue played with hers.
The kissing intensified with scintillating touches and stimulating gestures. I plunged my tongue deeper and deeper savoring the taste. The water from the sky slipped between the cracks of our kiss and mixed in. The sounds of the loud, crashing Mediterranean Sea reminded me of the same bursting desire and charging need of my heart.

We kissed under the rain like they do in romance novels like how Belle and the beast do at the end of Beauty and the Beast.

Diana pulled away slowly after what felt like lifetimes of kissing.

She looked back at her Vespa and laughed.
"I wanted to take it out with you today but I guess maybe another day." She said.

I chuckled and moved back slightly.
"Should we take cover?" I asked.

"No... I don't want to." Diana said and she lay down on the empty cobblestone street. I watched her close her eyes, letting the rain hit her for a moment before I lay down beside her and faced the vast universe before me.

"What's your favourite thing about the rain?" I asked as we lay there.

"What?"

"What is your favourite thing about the rain?" She met my eyes for moment, I looked back with pure interest and awe.

"That's a dumb question." She replied looking back up at the clouded sky.

"Well." I started, shifting slightly closer to her.

"I love the sound it's pretty. Can something sound pretty? I'm not sure, but if it could, rain does." Diana said.

I turned my head slightly to the right. Diana's skin glowed softly and her eyes were entrancing. The way her nose was perfectly pointed and her lips were perfectly parted.
Thunder sounded softly in the distance. I took a deep breath.

"Rain is odd. I mean it's chaotic but peaceful. Pleasant but irritating at times. It's beautifully disorganized and I have never experienced anything quite like rain, and I never wanted to. And then I met you. You are rain. So, I guess I could say my favourite thing about rain is you."

"I love you so much." Diana said again. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with the tears from the sky. I wiped them away with my hand and looked at her face for a while soundly.

"I love you so much too. More then the rain, the sun or the moon, more than anything." I said back.

Diana placed her hand over mine and I instantly clutched her hand. I remembered in that moment the day at my house 2 months ago. When we almost held hands laying on my bed but were scared. God, how stupid we were to fear falling in love. Love of all things was the most beautiful. It has, since the beginning of time, motivated humanity. It is the sole reason we are alive today. They say love is blind. I disagree. Infatuation is blind. Love is all-seeing and accepting. Love is seeing the flaws and blemishes and accepting them with delight. Love is accepting the bad habits and mannerisms, and working around them. Love is recognizing all the fears and insecurities, and knowing your role is to comfort. Love is working through all the challenges and painful times. Infatuation is fragile and will shatter when life is not perfect. Love is strong and it strengthens because it is real.