Sparkler Snapshots

XLIII | Arrows and Eros

"This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet." – Rumi

Date: February 14th, 2018

Occasion: Valentine's Day

Countries: Worldwide

■ □ ■ □ ■ □ ■ □

XLIII | Arrows and Eros

An arrow drawn back, string taut, elbow poised, chatter bubbling around her. A quick release, a sharp swoosh, as though a match had been struck, and the arrow flew out of the bow, streaking towards the target, and hit the red bullseye at its center.

Jasmine let out the breath she had been holding, relaxing her arm so that the bow also lowered, dangling at her side. The arrow had hit its mark on the outer edge of the bullseye circle, as her four previous arrows had also done, but it was a bullseye nonetheless.

She bent down, dropping the bow beside the black bag she had brought with her. Grabbing a bottle of water, Jasmine twisted the cap, which worked against her palm, but after a few seconds of strain, the plastic crackled and the cap popped off. The water bottle deflated with a soft hiss, like it was exhaling. She brought the bottle to her lips, gulping half of it down within seconds. When she was drinking, her eyes were shut in bliss, but once her thirst had been quenched, she had time to glance around at the other archers.

The morning of February 14th was one she dreaded every year. Jasmine had been taking archery lessons for several years now, and even though the area was usually empty, the morning of Valentine's Day was always a hotspot for archers. It probably had a thing or two to do with Cupid and the supposed arrow of love. Perhaps people thought that they had more of a chance to fall in love if they were near arrows, as if Cupid regularly hung out at various archery grounds.

Her teeth grazed her lips, whether in jealousy or frustration she couldn't tell, as her gaze fell upon couples on either side of her. The two girls on the left were awfully giggly as they missed every target they shot at, but even so, their lack of archery skills was compensated by their kissing ones, as their lips were locked for several seconds between each shot.

On her right, a boy and a girl were also attempting to hit the target, but as Jasmine watched, the girl kept missing by a centimeter. Her elbow was too low, she could instantly tell, but before she could let the girl know, her boyfriend beat Jasmine to it. He stepped forward, gently pushing her elbow upwards as the latter visibly shivered, a blush dusted across her cheeks. She let the arrow fly, and this time, it hit the target even closer to the bullseye than Jasmine did.

"Thanks for your help," the girl whispered to the boy, as though she was telling a secret. Jasmine felt a strange ringing in her ears.

"No problem," the boy said in a low, husky voice. "I can do this all day."

Ew, how cringy. The amount of sexual tension in the area was unbearable for Jasmine, but that was due to her own irrational jealousy. After all, who was she to stop couples from being romantic on a day for love? Even so, her inability to be sexually attracted to others was frustrating. She can feel love, of course she can. She knew love. Love warmed the heart, kept it beating, tied people together with fine strands of fate, stringing up two halves of a whole. But sexual attraction was a whole other story. She didn't feel it. She couldn't feel it. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted it, and now that it was right in front of her, teasing her so mercilessly, she needed to get away from it.