The Lovers of Valdaro (Ambassadors Contest Entry)

                                                     THE LOVERS

My love, today our memories were awakened. 

Our unfortunate love, buried and trapped in the darkest and deepest recesses of earth, trodden upon by thousands of generation, long-forgotten and left to desiccate into the dirt, has once again felt the warm touch of the sun.

I stood there, in the place where our love had once reached its crescendo, where our love had ended and perished, flipping and turning the card upon my hand, feeling the satin smooth surface of it. I glanced at it momentarily, marveling at the play of colors in it brought by the sunlight; how many times I have done this for the past centuries, I already lost count.

The card portrays a man and a woman. Behind the man was a flaming tree and behind the woman was a fruit tree with a snake entwined around it. In between them was a billowing cloud with an angel above it. The intricate markings and the rich color seem to radiate happiness and perfection.

I sighed heavily, what a folly to think of it that way.

From the card my interest shifted back to the scenario in front of me.

As I stare at our ivory-white bones, intertwined and locked in an eternal embrace underneath the cold, brown earth for thousands of years, stripped of their once, warm and rosy skin, memories long gone but never forgotten broke through the surface of my consciousness.

I remember when for the first time, my eyes fell upon the beauty that was you.

We were sitting underneath the bright moonlight, with the fire as red as blood roaring and crackling loudly in between us.

I don’t know you; you don’t know me. We were strangers in the middle of the forest, sitting at the lush forest floor, covered with dead leaves and twigs, with other people who were boisterously singing along to the sweet melody of the violoncello.

Before, I was a reserved and a timid girl, who kept her eyes down on the ground, watching the smoldering pile of logs burn white-hot, as if it was the most captivating thing in the world.

The burning logs popped and crackled as the wind blew through our midst, sending the embers swirling in a vortex. The flying embers caught my fascination and I follow its ascent up in the dark sky.

As I lifted my gaze, it fell upon your upturned face, it was alight with the same fascination I hold with the vortex of embers. And at that moment, I forgot the brightness of the fire and was lost in captivation at the alluring azure in your eyes.

They burn so bright and the fire that was red weaved in and out of the azure and sent my flesh a pleasant tingle.

Your gaze fell down and leveled with mine, a hot flush rose to my cheeks but I did not avert my eyes. Because at that moment, there were no sounds, no raucous laughter around, at that moment we weren’t strangers anymore, we were two people underneath the star strewn sky enveloped in silence as our eyes spoke to each other.

From that day on, I have loved you; I adored you. Our love burned as hot as that fire that night, it achieved perfection that others only dreamed off.

But after all of it, the fire finally smoldered and dream had turned into a nightmare. You were struck ill and reached the doors of death.

In desperate madness, I sought for Death. I pleaded and begged to spare your life; I offered the most precious thing I could ever give, my life.

My love, I gave you my life. But still, it was not meant to be. Death had tricked me; I too was ill and only had a day to live. I gave you that one-day, so I can for the last time gaze upon the azure in your eyes.

So as we laid intertwined down the cold, hard ground, possessed by the fever that brought the nightmare into our love, you placed your hand upon my face and whispered words of love.

I kept my eyes open even as the dirt fell upon us; I tried to memorize your face for one last time. You pulled me into an embrace, as the dirt grew heavier above us. I struggled to breathe, to see your face until I can still draw air.

At last, before the dark, foul-smelling dirt covered your face, I saw the twinkle in your azure eyes and it slipped away like the embers that night and I too closed my eyes.

We were The Lovers, tricked by Death and died tragically and unknown.

There was nothing left to us, your once, wavy brown hair, the smooth and warm texture of your hands that had lovingly caressed me a long time ago, the red and sweet lips that touched my skin, your azure eyes that I adored, all of which were gone, ravaged by time.

I am a mere wisp of wind, a mere imprint of a memory, the new Death of this era, for this is my payment for giving you my life.

I stared longingly to the pieces of bones stuck into the dirt. My love, this was once you, just like the card, our love wasn’t perfect. It was short-lived and full of misery and pain. It wasn’t as happy and joyous as the card says. Love is the most monstrous creature of all, it gives you too little and it takes back too much.

But it must continue, because such is Love, and I am Death. They go hand in hand, fairness is lost in Love and Death.

I pressed the card unto my lips, released it and let it slowly flutter down the ground, where a passing girl picked it up.

She was captivated and lost in fascination in the wonderful colors of the card, just as I was.

I mourned silently as I walked away vanishing into nothingness.