The Frame of Rings

Ador, Elora and the Sounds of Wood

It was a hazy afternoon filled with crimson - orange skies and clouds floating like cotton sheets when Ador concluded that he was happy and content with things. Life is nothing more but a dream like trance with Elora as the muse, the angel of it. Life is nothing more than the cool November breeze gently soothing his skin as he sat with the confusing warmth of her hand on top of his. Elora sat on the porch and rocked the chair gently, hitting the chipped white wall behind her a few times, Ador noticing that once again that Elora might be drifting into her own dream like trance. He shifted his attention to the slowly darkening sunset skies in the horizon, where he spotted a few wild birds flapping their wings to the beat he had composed in his own mind - buried in the depths of his mind's imaginary corners.

Ador's dusk dreaming was interrupted by barely audible whimpers and sobs. Elora had forgotten.

The night sky became fully cloaked in its cerulean silver dress and Venus was immediately seen, radiating a blinding red against the toned-down hues of silver and sapphire. Ador left his mahogany rocking chair, the newly painted one that still reeked of tolerable odors, with it hitting the chipped white wall like Elora's pine chair did a few minutes ago. Purposefully he did, thinking the consecutive sounds of wood hitting wood would trigger something.

"We must go, Elora. Venus is already out." Ador took Elora's porcelain hands delicately. Her skin reflected the moon's color.

Elora didn't say a word, instead she rose to her feet and let her husband lead her inside the chipped, white house. She let her short, auburn curls sway elegantly below her ears as she glanced at the house with chipped white walls. It was broken yet standing. Elora thought about the age of the house, one that she had with Ador even before they were married 16 years ago. She had spent her youthful days running around the green land surrounding their home. Minute details were engraved to her memory, the unique color of the grass her father have tended so caringly that it seemed like she would never see that color again even if she visited the most fertile lands of Switzerland, her mother's lips which shined like the apples she held during that one afternoon around 5:03 and she was too late for supper, her cat Rosita's one-of-a-kind mews that always fascinated her. Elora wondered where Rosita is. When did she last see her fluffy tail, anyway?

"Dinner, my love." Ador walked to the sala with two peach colored chinaware, calmness radiating from his voice.

"Aren't we supposed to eat in the other room, Ador?" Elora glanced at the plate with curiosity and excitement, eager to see what her husband had cooked for dinner. A salty sour scent filled her senses, conjuring a sense of familiarity that is comparable to hearing dried leaves cackle year after year or seeing the love of your life for the first time again.

"If you prefer?" Ador stopped in his tracks briefly and prepared to turn himself around.

"No."

Ador stayed in the sala after eating. He drank coffee from a well-crafted mug and indulged in the rich aroma of his drink. He would glance into the grandfather clock and a gold frame alternately, one every ten minutes. Around nine, Ador decided to head to bed which he believes Elora had already gone to. The golden frame glittered against the wooden wall. Ador decided to stay down for a bit to admire it.

The golden frame was one he made the night before his wedding to Elora. He remembered gathering the best wood he can find and mixing a myriad of paint solutions just to get the perfect shade for his perfect wife. He was quite enthusiastic then with sweat beading on top of his forehead, breaths getting jagged and eyes shifting excitedly from the aureate shades to the frame that he was to proudly present the next morning.

"Ador! You must rest now! Silly boy, it's getting late!" a loud, feminine voice called from the second floor of their house.

"Yes, mama! Just a few more minutes and I'll be off to bed like you." It was followed by a giggle, then laughter filled with amusement.