Alexander gazed at the tall pines, remembering when they were little more than sapplings. At his side, Timothy held his hand as they strolled down the unstable hill of memories.
"Do you remember when we were teens?" Timothy broke the tranquility of the silence.
"Of course!" replied Alexander.
Timothy giggled. "We were so navive, but the feelings were all so new; I remember what it felt to hear your heart beat without my ears, and oh, to see without my eyes, the first time that you kissed me."
Alexander humphed. "But of course, that wasn't our first date; unlike today's inpubic teenagers, we didn't use to kiss on the first date back then."
Timothy snorted. "That's a bunch of crap! Are you kidding me? Cut them some slack, I would have absolutely kissed you If you haddn't been dating that other guy."
Alexander had to give Timothy that one, though he felt it wasn't quite fair for him to bring up the Ex card. "We broke up soon enough, I was boundless by the time I cried from watching you with your ex lover."
Timothy laughed nervously; Alexander had caught him. "Yes, but that was done as soon as I found out you had left the poor guy."
Alexander remembered. "Then, we finally got together. From then on, there was no turning back. Sooner than I'd though, I'd build your walls around me." It had been so fast, and their love had blossom into something precious.
"We built something special, together." Added Timothy, and Alexander thought about all those years, all that love. "Do you remember or very first date as single lads?" Timothy raised his eyebrows in a look of mischief.
Alexander remembered with a cringe. "We were so awkward; There were so many silences filled by white noise. Man, what an awful sound!" Alexander shivered and Timothy nodded in agreement.
Up ahead, the ground leveled up upon a dryed riverside. Alexander stared, eyes filled with nostalgia.
Timothy, once again, broke the silence. "Do you remember that date, fumbling by Rogue river?"
How could Alexander forget? "Yes, I was so nervous! I Didn't know how to swim, so I wanted to feel my feet above the groud at all times. However, little did I knew, you had other intentions." The last word was delivered with acusation.
Timothy defended himself. "I wanted to give you just a tiny push!"
Alexander rolled his eyes. "Yes, and like the hand of God, you delivered me a push right into the deepest part!"
"Then I taught you to swim." Timothy's tone, instead of guilt, reflected satisfaction.
Alexander stumbled. Memories were baring down on him one after the other. They felt like a soaked blanket, heavy and burdened. "Oh, whoa, woe is me!" The first tear fell down Alexander's right eye.
Timothy turned to look at him with concern. "Why, Alexader? Don't, think about something else. Do you remember the first time that you touched me? You tapped my shoulder, the most beautiful creautrue I had ever seen. I remember thinking: Oh, will wonder ever cease?" Timothy lightly brushed his finger across Alexander's cheek to wipe his tear. "Blessed were we to find each other. Blessed be the mystery of love. "
Yes they had found each other, and they had lived a fulfiling life by each other's side. That had been, until Timothy had breath his last breath, and Alexander had mourn him in his death bed. Even after all these years, being apart from each other was hell.
Alexander's chest spasm in sobs. "It hurts too much, I can't bare it! Lord, I no longer believe. I can't esape the suffering of distance! Sometimes I feel numb, like I'm drowned in Living waters, unable to welcome death. Only family hold me back from seeing you agan. I'm cursed by the love that I receive from my brother's daughter."
"Remember me like Hephastion, who died. To every angel I meet here, I brag about being Alexander's lover." Even in death, Timothy kept his witty charm.
And yet, Alexander ignored him, too deep in his own grief. "I went to visit Rough River, but now my dear river bed has dried. My niece asked me if I shall find no other. Of course I told her I would never! I'm running against the of woa of me. I'm running like a plover. Now, I'm prompt to misery, from every memory that reminds me of your absence."
Timothy took a step closer and grazed his neck absent-mindly. "The birth mark on your shoulder reminds me of our wedding. Do you remember? I placed a neckace of rainbow flowers upon your neck, just above it."
"How much sorrow can I take? It's not a flower, it's a blackbird on my shoulder that fortells the end. Only love keeps me here, and what difference does it make? When this love is over, I will welcome more love with you by my side."
Timothy stepped so close, we was whispering in Alexander's ear."Shall I sleep withing you bed tonight, my love?"
Alexander nodded and laid himself in the dryed river of unhappiness. "Please, just hold your hands above my head as you use to pat me in the mornings. Hold me till I breath my last breath. Oh, woe is me when I remember the last time that you touched me." The same way Alexander had held Timothy till the end, His husband would hold him now.
Timothy obliged him. "Darling, you are as beautiful as the day I first saw you. When by gaze falls on you, I still think, Oh, will wonders ever ciese?"
Alexander closed his eyes as exhaustion consumed him "How can you, when I'm wrinkled like a raisin? How strange, that loved sees without eyes and hears without ears. Alas, blessed be the mystery of love."
