My hand slides up his neck and cups his head as he sleeps. "Darling." I whisper softly. He rests his hand on mine with a smile and turns his head to me. "Are you okay?"
"Let's go for a stroll."
"Really?"
"Why not?"
He exhales softly and sits up quite quickly, "Can't argue honestly."
I grin and throw the sheets from the two of us, stepping gently down from the bed. The mattress shifts substantially as his large form stands silhouetted by the moonlight. I quickly bring his cloak over and reach up to cover him with it; he chuckles. I put on a few extra layers before wrapping mine around me and we head out into the forest as the quiet chatter of the night hums in the distance. It seems so loud at night, even the snapping twigs below our feet seem like the pops of gunfire. I take gently his hand and pull him along, tugging against his careful pace. He smiles and looks about before stopping beside me. "Isn't the smell wonderful?"
"The smell?"
"Well yes, of the moss, the damp wood. It's fresh and earthy and so wonderfully natural."
He softly chuckles, "I like it too."
"It reminds me of you, but your smell is slightly different." I crouch down to inspect some bright green moss clinging to a log.
"Oh? What's my smell?"
"The forest and myrrh, definitely. But it's also quite... musky."
He lets out a laugh and sits down beside me on a stump. "musky? Really?"
"Yes." I turn to closely face him and pull him closer with the hem of his cloak. His amusement turns into a somewhat flustered expression and he looks down at my lips. I cant pull my gaze from his face and it's telling. "What are you thinking about?"
"...right now?"
I think for a moment, "tonight."
He looks up the moon, then to me. "How lucky I am."
I nod, "This forest is so beautiful it's like a galaxy."
"Not the forest," he fiddles with a leaf, "You."
My heart fills with warmth, "Oh..."
"You're like if this feeling was living and breathing. If the deep green of the forest could talk to me. Everything I could even hope to dream of."
"Muriel..."
"That was cheesy..."
"No I love it. You sound like a poet!"
"Nadia is the poet!"
"You're a natural though, I think you should try writing some." I fix some hair straying from his parting. His cheeks gain a little colour and he looks around for inspiration as I watch.
"Don't look I feel silly!"
"That's okay, you don't need to write now. Just when you feel like it." I smile and pull him upwards, continuing through the flora. I look up through the tall trees, feeling dwarfed by their colossal trunks. They make even Muriel look small. He holds my hand without mention and walks a little behind as the flowers around us glow. The bioluminescent plants grace my knees and light our way along before we reach a large patch of moss growing almost as tall as grass. I press my hand into a patch of it and smile. "This stuff is probably ancient. Moss like this can live for hundreds of years." Muriel leans down low and touches a tuft between his fingers. Its bright green seems to almost glow in the moonlight as it twirls in his grip. "And the forest has protected it. We're probably the first people to touch it." I reach out further, the tiny clumps crawling through my fingers as I lean on the springy tuft. The ground shifts and crumbles down a few metres and with my weight pressed on my hand, i fall down too. There's a muffled sound of crumbling rocks and then an echo. I look up into the gentle light above as Muriel calls out, "Are you okay??"
"Yes! I think i've found a cave..."
"I'll come down." He says as I look around. My eyes adjust to the darkness and I see the size of the cave. It's just as tall as Muri and stretches further than I can see. Nothing makes a sound aside from him dropping down, it's completely devoid of life. "I wonder how long it's been since anything was down here." I say quietly, casting a light spell. "Could have rats." Muriel scoffs and plods around, his cloak wafting air around. I walk closely beside him and light the way. I don't know where we're going but I don't want to stop. There's a few veins of metal or rock stretching across above us as the ceiling gets gradually taller. I stop in my tracks at a flattened wall. It has a single hand shape on it, outlined with a patch of soft black. "Woah..." Just as I speak I feel Muriel's cloak hug my back as he leans over my shoulder to see. We stare at it for a moment, spotlighted by the light spell. I shift to the side and the rest of the wall becomes illuminated. Hundreds of hands spread across the cave, covering every inch of it. I take in a deep breath of the cold air and take in the beauty. All these people marked themselves here, their mark outliving time itself. My eyes try to picture every single one of them as they scan across the rock. I stop at two, outlined by a softer dark green, the colour of the forest. Their index fingers cross. Without even thinking I press my hand against one. It fits, almost. Muriel walks quietly over and watches. After a moment he puts his onto the other. It fits too, almost. We take in the moment, soaking up thought. "Maybe that's what makes us human."
"Hands?"
"Connection."
He smiles, "They all came here."
"Thousands of years pass but the fundamental way we are stands here, defeating time. They reached out, aware of existence. And chose to connect. They're all connected, all these hands."
"And us." Muriel stares just at ours. I smile up at his wonder-filled eyes.
"And us."
