The gentle lullaby of wind chimes resonated through the chillingly cold air, complimenting the soft rustle of tree leaves. Freshly dewed grass tickled my skin, just begging to be rolled around in. Black hair spilled out across my chest, as black as the night sky, concealing the perfection that lies just below. Rather than try and steal a glimpse of something I am so certain I could never deserve, I closed my eyes and crafted myself a pair or paper wings.
Leaping with all my might, I spiraled and looped through the air, enjoying the unrivaled rush of flight. I sailed right past the atmosphere and into outer space. I sailed right past Mars and Jupiter, dancing with the majesty that is the heavens. The brilliantly luminescent stars twinkled with the majesty only rivaled by her eyes, filling me with fresh longing. However, I could not, and did not stop until I collided right into Pluto.
Yet out of the icy surface of the lonely once-planet rose the unmistakable silhouette of perfection.
“Why are you running from me?” she asked
“I’m not running from you…” I whispered, casting my gaze down to the rocky surface below my heart. It seemed as if any moment from now, the ground would collapse beneath me. “I’m running from your smile, because it makes me too damn happy. I’m running from your hips, because they mesmerize me into a state of joy. I’m running from your lips because they feel too fu*ing perfect on mine. I’m running from your beautiful eyes, because I find myself within them. I’m running from your heart because I know it beats for me. I’m running from your mind and your hands and your love because they shouldn’t belong to me. Baby, I’m not running from you…..I’m running from your perfection.” The distance between us now was grander than what seemed possible to repair; like the deep fissures now dividing this rock, all seemed hopeless.
Tears streaming down her face, she cried out “Anthony, we are the sum of our individual parts. You see the positive in me, but you can’t seem to see the negative. I could say I don’t deserve you because you are the sweetest guy to ever live. I don’t deserve you because you are so gentle and caring, but that’s not true. You are shy and you are impulsive and you are quick tempered. And I have my own problems. I’m f*ed up and scarred.” She took several steps back, increasing the distance between us. Her voice was raw and quivering, and her voice was filled with pure emotion as she screamed “But I don’t care! I f*ing love you. That’s all I know anymore. Neither of us is perfect, but god damn, we are perfect for each other.” She charged forward, bounding towards the rift between us. Through tears she cried out “and all I want…..” as she leapt into the air, “is to be wrapped up by your arms every morning, and to be kissed by you every night.” But at that instant, her wings of clay crumbled, and she plummeted towards the bottom of the chasm.
My heart exploded out of my chest, and my mind was clear of the fog. There was no longer a war behind my mind, and without hesitation I dove into the chasm behind her.
My wings burst into flames as I flew faster. I screamed for her, and she screamed for me, and as I caught up to her, our screams collided like chimes hitting in the wind.
Our lips melded us back together. We were again one person occupying two different bodies. We were the sum of each other’s individual parts. We crashed back through the solar system and the atmosphere and the clouds and the trees and landed back in the freshly dewed grass. This time, I had no problem gazing into her perfection. Together, we are beautiful. And for a moment, that’s what I thought life was about. Maybe we are all wind chimes, and we are meant to violently crash into those we meet, and listen to the beautiful music that we make together.