Love Whispered

She wakes with a gasp and sits up from her broken slumber. She sees the sheer curtains dance from the breeze as they tantalize the moonlight. Her love is no longer next to her, and she feels the loss of his presence. His pillow indented and his side of the bed, still warm. She slowly lays down and waits for his return, then anxiously taps her fingers on her chest. But he doesn’t.

She sits up again and wonders if he’s playing a game with her. She gets up and shivers from the cold hard wood floor. Briskly she walks towards the door and opens it hoping to find him standing there with a grin, but she doesn’t. She peers out wondering if he will jump out to startle her. But he doesn’t.

She turns to the left and wanders down a long hall of doors and wall and she hears him whisper, ‘I love you.’ She turns to gaze upon his face, but he is not there. She turns back and continues to search. Each door is locked, and she reaches the end of the hall. To a wall with a mirror. She sees his reflection and turns around to see nothing. She was hoping he grabs her and holds her. But he doesn’t.

Is that a shadow ahead? She runs towards it, past their room and turns to another hall only to find nothing. ‘Come find me my love.’ She hears another whisper, but it echoes all around her. She finds the stairs and races down to the foyer only to hear the grandfather clock reminding her she should be in bed. She waited for him to whisper again. But he doesn’t.

She searches the kitchen, the living room, the dining hall…but he has hidden himself well. Though she has heard no doors, she peers outside for his silhouette but dares not go out there in the dark. He wouldn’t have gone to the trees to hide. With the grandfather clock chiming the early morning hours, she feels defeated. He wants her to find him. Doesn’t he?

This cruel game saddens her as she slowly walks back to their room only to hear him chuckle inside. His laughter brings such joy to her heart and she bounds through the door in anticipation and sees him smiling at her. She runs to him and his smile fades as he does to. He should catch her. But he doesn’t.

She stands alone in an empty room and looks around and holds herself tightly. She lays back down in her bed and pulls the covers up wondering where he has gone. She soothes herself in her tears as she slowly drifts off to sleep. He should be there to hold her. But he doesn’t.

She wakes to her alarm. The loud noises outside from the street below remind her of her reality. She sits up and sleepily looks around her tiny apartment then falls back down to her bed. It was a dream. She truly is alone. A tear escapes as the dream plays in her head. The hope, the excitement, the love she felt. He should exist. But he doesn’t.