Seven Days to Forever

The Vignette Gazette Edition #189 | nervous

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The sea below the Dalmatian terrace was not merely blue, but a living, breathing tapestry of shifting sapphire and liquid lapis, its surface crinkling like molten glass kissed by the dying sun. It exhaled a constant, percussive murmur against the ancient rocks.

Leo watched Maya, and he saw that same sea reflected in her. Her eyes held its deepest azure, her hair caught its fiery, golden highlights as the sun descended. But while the Adriatic was a vast, untamable mystery, Maya was its opposite, a contained, intelligent force. She was the sea’s depth made human, its beauty rendered with intention. She was the calm after a storm, a quiet harbor for a soul that had been adrift too long.

His heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic rhythm against the quiet lapping below.

“Maya,” he began, his voice a little hoarse.

He took a step closer, the scent of her floral perfume mixing with the brine. “I know this is fast. I know you leave in two days. But I have to say it.” He reached out, his fingers brushing against her hand. “I don’t want you to go. I’ve spent seven days with you, and I can’t imagine the next seven without you. I can’t imagine any of them.”

He watched her face, bracing for a polite dismissal. But instead, a soft smile touched her lips. She turned her hand over, her fingers intertwining with his.

“I’ve been terrified to say the same thing,” she confessed. “I was so nervous you’d think I was just a tourist.”

The tension in his chest dissolved, replaced by a flood of warmth. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. The sun finally dipped below the horizon, leaving them in a twilight that promised a new dawn.

Prompt given by Lynn L. Alexander

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