"Are you trying to insult me?" She asked, sneering as I looked down at her from where I was sitting on a ledge a couple of feet above.
"No." I replied firmly, "I'm telling you like it is. I'm here, whether you want me to be or not, and you're going to deal with it."
A man who was sitting a few feet away from me laughed a bit, and dangled his legs over the concrete wall we were seated on in this garden or delicately landscaped pathway.
She smiled, and motioned for me to follow, "I want to show you something." She said, "I'll let you see him."
I felt my heart skip, and leapt from the ledge, landing on my feet and walking in her path where I hurried to her side, and looked down toward her. She was shorter, and angrier looking than I, with dark hair and glasses, and kept determined on the goal ahead. The two of us shared nothing more than casual conversation along the way, with no animosity between us. The words we spoke have escaped me at this time, but it was civil, and polite, despite the fact that we were obvious enemies.
We walked into a house, which had a centrally located kitchen that she took me into. It looked comfortable; the type of house you would expect a family to live in, though it was ultimately quiet from the sounds of any sort of activity.
"Here he is."
A man was standing in the kitchen, someone very familiar to me, and I immediately felt tears welling in my eyes. I forced my emotions back, and gazed upon the figure of a lover I once had. He was shirtless, and his tattooed frame was facing away from me with his eyes to the floor. He made no attempt to speak or look in my direction, and just stood there, breathing silently.
I noticed the tattooed artwork on his back was now covered with something, some form of writing that reminded me of Japanese, with red and orange flames surrounding each black figure.
"What is this?" I asked, pointing to it. "It's new. Did you do this?" I asked the other woman, who stood there with her arms crossed and her dark eyes angrily gazing from behind her glasses.
"I helped." She replied, "But the design was ultimately his mother's doing."
"Oh." I replied, "I can see the old artwork behind it, still."
"Yes." The woman nodded, "It almost looks like smoke or something smoldering."
"What does it mean?"
She began to tell me, but I paid no attention as my eyes went to what the man was looking at on the terrazzo tile floor, chains. Rusted iron chains and shackles encased his ankles, and I couldn't understand why. What had this man done to be a prisoner? She babbled on, with what sounded like nothing but pure gibberish at this point, as I continued to stare at the set of ancient irons constricting the red and white striped pants the captive was wearing.
"I'm leaving." The woman uncrossed her arms, and began to leave the kitchen. "I'm just running out for a bit, but I'll be back." She said in a condescending manner as she walked from the kitchen toward the front door.
I watched her enter her vehicle, and drive away, through the blinded windows in the front of the house. It was a nice, pleasant summer day outside. Trees had full leaves, and the sun was casting a warm light on everything.
I froze as I watched her leave, until I felt arms enclose around me from behind. I closed my eyes immediately and tears poured down my cheeks.
"Oh God..." I sobbed.
"I know." He said. "I know...I'm sorry."
He turned me to face him, and held my face in his hands, looking down at me with tears in his own eyes. "Please don't cry. Tears won't help."
His shackles were off, now, and I just stood there, shaking my head while feeling his warm touch against my skin.
"I miss you." I told him.
"I know." He nodded, "I miss you too. I miss you so much!"
He pulled me into a tight embrace, and my face pressed into his collarbone, and I stopped sobbing so that I could attempt to speak the best I could under these circumstances.
"If she sees us..." I began.
"I don't care. This is our time." He replied. "I want you to know that I'm okay. No matter what, just know, that I am okay."
"Did you see me?" I asked, "I saw you during court when I was up on the dais. Did you see me?" I gripped his shoulders and looked up into his eyes. It was him, every aspect of his face, every mark, every fleck of the color blue gazing back down at me was as real as I remembered seeing them last.
"I looked right at you." he replied, smiling slightly, "You looked beautiful. You will always be beautiful, just like I told you at war. I couldn't keep looking at you, but yes, I saw you." He kissed my head softly over and over again, and I could feel his warm breath against my face as he held me close. Then pulled my face toward him for a kiss on the lips, which resulted in both of us laughing in what was only the purest form of happiness of the entire moment. He head my face again, and brushed the hair from my face and back along my head where he rested his grip, and used a thumb to gently wipe a tear from below my eyes.
"Come on." he said, "Let's get outta here."
"Where?" I asked, "You can't leave, can you?"
"Just for a bit." he said, and we walked away from where the rusted irons lay unhinged on the floor, back outside to the garden area.
It was a beautiful place, like the courtyard of a medieval castle with elegantly shaped trees and shrubs, a variety of flowers, and small ponds into which leaves and petals sprinkled, that reflected the sun as it rippled softly through the shade of the branches above. The walkways were stone and ancient looking, with plant matter breaking through the cracks and spaces between the light colored bricks. Everything just seemed remarkably beautiful and peaceful, and beyond perfect. A variety of animals were also present, some very exotic, and we took our time looking at them play. One, most notably a small black spider monkey, who was very friendly and playful.
We talked about everything and nothing, really. Just whatever was on our minds; his children, my school, and he continued to reiterate that he was okay, and stating that I needed to focus on my own happiness, and hoped that everything would be better soon.
Time was indeed short, and before long, my companion who was seated beside me earlier, came into the garden, and stood to the side.
"We need to go."
He led me out, and I didn't have time to say goodbye. We walked out of the house, just as the other woman was returning, got into our own car, and began to drive away, and yet, I wasn't upset, I was actually feeling incredibly happy for the first time in what felt like ages.
The tears didn't come until after I woke up.