Perigean Flare
A void encompassed you, a blue-gray celestial body spanning an invisible horizon, seen only by the distorted reflection that stretched back across an unseen surface that you stood upon. Waves of sound came off the glowing orb as if it were a speaker, music washing over you as stars twinkled overhead and underfoot. “Wha — ,” you began, baffled, the question interrupted as someone took your hand.
“Dance with me,” said a girl, her warm smile framed by blond hair.
So, you did — the two of you alone as you stepped lively on a glittering void.
The girl spun herself away from you, her hair and summer dress flaring away from her form. She encroached again, the how of it all dying in your thoughts as she met your palms with her own. A giggle tumbled from her lips and infected you, a smile moving to occupy your face.
The colors on her dress interplayed with the stars, her outline distorting as if she were an image moving through a kaleidoscope. The tips of her hair became wet, beads of sweat forming atop her shoulders, your lips coming away wet after chancing a kiss there.
She smiled, a realization nesting within you — you adored its presence. Her dancing began to traverse the environment, a celestial body that was moving away from you.
It began to rain, the drops materializing within a small sphere of light that encompassed you, then striking the surface beneath you, the dance floor coming to life with ripples as if you stood upon a lake.
The girl fled down a set of stairs, droplets exploding against each step behind her as she approached the edge of your glow. Somehow you knew, if she left your light, she’d be gone forever.
Another surfaced grabbed your attention, the rain bursting from a nearby handrail. You leaped onto it, your seat sending you screaming down and past.
She froze to look after you, her breath catching, her hand drawing up to her chest.
You didn’t look back and when you reached a lower level, you touched down, your feet meeting another floor, your sliding sending up a spray of water, casting glittering droplets into the air as star strewn ripples fled from your footing. You’d chased her once and had almost lost her; if it was to be, she’d have to decide. All you could do is show her what was yours to offer.
And so you danced. Alone. The memory of her spurred you on. You remembered her twirl, so you twirled. You remembered her giggle and how it reached your lips. And so you smiled. Can you see me? you thought. This… it’s for you.
Nearly breathless, a hug enclosed you from behind — you were a buoy she was clinging to, her forehead down and pressed into your back. She didn’t need someone to chase; she was seeking someone to lead.
You turned back to find her chin lifted, her gaze meeting yours to display water filled eyes. It might have been the rain, only, it no longer fell. A breath was held, which of you it belonged to, you didn’t know. You deliberately drew in and released another, smiled, then offered her your upturned hand. “Again?”
A smile touched her lips and eyes the same moment. And when her hand met yours, a giggle tumbled free of her as the two of you sailed away once more, where it never rained again.
