4 The sun has fallen.

My toes tap against soft carpet, brushing the grooves of every fiber. No light peaks through my window as the sky turns from orange to navy. The waves crash against slabs of rock, the sound of Her sea foam love hissing in my ears.

A breeze against my face. Rain. It's him.

"Have you been waiting all this time?" he says.

My lips pull back into a smile. The dulcet voice leaves my hair standing on end. I turn to him, standing composed and attentive by my window.

"You have, haven't you?" He grins.

My fingers rub a piece of soft comforter and I focus on not meeting his gaze. "And if I did?"

His quiet footsteps make their way over to me, bending down to meet my eyes. His relaxed smile aimed at my heart. "I would say," he reaches for my hand, "that I'm sorry for taking so long." A soft kiss on my fingers.

Our eyes are tied together in a dance that never ends. The longer I gaze, the brighter the light reflects off the rippling ocean, trapped behind the windows of his iris.

His touch is always gentle, never selfishly indulgent.

"There's something on your mind."

I inhale courage. "What do you feel...when you touch me?"

His eyebrows knit together in question. "I don't follow."

"I don't know what you are," I say gently, "but I can feel you. I want to know what you feel."

He rises to sit beside me, my palm still in his hand, tracing their lines methodically. "When I touch you," he starts, "a growing light lifts off your skin." A small smile creeps up his face. "It's almost invigorating just to be this close to you." Those mahogany irises look up from our hands into mine.

My train of thought crashes.

His face resumes its amused demeanor as he continues tracing the lines in my palm. "I'm unsure why I am able to feel you, but if I question it, I'm afraid it will be short lived."

~*~

If I stare long enough into the cloudless sky, the quarter moon peeks through my vision. The sand is soft underneath my body. The grains sift between my fingers as they feel around for shells.

Mother...please answer me.

The misty breeze whispers in my ear. I am always listening.

I sit up, facing the ocean and watching the waves greet the shore. The sea foam bubbles, releasing wind chime tones in its wake.

"Why me?" I say aloud. "Why now?" My eyes shut to focus, to listen. Why him?

Another misty gust of wind. The time has come. You must open your mind.

What is he? Who is he?

The wind becomes thunderous and loud, my body quaking from its threats. It forces my eyes open and I am at the shoreline with wet toes and sea foam pooling around my silhouette.

All will be revealed

When you learn to see.