A bulb of light emanated from the lantern on the ground. The wind blew softly, but the lantern’s light remained fixated in its spherical shape. The flames seemed to dance like snakes, following the rhythm of the wind. The light was fierce; the heat was lacking. I withdrew my hands into my sleeves and crossed my arms in defense against the cold.
“It’s oddly refreshing, isn’t it?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure what she was referring to. Was it the oddness of a cold day destroying a sequence of tepid days? Was it that we finally found time to spend with each other? Was it the hike to this scenic view of the town? Maybe it was the scene itself. After all, the lights of the city penetrated our view more strongly than the light of stars. I somehow found it beautiful.
I sensed the satisfaction in her tone, so I turned to see if I could discern a smile on her face. The lantern sat between us. There was a slight twinkle in her eyes as she looked at the view. She hugged her legs and rested her chin on her knees, giving her a child-like appearance. I couldn’t help but wonder if she looked on with the same incredulity that I did. In fact, I couldn’t discern whether she was smiling or not. The lantern created a shadow with her knee that blocked the lower half of her face.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
She chuckled.
I turned back to the scene. I could anticipate her delayed response. While I waited, I noticed that the clouds were moving slowly away from us. I hadn’t noticed that before. I had known that the clouds moved, I had just never noticed them move. What was most odd about this realization was that the clouds never seemed mobile. They were almost always there, simply forming a facade for daily occurrences. Yet, that’s probably why I hadn’t noticed their movement before. With something so prevalent in everyday life, it’s easy to pay less attention to it.
“Are you?” she asked.
In spirit of the conversation, I responded with silence. In the corner of my eye, I noticed her head turn in my direction. I looked on, statue-like. Looking at the clouds remained a peaceful activity.
A crack formed in the clouds, revealing part of the moon. It looked larger than usual. It’s incredible that something I could cover from sight with my thumb was so imposing. It was part of the Earth, theorized to have formed when a rogue body struck it back when the Earth was still young. The Earth is now billions of years old, but the moon looms over as a reminder of the cataclysmic event. I appreciated that the consequence was so magnificent. This appreciation seemed funny to me. If anything had been alive at the time, it would probably have had the opposite feeling toward the moon.
I peered at her crossing her legs and staring at them. I took the opportunity to turn and get a glimpse of her face. The lantern shone with the same luminosity. Her lips were now hidden behind her drooping hair, but I could see her cheeks now. I saw that her eyes were not the only things that twinkled.
I found the answer I sought.
“It’s late. Let’s get going.” I said.
I stood and picked up the lantern, turning to the path that went downhill, expecting to hear her stand up behind me. She remained sitting. I had an inkling of how she felt, but I decided to let it go. Instead, I held the lantern in front of me, shining light on the path.
I knew where I had to go.
