Love Pains

A beam of sunlight penetrated the curtain, spilling out onto the silk sheets of their bed. He forced his eyes open. Her arm lay across his chest and her legs intertwined with his. Her warmth permeated throughout her being, resulting in a sauna-like heat under the blankets, but he welcomed the discomfort.

He turned his head to look at her. She has far too much hair to sleep comfortably, he thought. The wispy curls reached down to her waist when she stood, but they puffed out while she slept, covering her face and most of her pillow. They tickled his face at night, but he rarely complained. He pushed her hair out of her face and over her ear.

Her lips were cracked and puffed up, but he thought only of their warmth and softness. She was always jealous of his button nose, but he doubted her. Her nose was not small, nor large, but the bridge had a bit of a curve to it that he found charming. He traced his finger along it and laughed a little bit when it wiggled.

He stared at her long eyelashes. A deep passion bubbled from within him. Her features overwhelmed him with a combination of desire, enthusiasm and serenity. He felt her body against him, but he believed himself adrift in an ocean of blessings. Cool waves of satisfaction rocked him softly amid a soothing salt air.

As he continued to stare at her, an emptiness tugged at his heart. A deep bruise of guilt for something that had yet to happen. She was his world, but he knew he was her god. The weight of his own mortality and humanity crushed him. A fleeting feeling of doubt attacked his mind. He wondered if her feelings for him could possibly match how he felt about her. It would surely be impossible, he thought. He would fail to live up to her expectations and it all would come crashing down. He knew himself too well to believe anything else.

Amid the war inside his brain, a solitary emotion poured out from him into the room, plastering the walls in a dreamlike sheen. Salt tears dripped on his pillowcase.

Unable to contain himself, he choked out the words, “I love you.”

Her lips curled in a smile and dimples appeared in her cheeks. She let out a pungent morning breath and slowly opened her eyes. They were a deep coffee brown, yet shined brighter than everything else in the room. Her gaze focused on his face.

“I love you too,” she replied.

And in those simple words, he found comfort.