I opened my eyes to the place I had longed to be.

Not a house, but still home.

The tall trees towered above me, their leafed branches stretching towards the sun. Yet drooping down, sabotaged by their own weight, lying on top of each other, light breaching the canopy like the stars in the night sky. It provided sanctuary to all the small creatures of the forest from the ferocious predators of the air.

A glimpse of red caught my eye, flitting from branch to branch. A tiny robin perched above my body, on a limb hanging near the ground, it’s plumage the colour of spilt wine and lost kisses.

It’s call was sweet like the song of a singular violin serenading two lovers.

I stretched my calloused hands to brush the soft, spongy moss I lay on. It felt like how a cloud looked; a gentle cotton carpet, swallowing my body, letting me drown in its comfort.

My left hand hit hard warmth. I reluctantly drew my eyes away from the passerine to look at what had obstructed my serenity.

A figure.

Resting next to mine, sharing the same peace I bore a second ago.

I could see the rise and fall of their bear chest, inhaling the woody, saccharine scent of the forest floor.

My idle hand reached out to touch the smooth, urbane skin. My fingers, as if they had a mind of their own, embraced the familiar tenderness of an old friend.

The body hummed in recognition. An appeasing soothing sound, one which I only thought of in my dreams. Yet the contact between us was tangible, more real than anything I had felt in a perpetuity of time.

My eyes lazily surveyed the creases and dimples of muscle hidden beneath a sheet of tanned hide.

Short brown hair, mussed from sleep, lay perfectly in disorder.

A face greeted mine in silent acknowledgment, ocean blue eyes gazed into my own, amiable and somber and longing.

Padded fingers lightly stroked the outline of my cheekbone, grazing over a childhood scar; one I had received from this very place.

My soul pleaded with his to cherish and preserve this moment. Asking for it be unbroken and eternal - but unspoken words are not heard, nor are they understood.

Anguish spread through my body, like a current overwhelming and consuming, as his face tilted to observe the constellation of light, flickering above us.

Dejectedly I too followed his act, turning to face the sky.

Yet I was not met with a heavenly body of stars, only the freckled white ceiling of my desolate room.

I let out a shuddering sigh and firmly closed my eyes, willing myself to forget.