A Work of Fiction



Martin and his girlfriend Steff have moved into the cottage of their dreams in deepest, rural Wiltshire.
Read her diary and live the life.


Rundown and Romantic

Saturday 2 July 2011

Here,There, and Gone.

Oh, for more mornings like this one: The curtains were drawn, it was so early, but the light woke me, flooding the room with warmth. It coated the floor and the rumpled quilt on the bed with a surreal honey wash that had dust motes dancing and spinning in its wake. Martin was still slumbering deeply, his head buried in the pillow and his feet jutting like dead things from the tangle of bedclothes. I ached to share the sheer beauty of this moment with him but didn't have it in me to wake him. So I picked up my book and struggled with it for ten minutes, but the glorious start to the day was too much of a distraction. I opened the window to breathe in the air, then slipped downstairs to make an early cup of tea.

And what a perfect time to be up and about. When nobody else is, when nobody else is even conscious! The whole world belongs to you. The day was born solely for you. Opening the back door, the sounds of the stream seemed almost too loud, like they would wake the world, but a solitary blackbird in the overhanging branches saw it as happy competition, and racked up his volume in reply. I wanted to laugh and put my finger to my lips.

Sipping my tea and feeling the breeze on my feet, my cheeks and in my hair, and watching the spangled sun poking its fingers through the tall trees across the grass, I suddenly became aware of movement, then all went still. I lowered my tea slowly and peered across the field: deer. Two of them. Looking my way, aware of my presence, curious but unafraid. Then they were off, a few tentative steps into the sunlight, a magical sight which the World missed completely, followed by a full-blown gallop into the trees. They were gone and all was liquid blackbird song again.

So much in so few minutes. Why would anyone want to sleep through this?

1 comment:

  1. That was exquisitely beautiful! I was right there with you, though quiet and trying not to disturb...it is a wonderful feeling to be up before the world. Lovely, thank you.

    ReplyDelete