Enjoy!

There's sand between my toes and the salty ocean breeze washes over my body, calming my soul. The sun is setting on the horizon, bathing the ocean in a deep red and orange fire. The purple sky slowly dwindles into night and the moon is a pale distant reminder of dreams to come, and dreams lost.

The salt air curls around my body and tingles against my bare legs as I dig my toes into the cooling sand.

In the distance I see a shadow walking up the beach. The pounding of the surf matches my heartbeat as I watch the shadow walk closer.

For an eternal breath I watch the woman walk, her shoulders slumped and her gait careless. Where is she heading and why so sad?

I can almost touch her soul. Her heart cries out to me, but she's a stranger and I sit quietly as she walks closer and closer.

She doesn't seem to notice me, or anything else, as she sits in the sand and stares out to sea.

Ever so gently a voice tugs at my heart. The same little voice cries out into the night and I stand on shaky legs.

Quietly I approach the woman. In the moonlight small details gather in my mind. The way her hair glints in the moonlight, bare legs and sun kissed skin, patches of sand on her knees...

My heart catches in my throat. What do I say? What do I do? She's beautiful. I just want to reach out and caress her golden moonlit hair.

She glances up, startled. She has intense green eyes, and as I move closer the moonlight reveals tiny flecks of gold. "I'm sorry," I say. "I didn't mean to startle you."

For a moment she doesn't say anything, silently regarding. "S'ok," she drawls. "I just didn't expect anyone out so late."

"All right if I sit down?" I make a casual sweeping gesture with my arm, but my composure is anything but casual. My knees turn to jello as her low voice sends a tingling up and down my spine.

She merely shrugs and turns back to the ocean.

I sit beside her, but not close enough to touch, no matter how much I feel the sudden overwhelming need just to take her in my arms and protect her from whatever demons she's running from.

The silence lingers on.

"I don't come out here much," I say quietly, looking for a response. "It's peaceful here, like coming home..." My voice trails off, embarrassed. I didn't want to reveal too much, wanted to stay cool and casual.

She turns her head, regarding me with those intense green eyes. "Yeah," she says simply, and smiles.

Her smile stretches to her eyes, and her whole face glows. God, she's beautiful. How can I make her smile like that everyday? Every hour?

"I- I know a little coffee house down the street..." I blush furiously, wondering if this beautiful woman would even care for coffee when her world looked like it was falling apart.

"Joe's, right?" She doesn't look at me, but at the ocean, as if all the answers lay in the crashing of the waves and the foam racing on the wind.

"Yeah, Joe's. How 'bout a coffee, my treat?" I wait a heartbeat then another till she turns again.

"Sure. Coffee's good."

We stand at the same time. She's a little taller than I am and now silouhetted by the moon. Dark and mysterious. Another shiver raises the hair on the back of my neck.

As we make our way across the sand, to the lights of the pier, the silence returns. I want to take her hand, lead her away from the pain, but she seems so... stoic. Would she shrug away?

So I do the next best thing. I walk closer and brush my arm against hers. Is that the tingle of a long hot day or something else? Does she feel it too?

We are two strangers on the beach. Two souls connecting over rivers and mountains of time.

She glances my way. My heart beats faster as she gently brushes my fingertips with hers and smiles.

Home, a little, elated voice calls. I take her hand in mine. There is so much to tell you, my love. I've missed you...

Instead I just smile back, a smile that threatens to overwhelm me in it's intensity. Take it slow. We've got a whole lifetime ahead of us...

Finally.