I'm a practical, well-educated man and an athlete that
enjoys a challenge, adventure, and travel. It's why I joined the Navy after 9 11.
But after twenty years in the service and giving my
best in the fight for freedom. The exodus from Afghanistan exposed a weakness.
I began questioning my choices. Retirement from command was my solution.
However, the change wasn't easy. I sought direction at the Meher Spiritual Center of Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina. I wanted peace and healing from what I saw as a spiritual
crisis.
Now I'm wondering if I've completely lost my mind.
After a week of meditation and silence, I began to see
a new path to my future. On Friday, August 11, the evening of the sturgeon
moon, I took a healing walk along the ocean. This night as it was
explained, was the season of Leo. Astrologers claim the August moon stands for
perseverance and the ability to adapt with time and change just like the
sturgeon. Tonight, was all about going inward. Clearing the ballast and making
room for opportunity. Which I was open to.
The evening was hot, but the breeze off the ocean made
it comfortable. I had a flashlight to help me find the way, but once the moon
was high, the light was brilliant and my walk invigorating. Then I heard music,
faint at first, but the further south I moved, the more recognizable the tune
became.
Then, it dawned. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata was being played. Even
though I was no longer on the property of the Spiritual Center. I kept walking
south. The area was privately owned, but I just had to know who was playing
this hauntingly beautiful piece.
I came around a high dune and stopped in my tracks.
Standing in the direct rays of the Sturgeon Moon stood
an angel. Or was she a mermaid turned human? It didn't matter. Her beauty captivated.
She wore a gown of brilliant white trimmed in gold. Her arms were raised to the
heavens as though in worship. I thought she was praying.
Her long luxurious hair was the same color as the moon,
red with glimmering gold highlights. The breeze lifted the tresses, caressed
them, then laid them carefully across lightly tanned shoulders. She was
perfection.
Her feet were bare, and the surf kissed her toes
lightly, reverently. Watching her, I was frozen in place.
The Moonlight Sonata flowed in an evocative lament.
When she turned toward
me, I saw tears on her cheeks, shimmery diamonds she quickly brushed away. What
could bring this beautiful goddess to tears?
She smiled, and her deep
blue eyes held me fast. Suddenly I was drowning. I felt the cool, clear water
pulling my willing body deeper into its depths. Fighting for breath. Her smile
calmed me.
Though my heart raced. I
relaxed as she moved toward me. Was she walking or gliding across the sand? Did
it matter? No, not at that moment, for I knew instantly that she was a gift
from God. The answer to my prayers. My future.
Communication went
beyond words. Clasped in an embrace, our bodies were one. I could feel her
heart beating as furiously as my own. When our lips met in a kiss, the word ecstasy
would never describe our response or the carnal nature of our union. The world,
the entire universe disappeared, and we were alone. Soaring through a cosmos of
indescribable color and beauty, the Moonlight Sonata played its soulful refrain,
and we rediscovered our love.
In that kiss, I
uncovered the past, saw our future, and recalled our eonian vow of love eternal.
She was mine, and I, forever hers. If she'd come to me as a succubus, vampire,
or the living dead, I would have willingly given her all and more.
Then the music ended. I
opened my eyes, and she was gone. I stood there, unbelieving. Confused. Even
the moon had disappeared behind clouds that hadn't existed before that moment.
But she was here, and in
the flesh, my moonlit goddess. I could still feel the warmth of her lips, the
softness of her skin, the silkiness of her honey-colored hair, and the want in her
kiss.
Her absence left me
hollow as though she'd taken my soul. But it was my heart that she stole.
I searched until dawn
but failed in my quest. Was my goddess a dream? A siren of the Moonlight Sonata
or my heart's yearning made flesh under the thrall of a full moon?
Yolanda Renee © 2022
754 words/ FCA
Photo
by Rafael Alcure on Unsplash
Photo
by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash
This is the beginning of a love
story I hope to turn into a novel.
I would love to know your
thoughts.
Tagline: Moonlight thrall or real-life goddess?
XXX
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