Leading me ever on, she pulls so hard on my arm I’m sure she’ll dislocate it from the socket. Opening my mouth as wide as it will go, the cold air hits my lungs like the piercing blade of a knife. The pain causes me to double over. In the first second that follows, I see crystals of ice and the many patterns they contain. In the second, a wall of bark and Meeko’s dirt-caked nails as the tree takes its final giant strides that will lead us into the vast light awaiting us. The suspense is killing me, and yet I hope it lasts.

“Do you want another beer?” she asks.

“Sure,” I say, “a nice cold one.”

Grinning as she leaves the room, I hold the pen in my hand as the balmy afternoon outside the window tickles my senses just fine. Life feels like a dream. It always does when I’m exactly where I want to be. There are no boundaries; no separating these realities at all.

“What do you reckon you’ll call this new piece of yours?”

As her voice sails through the dusty air, the idea of a title spins upon the tip of my greasy nose.

“I’m not sure,” I call out, “don’t you think I should leave it till I’m done?”

Poking her head from around the doorway, she sticks her tongue out at me.

“You can still give it a working title,” she replies, “something that helps you know where you’re headed.”

“Maybe I’ll name it after you?”

“As much as I’m touched, don’t you think it’ll be a trifle icky?”

“No, I don’t think so. After all, my world begins and ends with you.”

“Worlds, you mean.”

“Yes. Worlds.”

Waltzing over with two cold beers, we neck them in unison as exotic sounds wash over us from the open window.

“I hope these moments never end,” I tell her.

“How can they? As long as the beer keeps flowing along with your words, every act of ours will shine from here to eternity.”

Rubbing her chin with my thumb and forefinger, I bring her mouth to mine. The kiss is sweaty. She tastes like honey, and the madness is like no other. Leaning back in my chair, I cradle her in my arms. It feels like the day has gone on forever, and yet I know it’s only just begun. Closing my eyes, I feel her kiss, and as the taste spreads from one corner of my mouth to the other, so the moments I’m made of colour the canvas of my mind leaving not a single inch untouched.

The End.

‘A Girl Named Meeko’ will be edited into book form with a release date of November.

X and I: A Novel and A Journal for Damned Lovers on Amazon UK

X and I: A Novel and A Journal for Damned Lovers on Amazon US