An Interesting Love

Like a fantasy

Word Count: 2,130

"I'm a little nervous, which I hope you understand," I say.

"I do, but I'll still tell you that you shouldn't be," Henry responds, with a wink.

He takes my right hand in his left and waves his other hand over my eyes. As it crosses from above to below my field of vision, our forest turns into the cosmos. I panic, I can't breathe. My eyes are wide and I look at Henry. He signals for me to calm down, grabbing my neck and massaging it lightly. I stop trying to breathe, and I'm fine. I don't need to breathe here. Of course, you can't breathe in outer space, but that usually means that you die when you exit the earth's atmosphere. We're not dying. We don't need to breathe here. When I realize this, Henry smiles and takes my hand again.

We don't move but we float toward a giant red body. We are brought to its surface; we are standing on Mars. Henry flew me to Mars. I would expect myself to be overwhelmed, but I feel calm. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen: bright red canyons and still valleys. Overhead: countless stars, brighter than any I've seen before. Henry gestures toward one bright spot in the sky and asks me to focus on it. I do so, and the spot grows nearer. He tells me that it's not coming closer and I don't have to worry, my vision is just becoming more clear. It's like I'm zooming into the spot without a telescope. It's earth! I'm seeing the outlines of continents, and then I see lush green forests and broad oceans. I see the moon to the side, moving quickly behind the planet. Even the craters are bright and vivid, and there's even a slight purple glow circling each one.

I don't want to move my head and risk this perfect view of mother nature on earth. I squint and see whales breaching their home's surface, chimps scaling the tallest trees, and teams of people climbing Mount Everest. No beauty can compare to this. The colors are so vibrant, they make me want to cry. Henry squeezes my hand and I give in, moving my head to look at him. He's brought my attention to the fact that we're now floating over a canyon. The ground is thousands of feet below us and I see the lighter shades of red become a deep crimson as the sediments grow closer to the center of the large crevice. I do start to cry a little and my tears fall perpendicular to my cheek, floating away from me. I look at Henry and he's smiling at me. He's so happy that I'm experiencing this with him. He's happy that he is showing me so much and letting me experience what no other person on earth can. I've never felt so wonderful.

I remember my time in Page, Arizona, looking over the Colorado River running out from Lake Powell. I climbed off the trail and up a large red rock. The sun was almost set, and there was an ominous yellow light covering the horizon on all sides. Above were clouds and in the distance a large thunderstorm. I sat on a flat part of the rock and laid my head down. I was on my stomach facing my left, watching the rain fall in a single column surrounded by blue lightning. I haven't felt the sense of peace that I felt on that rock in years. I haven't experienced it until this moment. The grandeur is almost too much for me to handle, but I look into his eyes and feel nothing but that peace.

We must have stayed for hours by now. Henry signals for me to close my eyes for a moment, and I do. When he taps my shoulder, I open them. We are back in our forest and the sun is out. The air around me is golden and Henry's hand looks a little blonde in the light. My eyes are still wet but I smile so wide and throw myself to hug him. He laughs a little. I've never felt so grateful.

"Thank you, Henry! That was the best experience I've ever had! I loved it so much," I say.

"I'm glad that you did, we can do it again whenever you want. I want to show you even more!" He says.

I'm filled with excitement as we separate.

"Do you want to eat something?" He asks.

"Oh, um, I'm not hungry. Didn't you say we didn't need to eat here?" I ask.