Te Iubsec...Forever.

15 Mirrors

Then as tears filled my eyes, the scenes came rapid fire. I passed the hearse carrying my grandfather's body; I stood in the cold hospital hallway, unable to walk into the room to identify my lifeless father. I held my grandmother's hand as she pleaded, 'Help me,' as Alzheimer's finally took away any vestiges of the woman I knew. Finally, the scornful faces of my sister, grown to look and act much like our mother in her demeanor, questioning my existence, my inability to assimilate to live a "normal" life, preferring I not come to family functions.

Then finally, the mirror faded to black, leaving nothing but my shirtless form and messy hair reflection. I looked into the sad, downcast eyes. I saw a feckless waste of a man living according to ideals no one cared about anymore, forever seeming to run in place, without a plan and usually alone. One by one, the people I loved and felt close to appeared and then disappeared; an image of Franceska waving goodbye as she glanced over her shoulder walking away was the last thing I saw.

"Nick!"

Franceska gasped suddenly from nowhere, startling me.

I moved to cover myself, no longer glowing, now just an aging naked man before her in the near darkness of my home. I squinted to see her more clearly, feeling the wrinkles forming at the corners of my eyes, stiffening with tear salt. Ches stopped my movement as if she were in slow motion, putting her hands on my shoulders and turning me away from the mirror, then moving with me, taking my face in her hands and kissing me over and over all over my face and forehead, ears, nose, and chin. I could feel her lips, unique in their print, their soft warmth pressing against me slowly, pausing, then drawing together my skin as they withdrew and moved on. I was barely getting used to the sensation in one place when it began in another.

Suddenly she released me, turned back to the mirror and quickly took it off the wall, and disappeared carrying it, causing a moment of panic, but just as quickly as it rose, it fell again with her near-instant return. Then back to the chair, she led me by the hand. I remembered how to sit this time. Ches leaned over and wiped my face again, then carefully straddled me in the chair, her knees sliding up either side of me, holding me secure. She held my face again, and even though I wasn't saying anything, she shushed me and rubbed her soft skin across my forehead like a cat.

"My Nick, I covered the mirrors. I told you. Nick, you can't trust the mirror. The mirrors, they always lie."

She kissed me tenderly, still holding my head; the strands of her hair fell forward and tickled my face. She didn't stop; she kissed each lip thoroughly, then breathed into me, kissing my open mouth, our tongues touching briefly once more before she sat up and untied her robe, letting it fall behind her. Ches stretched, raising her arms above her head momentarily, then looked back at me, catching my gaze at her naked body, and smiled, breathing a small laugh as she inched herself gently further into my lap.

Ches leaned forward, nestled her face into my neck, and gently teased me inside her. Slowly she rocked back, adjusting her legs several times before she became comfortable. When our bodies met, there was warmth, even safety. I gently caressed her back, running my fingertips from her hips to her shoulders and back. She stopped momentarily, found my hands and kissed them, then pressed herself tightly against me and whispered in my left ear.

"Te ibusec, Nick, pentru totdeauna."

She kissed me softly; our noses touched until I opened my eyes again and looked directly into hers. Her pupils were a deep shade of red, much like the night I first saw her. It was a clear memory, unshakable. Ches leaned back and pulled me up straight, wrapped her legs entirely around me, and began grinding her hips into me harder and harder, squeezing and scratching my back and sides gently.