Green. Green as far as the eye could see. Rolling hills of forest green grass occasionally dotted with flecks of white from the appearance of dainty white wild flowers. Signe stood by my side proudly with a small backpack resting on her shoulders.
"This is breathtaking." I whispered, marveling in the wonders of the dirt and grass covered hills.
"We haven't even made it a mile from the car. This is just the beginning." She stated whilst also roaming her eyes up and down the beauty of Ireland.
"Did you know that there are more sheep than people in Ireland?" Jack stated, breaking inbetween the both of us jokingly.
"How many people are in Ireland?" Mark's voice sounded from behind me.
"Around 4.7 million." Signe butted in, stealing Jack's thunder.
Nobody said anything as we basked in both the sunlight and the new found information. The morning sun casted rays over dewed grass. A bug or two jumped up from the ground and disappeared back out of sight.
We ventured forward after a few more seconds of gathering visual information. The only sound was the scraping of our walking boots against the damp ground. Mark trailed behind both Signe and I while Jack took the lead. A quick 'hmph' escaped Mark's lips as he resituated the backpack resting on his shoulders.
Dirt and rocks crumbled underneath our steps until we were far enough from the car. Mindless chatter floated around our group, occasionally settling on one topic before hopping over to the next.
"How's your job going?" Signe smiled at her muddied boots, nudging me playfully with her shoulder.
"It's nothing I can't handle, but I aspire to be more." I shared a tight lipped smile back in her direction.
"Always aspire to be more, Ven. There's no harm in that."
I kicked a rock towards Mark and Jack, who happened to be a few steps ahead. The rock jumped a few times and landed off to the side in a patch of golden dandelions. With a shrug, I processed Signe's words and let them resonate in my heart. I could always strive to be something more.
"But don't ever get too hard on yourself. And call me more often. We miss you sometimes." She winked in my direction before lurching her bag higher on her back.
"If we get lost it's Mark's fault!" Jack suddenly hollered from the bottom of the hill that Signe and I were now both looking down.
I chuckled to myself and placed one boot-clad foot in front of the other slowly making my way down the grassy terrain. Signe followed closely behind, watching carefully as not to slip on the now dry grass. We made it down safely and joined Jack and Mark's side, continuing our trek through the infinite green. Small rock covered hills surrounded us here and there, gradually getting taller as we progressed. We climbed up and over a grassy knoll when Signe gasped.
She was a few struts ahead of me, but with a quick step or two I was by her side gazing down at the imagery not far below. It was something out of a magazine. Moss covered rocks lined the entire area, their natural cut edges seemed to point to the main attraction, a bubbling waterfall. The contents of the waterfall dumped into a dainty pond below full of a light blue-green that seemed like it was trying its hardest to stay clear.
"Wow." Jack said breathlessly, clambering over the top of the hill and lowering to a squat.
"It's amazing." I agreed.
The presence of Mark consumed me as he walked within close proximity. He wasn't even touching me, but I knew he was there. Therefore his scent, his being, made me euphoric. I loved him more than I could even comprehend.
"Isn't that a sight." He breathed, his flat tone sounded surprisingly astonished.
I nodded mindlessly as I let my surroundings envelop me.
At this point, it wasn't as hard to let everything go. I eagerly peeled off my hiking backpack along with my boots, hardly watching as the rest of the group followed my movements.
We spent the day wading through the small pond and soaking underneath the waterfall, laughing all the while. Each and every one of us stripped down to our true personalities. The waterfall site itself had freeing properties, and we were the living examples.
The sun was now beginning to set over our new-found spot, casting a faint day glow over the shallow water. I grazed my fingers through the blue-green liquid before stepping out of the pond. Mark's eyes found mine and a small grin rested on his face.
I ran my fingers through my drenched hair before perching myself next to Mark on the spread-out quilt. With a throaty grumble, Mark wrapped his arms around my hardly clothed body and pulled me into his chest. I sighed in content and laid quietly as he began to trace patterns on my stomach.
"This day has been better than I could ever imagine." I whispered, staring up at the sky.
Stars littered the dense navy blue like freckles. They seemed random and misplaced, but they weren't. Each star had it's place in the night sky.
"Yeah it has." Mark said breathily, his chest rising and falling underneath me.
My head turned to take in the hardly visible shape of both Jack and Signe wading through the pond.
"I can breathe here."
And that statement couldn't be more true. My mind meant "breathe" in every sense of the word. I could forget it all, forget everything and release myself from any "stuffy" events in the past. The air felt clearer as we headed back towards the car and even as we found our way back to the apartment and into bed.
Even as gentle fingertips turned into passionate kisses, my lungs were light and my head was clear. I could breathe.
____
like 74% edited.
update? wow it's been a while kids.
QOTD: favorite place to be? (whether that be a state of mind or a baseball field it's all you)
AOTD: surrounded by people who make me happy.
bit of a delay. hope you dont mind too much.
goodnight.
-N
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