Separation by Doc

by Doc Nolan

They had danced together; she led – he followed.
She had laughed.  He had smiled.
The sun had risen and light had surrounded them.

Now clouds had come.  Cold rain poured down.
She cried and he stood silently aside -- waiting for her to make a request.
It never came.  She stood alone, aware of him but never turning to him.

“You are released”, she said, as if words created truths.
They both knew the words were lies.
But they also both knew she preferred to fight alone.

She walked into the mist as the rain still came down in sheets.
He was cold.  She was colder.
Her puzzle was not his to solve.

She had chosen to walk alone.  He did not follow.  He had been told to stay.
As she disappeared, he shouted to her, “I will be here when you return.”She turned, smiled, and replied, “I know”.

He lost sight of her.  He hoped she would find the road to her answers.
He hoped she would come back.
Most of all he feared that somehow he would fail and if she returned she would not find him waiting.

The cold rain now penetrated his heart.
It was time pouring over him.  Drowning him. Inexorable time.
A cursed river of change.

He was afraid.