.
I lean back on the mahogany table, spreading my palms flat against the surface to better support my weight. The position is uncomfortable with my shoulders digging into my neck, but I don’t notice the discomfort. In fact, I am so memorized by what’s in front of me that nothing around me exists.
I don’t notice the floor-to-ceiling windows on my left which hide behind coffee coloured curtains, nor the chestnut brown double doors on the other side of the room. This place is so familiar that somewhere in the crevices of my mind I can see the shelves and cupboards lining both walls, full of books of any genre imaginable. But in the moment, nothing exists except the only other person in the room, sitting in front of me.
Him.
His head is bowed, all attention and focus directed towards the beautiful guitar in his hands. My guitar. Oddly, or maybe rightly, it looks perfect in his gentle embrace, as if it was custom made just for him. The red in the guitar compliments the wine red of his sweater perfectly. His fingers glide over the strings with grace and elegance, releasing a vaguely familiar melody. I gaze at him with a kind of wonder and longing, my mind trying to commit every part of him to memory in detail.
It’s no secret that I’ve always loved guitar and nothing mesmerized me more than hearing its beautiful melody flowing around me. Yet I can’t help but feel different this time, like the music is part of me, speaking to me. The longer I admire him, the stronger the feeling gets, and I feel the music engulfing me in it’s beautiful sound. Each new note brings a bittersweet memory in my mind and I go further and further back in time, all the way to my childhood - the happy place of my childhood. I am lost in the music.
As he continues to play, time seems to stop, with only an endless melody floating in the air around us. In the moment I feel at peace. All my problems and worries are carried away by the melody like ash blowing away in the wind. It is a moment that lasts forever in my mind, but is over in minutes.
“That’s all I remember. Do you recognize the song?”
I think back on the melody, but the name escapes me. I only remember snippets of memories which were so vivid in my mind moments ago, now slipping away.
“I do, but I can’t remember the name. It reminds me of my childhood. Play some more.”
A laugh escapes him as he gently cradles the guitar again and begins to play. It’s a new melody to me, but I develop a love for it instantly, craving more.
As I sit there looking at him I realize that I am trying so hard to commit the moment to memory so I can always remember this feeling, these emotions. It’s what I’ve been craving, trying to find in others before, but was never able to. I found it in him.
Love.
