Past and Future Tense

As Quinn climbed the last ridge to the temple, the sun crested the mountains, bathing the snow and stone in honey gold rays. The warmth on his face made him smile. This had been a good choice. He could feel it, as surely as he could feel the pulse in his veins. He was not really all that surprised to see Hakim sitting by the doorway waiting for him. He nodded and the young man smiled and walked over, handing him a glass of hot tea.

"Good morning, Jonathan. It has been a long journey for you, simply to return where you once belonged. It is good to see you again..."

"It is good to see you again too, my friend. I am a bit surprised to see you alone. Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes. Everything is fine, it is only that she had so much to prepare before you arrived. This is a return she has looked forward to for quite some time. Take what time you need in the temple, then we can begin the journey home. We should be there just before sunset. If you remember, the view as the sun breaks the mountain is wonderful."

Quinn took a sip of the tea and smiled. It was as if he had never left. He walked into the temple with Hakim and looked around, seeing so much that was familiar. Grace's absence hung in his mind and made him wonder what she had been doing that would keep her from seeing an old friend. He pushed it from his mind and found himself a quiet place to meditate. He wanted to be grounded when he returned to see her. He needed to be.

Quinn felt more centered after spending some time in the temple. Perhaps that is what he needed to do more. His new knowledge and condition gave him more time to reflect, after all. He pushed that from his mind as they traveled down the mountain and toward a lush valley hidden from the outside world by the ice and snow. He knew this place but never would have found it on his own. He could feel the tension climbing in him. He had spent a lot of time here, and a lot of it reminded him of long dormant feelings that were buried but not forgotten. As they moved through the small village, Hakim stopped and smiled.

"My friend, She wished  to dine with you tonight. I will be eating with a friend and will return to spend time with you tomorrow. I wish you a wonderful evening and memories reborn, Bhai."

Quinn looked up in surprise and smiled. The tone he heard told him that this 'friend' was becoming far more than that for Hakim. He nodded and walked past him toward the house Hakim had indicated. It surprised him a little, but he realized that things change with time. Feelings grow, fade, get stronger...who knows what the future might hold for any of us.

He knocked on the front door and it opened a bit. He heard her voice from a back room. "Come in, John. I will be out shortly."

He walked into the front room, seeing that many details had changed, but the overall feeling was so familiar that it put him at ease. It was almost like coming home again. He heard her moving from the back of the house and smiled at the scent of jasmine and ginger in the air. He turned to speak and fell silent at the vision standing before him...



"Welcome back home, John. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to spend a bit of time with you this evening. I know you have much on your mind, but tonight I want to simply be a reminder of the past. The moonlit walks, the hours of talking, all the fun we used to have. Tomorrow I will stand with you to face the reason you have come. Tonight though, I want it to be like it could have been."

As he stepped close, she kissed him. Not as a sister or an old friend, but as a woman kisses a man. The taste of her lips, like honey and cinnamon brought back so many memories it was like a flood in his mind. He stepped back, looking in her eyes, unsure of how to react. Her kiss had flared thoughts in his mind, but this was not his reason for coming...

"Do not be concerned for feelings you may have or not have tonight, John. Your absence has not taught me to be alone, it merely has shown that when together we cast a single shadow on the wall. All I ask of you tonight is to allow that shadow to be there, to be one with me tonight. The world can wait a single night as we spend a sliver of time exploring what might have been. I ask only that you let tonight guide itself. There is nothing outside here, only a man and a woman who once shared feelings that have not faded over time.”

His heart and mind were at war. This woman who had given him life, she who had once been everything to him. He had once ignored the hints and subtlety. It seemed that this time, she decided not to be as subtle. This woman before him offered him something he had never thought to anticipate. Now the next move was his. He thought on what to do as she spoke again.

“I know of your red haired vampire, John. You and she share a bond that cannot be compared to what you and I once had. You may have chemistry with her but you have history with me. All I ask is that you give me one night. You let history be touched by what might have been for one night. After all, you are here with me...where is she?”

John thought carefully on her words, thinking before making his next move.