Above the clouds

This is a look at a life and a relationship. That's all I can really say....

One

It was her wedding day, and she looked off into the clouds. She had waited all her life for this day. She had been planning every detail from the time she was twelve. She had crammed notebooks full of sketches for dresses she would show off to her grandmother on weekends. Now that the day was here, however, she couldn't help but feel a part of her was going away forever.

As she peered upward, she could make out a great, pillowy castle. Its tall towers were cotton, its flags were silk, and its long ornate windows were filled with divine light. She could also see a gigantic turtle. Its shell was more box than dome and it had a neck like a dinosaur. The turtle made her giggle. It was a peculiar sight and took her mind off an uncertain future. She felt a warm arm wrap around her cold shoulder. “Honey, what are you doing,” the man asked.

She did not answer immediately. She kept her eyes on the sky, watching as the wind nudged the clouds and the turtle's long neck slowly snapped off its body. As is life, she thought to herself. Her mind floated back down to Earth. Once again she could hear the music playing over the hill. She turned her head back toward the reception. She had always wanted an outdoor wedding, but perhaps she should have taken into account the summer heat of June. She then averted her attention to her husband, whose arm still caressed her.

“I suppose we should head back, shouldn't we?”

He directed his dark eyes in her direction. “We should,” said her husband, “but we won't.” The man then took off his shoes, and sat down on the ground, looking up at the sky. “What do you see there,” he asked as he pointed somewhere in the heavens.

She smiled and sat down next to him. “I see a pony,” she said.

It wasn't an ending, after all, she thought. Today was the beginning.

Two

She hated this. She plucked her finger with the needle and watched as the blood bubbled up. Her family said she would get used to it, but she never had and likely never will. The first time actually was a lot easier than the all of the following times. The pricks add up. Even after all these years, she could hardly bare to look as she punctured her skin.

She looked down at her needle as it registered the results. 130 mg. That classifies as normal. She didn't feel normal, though. She hasn't in years.

On a desk beside her stood a faded old black and white picture bordered by a glossy gold frame. A woman, wrapped in a elegant white gown stood with a man, clothed head to toe in a handsome beige suit. 

They smiled as if they were in the happiest days of their lives. And they were. It was their wedding day; her wedding day to be precise.

That was the first day of her brand new life. A life that tied her to her best friend and lover. A life that launched her happy family and a successful career. A life with some sorrow, but mostly joy. A life little girls dream about when they're twelve. Her life had been a postcard, and her wedding had been its first day.

She wondered what the first day of her new life was. Was it when she was diagnosed with diabetes? The day she lost all of her retirement? The day she found out her daughter had a miscarriage? The day the doctors told her about her husband? It's impossible to determine which.

She slowly packed away her testing kit into a clear plastic box, which she pushed away into the top shelf of her bedside table drawer. The needle would rest their, alone in the dark, but not for nearly as long as she would like. The woman, tired, took a few steps toward the window and looked out at the clouds.

Three

The man got up from his armchair. He had seen war in his past, but after he came home he was determined to burry that side of him forever. He never spoke to his kids about it – only when they asked, but then still sparingly. It wasn't as if war visions haunted his dreams every night – though occasionally they would. It just wasn't a subject he liked to dwell on.

After the war, the man became an accountant, and a successful one at that. He had a cushy bank job and several private, wealthy clients. His line of work allowed him to not only provide for his family but make sure their every need was sufficiently satisfied. As a man, he felt good providing for his family.

He was more than an accountant, though. More than a soldier as well. He was a husband. He was a father, and a loving one at that. He could play guitar. He liked to ride horses. He could make the best pancakes. There were few things he enjoyed more than waking up early on a Saturday morning and making a big breakfast for his children.

Today was Tuesday, however, and his children had left the house many, many years ago. The man, who in his younger years would never be seen without at least a sport coat, walked step by step down the creaky old wood floor dressed in pajama bottoms and plush blue slippers.

The man made it to a bedroom, where he could see a woman staring out a window and into the sky. The woman heard the creaking floor as he approached and turned around to see her husband. She looked alarmed. “Sweetie?”

His pants were wet. The man looked like he was near tears, but none leaked across his cheek. “Where am I?” he asked. The woman took him by the arm and led him to the bathroom.

Some days she wishes she could live in the clouds.