Horizon Kiss

After a long day, going home is something everyone desires for. This heaviness of work life, the gravity of peer pressure and the magnet I am, for the bugs and defects, are way too much to handle at the end of the day. I closed the laptop and wanted to fall down on the bed and get cozy but the sun is almost ready to come up to its work.

   Ironically the usual day of work is actually alongside the workspace of our mighty golden ball- but the day works differently for me, it starts with the sun going down and I work with the silent moon. After closing the laptop, I stretch my arms and bend backwards, of course, as long as the chair could let me.

   My body feels stiff. Definitely need some exercise. I close my eyes for a brief second and realize I am wasting my minutes here. And minutes are valuable. I get up and make a swing, taking the overcoat up from the chair and holding it on the back with my two fingers on the right shoulder. I pick up my bag and stroll towards the elevator, hoping someone would be stalling it on my floor.

   "Hey Ms. Brown! Off to home?" The floor receptionist called out for me. I make a quick nod and greet her with a smile. If she is here, then obviously I am super late today. I pressed the down arrow and luckily an elevator opened up to embrace me in it.

   The elevator ride to the ground level was nonstop. Though an hour ticks away quickly, the taxi ride was a bit faster than usual. I stepped down at the flower shop and paid the driver the regular bucks and he smiled getting them.

   Turning towards the building, a ten- storey apartment, I picked up my heels in hand and stormed up the stairs to the second floor. I can't wait for the elevator and waste any more pearls of time. No need for the bell button, because the wooden door opens as I approach towards it. There stands my man, the one who could put up a smile like no other. Approaching in a fourth gear, I try to apply brake but eventually collide in his open arms and he holds me to stop. This man is a trained military man for my palace.

   "Good morning sweetie." And there comes a kiss.

   My muscles are progressing a war within me, all stiff and sore, not to forget the storming I did on the stairs. I find it hard and cut short the kiss to take a breather. He motioned me to take it slow with a hand gesture. I break into a mess of laughter and chuckles from him make it whole. He takes up my heels and places them on the tiny shelf of footwear and kisses me again while removing the coat. I sigh deep as I follow him inside. Placing my phone on the dining table and taking the glass of water from his hands to gulp it down. He presses my shoulders and rubs them a bit. I give a stretch and bend my head in all directions, lastly leaning on him.

   His chuckles are the best ringtone for my brain. I kiss his cheeks and tail my way towards the couch. I curl up against it and I feel the bitter pain pumping its course from the feet through the calves.

   "Lunch is ready and in the oven. Heat them up and have it when you feel like." He announces to me, but I just stare at him zigzagging his way arranging his lunch box. In time, he turns off the stove and pours a hot cup of chocolate for me. Moving slowly not to drop it down, he places the cup on the table near me. Pecking on my cheek he trails his way back to the kitchen putting away every utensil used in the dishwasher.

   "No! No sleeping on the couch." The voice sprang me out of my drowsiness.

   "Fine." I said slowly. "Not again dear." He stands towering me. "I will place the hot chocolate on the counter, will you have it later?" I know he is concerned about me, but I couldn't say anything as in reply. I just simply nod.

   He picks me up and steps into the bedroom to place me on the bed. I mumble a small thank you but it's very feeble and I find myself pulled towards the darkness. His kiss on my forehead wakes me up and I sit up pushing him back.

   "I mentioned earlier that I would suggest you with the outfit for the day." I slide my legs down and spring up rubbing my eyes. "I think blue and brown make a good combination on Tuesdays. What do you say?"

   "Ms. Brown sideways likes the color brown, doesn't she?" I chuckle at his comment. The blue shirt with brown trousers and a matching coat is taken from the hangers and I choose a brown tie with blue stripes to go along with the outfit.

   I feel the tiredness taking its root into my brain to shut down. A warm hand pulls me against my waist for a deep kiss and I am out of my work clothes in minutes. He puts over me an over-sized tee and a track pant covering my legs.

   "Now, you may go to sleep Sweetie. I will get ready." He knows I can't handle my own weight right now and helps me to the bed and tucks me in.

   I wake up to the alarm blaring from the bedside table. The hours did go by so fast. I put it off rather than a snooze because I feel my stomach rumble out of hunger. I know pretty much that he would have left and the 'goodbye' note beside me informs me the same. I kick away my blanket and go to the kitchen. The door is secured and the oven is too. I heat up the lunch he has kept in and it dings after the time. The spaghetti - meatball soup and cucumber pasta salad in front of me excites me and ticks my heart to take a bite. The doorbell goes at the same time.

   Opening up the door I find a delivery man with a package and a letter. "A delivery to Mr. Davis." I sign the paper and picks up the package and the letter.

   'To my dearest Davis' it reads. Who would be calling him with such sweetness? I got so curious as I ripped the cover and pulled the paper from inside. The signature at the end is so feminine and it untangled to the name, Sally. A 'she'? It gets interesting now. I read through the lines and drop the paper down on the floor. Reading through her flirts that makes me disgusting, whatever she has said is absolutely true. Way too damn true. He comes in the evening when I head back to the office, and in the mornings, he has to start when I reach home. Except the weekends, we spend only a brief hour or two in the evenings together on weekdays, usually sharing a meal or a snack. I don't make him happy as much as he deserves. I go in the deep thoughts and forget about the meal he prepared for me.

   What would he say when I go into deep thoughts like this? He would want me to call him. I search for my phone to find it plugged into the charger by him. I dial up his number and it rings when I press call. After a long ring, the call ends. Why would he end it? He is maybe done with me. The package if I didn't take it maybe would have brought to him to his office. Maybe that girl Sally would have already told him about how she feels. I can't leave him. No. That cannot happen. I have to do something. I dial up to my manager. Asking for a leave is impossible but maybe I can ask permission for an hour or two. Let's see how luck helps me.

   The manager seemed to be in a good mood and she approves me the permission on a condition that I should complete my task even if it means I have to work overtime or on weekend. That's fine maybe, if I could talk with him today, and if he accepts me. I could even put off my work and be here waiting for him and cooking for him. Cooking! Exactly, that's what I should do now. Cook for him. I scan through the refrigerator and find some meat and some bacon. The cupboards are having a ton of packets of flour. I could bake something.

   After a quick bath, I start a video on the phone and place the ingredients on the counter. I begin by combining the flour with the mixture to create dough. The outcome may not be what everyone desires but it definitely shattered me. Each and every time minute hand crosses the 12th digit in the clock, a whole hour passes without progress.

   I give up now, the cake is done for; didn't get out of the cake tin as whole. The cookies got all dried up and are a tiny bit harder to break into bits. The cooking is never my forte and moreover the deserts are of higher level. I sit down on the floor and I place my head on my hands and bow down to my knees. I give up everything. The bell rings and my mood downs deeper into the pit.

   A worried voice sprang up beside me and a warm hand on my shoulder. "Hey! What happened dear?"

   I don't want to look up at his face. I can't face him anymore. Sally is right. I don't deserve him and he deserves much better than me. But he makes me turn towards him and wipe my tears which I didn't know was overflowing. He has the paper in hand, and would've read the letter from her. Having pity in his eyes, he turns me around to face him using my shoulders and hugs me tight. His hands caressing my back, I couldn't pull myself together and gave in to the embrace.

   "I don't care what she says. I will always love you, even though it is going to be only in the dusk and dawn that we meet." His words poured inside my ear, vibrating off my eardrum and bouncing off on a loop.

   "I... I.. She is right though. You deserve -" I couldn't finish my sentence as he silenced me with a kiss. "I deserve you and only you."

   "Without me here, how are you planning to clean up the mess you have created out of my peaceful kitchen?" I flick my eyes to him scanning the whole lot of my disaster. Chuckling, he picks me up to stand on my feet and makes me sit on the high stool against the kitchen island counter.

   "You didn't even drink your hot chocolate?" He sounded a bit low having a cup in his hand turning towards me slowly. I sank down on my hot seat melting to the ground. "I tried..."

   "You tried to prepare something and then that became a disaster. In the meantime, you worried so much, you also forgot your lunch meal and this. You had put your phone on silent after giving me a missed call and you drowned in your own self thoughts and misery." He studied my mind like an open book. He sped up his words like a jet and prepared a fresh cup of milk. Added the cake pieces in two cups separately and added some broken cookies along with the hot milk, he kept these two cups inside the oven and set the timer for a few minutes. He turns to me and comes closer and places a kiss on my forehead and hugs me so tight.

   "Horizon Kiss." Pulling my chin up he kisses me on my lips letting me taste him. "The sweetness of the horizon kiss is invaluable. How lucky I am to devour this?" His words left me speechless.

   "We could be meeting only an hour in the dusk and dawn, but the thought of meeting you makes me hyper and my tiredness disappears into thin air." He caresses me pushing the hair strands out of my forehead tucking them behind my ear. "The thought of making you meals you could savor is what making me hold onto my passion beyond all the work stress. We are so similar to sun and ocean, who meets each other and embrace the minimum time like forever. The time we get to be with each other is similar to them."

   I couldn't stop wondering how could he still speaks like this after having a whole detailed letter stating I am not a good match for him. I searched in his eyes that hint me his hatred towards me. But I see only the love he shares.

   Maybe yes, we do share time with each other only when the sun hides away or when it gets ready to work. But sunrise and sunset are not the only times when ocean meets the sun. The ocean always reflects the star, although not exactly embracing in real, they connect virtually. Sun doesn't just make the contact however connects with him all day and goes under the blanket all night, always along the ocean. Even though we share the kiss at the times of horizon, we unite through our minds and our souls.

"I love you," I said before raising my cupcake in a toast to the masterpiece he created from the mess I made, which, of course, turned out to be the best. He kisses my temple as he hugs me sideways, sitting beside me, untangling both my thoughts and my hair slowly and progressively. The sun sets after the brief horizon meeting with the ocean.