My Dream

Late at night when the world is asleep, the wind howls o’er snowy fields.  The moonlight shines upon the snow, creating a soft, ambient glow, in what ought to be a dark night. This glow makes the snowflakes sparkle, and the trees make overlapping shadows that look like horrible, tentacled monsters. 

You bask in this glow, lying in your bed, curled into a ball, trying to warm your numb feet as you clench your blankets, trying in vain to ward off the cold of winter.  As I stagger back to my room, on the verge of passing out from sleep deprivation, I peer into your room to look at you sleeping, to see you at your most pure -- at your most vulnerable, and to make sure that you are safe.  I look in and see your eyes wide open, glimmering with a shiny luster from the moonlight as you shiver alone.  I walk to the side of your bed, and you turn to look at me with confused eyes as I peel the covers off of you.  And beneath the down comforter, the wooly blankets, and the flannel sheets, is the soft flesh of a girl, her teeth chattering for the cold of winter cuts through her nightgown.  I hand you the thick hunting socks that I was wearing, and sat on the edge of the bed as you put them on the feet that you can no longer feel.  When you try to go back to sleep, I lie beside you and pull the blankets over both of us.

            As I lay there on the verge of sleep, I hold you tightly in my arms, and I see the pale blue moonlight illuminate your soft facial features with remarkable clarity.  No words have been spoken, but we both know that we fulfill each other.  I could hold you in my arms like that for hours, but I am so exhausted that it hurts just to keep my eyes open.  Though I want this moment to last, I close my eyes and quickly fall asleep -- knowing that at least for a second, all was right with the world.