Honeymoon

                He felt the breeze move his hair, the whispers of the wind in the trees and her perfume mixing with the sweet scent of blooming flowers.  It was their honeymoon, the start of a long and prosperous life together.  The thought of the bliss and endless joys they were to share made his heart skip and flutter, it was surreal in that just two years he went from pushing papers at a downtown law firm to work for the EPA, helping not harming.  It was all because of her.  She showed him the value of his life, what he can do for others, especially his new wife, whom he owed everything to. 

                He trailed in her wake, blonde curls and bright blue eyes shimmering in the summer’s bright sunbeams.  He had never been able to keep up with her, one of the reasons why they married; she pushed him farther than he’d ever be able to go alone.

                “Come on, slowpoke!” she shot him a wry grin as she turned to look up the hill, her hand coursing along the sprigs of wheatgrass lining the trail. 

                “I think there’s a rock in my shoe, can we stop for a few minutes?”  Though his job benefited the outdoors, it didn’t benefit his body, which was glued to an ergonomic chair six hours a day.  He tried bribing her with a Chewy bar and peanut butter.  She took the bait.  Even with her mouth stuffed with nutty goodness she was beautiful.  He made a joke about her chipmunk cheeks and she let out a muffled snort, not wanting to expel food over her groom.  She choked down the remainder and punched him on the arm, then wrapped it around her waist.

                “Jeez, abusive,” he laughed.  “That really hurt.”  It didn’t hurt but she knew that as well as he did.  He gave her a playful shove and she fell dramatically onto the hillside just off trail.  He knew this game.  Kneeling at her side he grabbed her earlobe and she pounced on top of him, pinning him.  She leaned in for a kiss, touching nose to nose, and sprung up with a teasing laugh. 

“If you keep slowing us down we’ll never make it to the lookout before dusk,” she yelled over her shoulder as she marched uphill.

“What did I get myself into,” He asked himself with a smile as he got to his feet.

The sun began to set over the adjacent mountain as the land leveled out.  What he saw before him was beyond words.  He stood behind her with his chin resting on her gyrating locks.  Their hands intertwined, focused on the natural wonder before them. 

When the black night doused the sun’s flames and all lay quiet, they lay their blanket down and pulled a bottle of wine out of the pack, taking swigs whenever their lips weren’t connected. 

“I couldn’t think of a more perfect moment if I had all the time in the world” He lay back and gazed into the heavens.  A ray of fire streaked across the sky and dissipated into the darkness.  It was a shooting star!  He bolted upright and focused his attention to find any more movement. 

“There!” she gestured toward the sky.  It was if god was painting the sky with flame, stroke by stroke. 

“I can die happy after seeing such beauty” he ran his fingers through her hair, his eyes still following the shooting star.  “The tail disappeared!  Must’ve made it through the atmosphere”

His eyes tracked the glowing orb, arcing up from the horizon and widening in shock, suddenly closing in fear.  His hand tightening around his new bride’s was the last thing he felt before being crushed into a indistinguishable pulp.