Feathery leaves dropped from the trees, raining down on the ground in an array of autumn colors. It was nearing dusk, and the sun was falling away from the skyline. In a field of straw, surrounded by sparse forestry, Jamie traipsed through the wilderness, following a man of a much greater age.  He was clothed in uniform, his broad shoulders proud. He had a sly smile pierced on his face, and a shaky glimmer in his eyes. He appeared aged with graying hair and wrinkling skin, but his heart held a youthful radiance about him.  

Her small, milky frame was sheltered only by flimsy outfit, too thin for the season. When she shivered from the cold, Johnny grinned and took off, veering from their path. “Babe, come on!” He teased, fleeing as he looked back on his fiery lover. She was standing still, unmoved and assured.

 Jamie shook her head, a small smile forming at her lips, and gazed down at her body. Peeking out from under the silk cloth, her stomach bloomed with the hum of motherhood. Her mind swelled with musings of promise and serenity.  

“What should we name her?” Johnny later asked, making circles with his finger on Jamie’s small bump. It was difficult to envision such a tiny tummy expanded and stretched to fit a child.

“What if it’s a boy? Let’s see, how ‘bout Carter?” Jamie laughed, her crooked teeth visible.

Johnny rolled his eyes, serious. “I mean it, if I’m not on leave when you have the kid…”

Jamie turned over, her side colliding with some damaged straw. “You’ll be with me, won’t you?”

Johnny could not answer, so he merely looked down to her round face, and tucked a strand of strawberry hair behind her ear. She touched his arm and leaned into him. When Jamie looked up at the older man, she released a sigh of admiration, tinged with regret. A pink, fleshy scar extended from his left cheekbone, over his lips and down to his right jawbone. She traced his soft skin, reaching the different curves and grooves of his fading disfigurement.

Johnny and Jamie were standing intertwined. The milky and bronze ribbons of skin wrapped around one another, grasping at a fleeting moment. It was Johnny, not Jamie, who shed tears that day. He held a secret behind his breast, which would ruin this treasure. He wasn’t coming back this time. He felt it in his skin, tendons, and bones. He was leaving her.

Jamie gazed up at the taller man, drowning in the blue of his eyes. She kissed the fold of his jaw, nipping at the skin. He shuddered, brought out of his thoughts. “You looked too pensive,” she whispered, wrinkling her nose. Johnny nodded his head, accustomed to this statement. He leaned into his girl, pressing his lips against her skin. “I love you.”

She grinned delightedly, her eyes closed and her hands cupping his face. “I love you,” she spoke before resuming a deepened kiss. She opened her eyes, the solidity of Johnny dissipated, a giant veil of smoke replacing his image before her eyes.

She was standing in front of his newly painted grave, her boots caked with spring mud. It was too late to be night, and too early to be morning. They had met up since childhood in the same spot. It was more than a field of wildflowers and straw; it was more like a field of secluded memories, buried in the hearts of young lovers. A sharp, intrusive ache found itself lodged within her heartstrings, pulling and tugging at her breath.

Later, a swollen, red bundle was placed in her weakening arms. Swirly auburn hair twisted itself into tight curls, covering the infant’s scalp. She opened her eyes to find two oceans staring back, eyes remnant of a ghost. It was strangely familiar, looking into two infallibly infinite blue eyes. She was holding a swaddled newborn, but in her mind, she was grasping the remains of her lost love in a distant, smoky blue haze.