Trinity by Rob Garbin
 (3 ratings)
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SUMMARY: My entry for the August 2009 Flash Fiction Contest themed "Flirting"
They met decades ago when the world was crumbling and they labored together to stave off the madness that threatened to overwhelm mankind. Even then, she was beguiling. Her mercurial nature hinted at fiery secrets no man could withstand and he had been so full of brazen youth. He saw her simple beauty as nothing short of the congealed essence of stars and meant to explore every complex filament she contained. She only smiled as she led him on.
Because the breaking of the world placed great stress on all and they sought blindly for salvation, others courted her, but she only toyed with them, reserving herself for him. Her moods shifted one way and then another, defying him to define her at any given moment. She would be earthy and durable one day only to blaze the next with an energy that left him gasping for breath as she turned and winked at him. On a whim, she moved to Manhattan leaving everything behind. He was stunned until he remembered her nature. She knew he would follow.
In Manhattan, they worked closer than every before. She was always there, solid and dependable, whenever his eyes grew bleary from to much work and lack of sleep. Then, when the demands of the world grew as society gyrated out of control and he needed her most, she would leave to spend time with other friends. She relished his need for her, knowing the panic she left in her wake. She knew they came from the same reality and could not be separated though he had yet to understand.
The two orbited around each other in tighter circles. However, the closer they got the more complex their dance became, like the scrawl of mathematical equations in a senior's physics class. She waited patiently for him to grasp their relationship as she did by nature. The pace of the devolving world pressed them closer and closer as his need for here blazed higher. Finally, late one evening, understanding came to him. He knew why she was as she was and knew how to make her his. He raced to her with the knowledge he carried and she gave in willingly. Passion blinded his eyes to all else as they consummated their relationship. Months of pent up energies were released in mere moments.
In a blinding flash, true regret entered into his life. So all consuming had their relationship been that he failed to foresee the consequences of their union. He spent decades paying for the uncensored lust of his youth. Even today, when he looks into the worried eyes of his children, he sees the poignant lose of his innocence so long ago, a weight of lost innocence borne too early on such young souls.
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