SUNSHINE AURA – self-esteem. self-love. self-actualization. 

She approached in the moonlight, treading barefoot on the grass. Each step controlled, barely pressing her toes into the earth. Her breath came heavier than intended. Her heart felt equally hollow and full in anticipation of what was to come. She came upon the courtyard fountain and stopped for a beat. Was this the right choice? Should she do this? She closed her eyes. The confusion in her mind could not be tamed. Fear set in and she felt her stomach drop and flip and roll with uncertainty. Yet, her heart yearned to go meet him. In the end, the throbbing pulse of her heart won out, and she left the fountain in a sprint. The moon above shone full. No more secrets. Everything that lied in the dark would be exposed tonight. A few more steps – her breath went ragged – and there he was. She slowed herself to a walk, but didn’t stop. There was no embarrassment nor any hesitation. Her mind was made up. She ached to gently caress his warm skin, to be held tight in his arms, no matter the consequences. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stilled at the crack of a stray tree branch she stepped on. Immediate pain flooded the bottom of her foot, but she persisted. He half-turned and she could see the smile spreading across his face. His joy that she came. She closed the distance between them and reached her hand out to take his. The moment their fingers touched, he evaporated into the night, a host of molecules no longer in the form of a body. Grief – acute grief – and then it was all over. She opened her eyes – it had all been a dream. Just a beautiful dream. Her stomach sank with longing. Who is this man? she wondered. With the sigh of a half-asleep dreamer, she rolled over and let rest overtake her once again, with her last thought being one of hope that she might see him again, and they may just touch before he would disappear.