Clouds in the Sky

Prologue

         I found an old photograph today. I used to look at every morning when I woke up and every night when I went to bed. One evening I nearly ripped it apart during a sudden moment of blind rage, but instead decided to lock it away deep in my closet where I thought I would never see it again. Yet here I am, clutching the picture of you and me, wishing fiercely for that scene to be real and not just a figment of my imagination.
         We are standing barefoot in the sand with my arm around you, while my fingers gently tease your wind-swept hair. The gray ocean behind us looks as if it might swallow us, arched magnificently above our heads. Ominous storm clouds are rolling through the sky, waiting for the perfect chance to release their fury, but we didn’t care.
         You are looking past the camera and not smiling. Your eyes seem to be focused on something in the distance, maybe a cloud? You were always so fascinated with clouds. You said they showed a person’s destiny…or fate, in my case.
         I am not looking at the camera either, but at your lavender eyes and soft lips. Oh, how I wanted to kiss you and protect you and give you more love than anyone in the world ever could. But I wouldn’t dare cross that line, at least not that day by the sea.