Reunited, and it feels so good!
What does it mean to touch someone you’ve never touched before? How does the warmth of a tender body change your outlook? Why does physical contact mean so much?
Silence. Withdrawal. Neglect. Consistently present, decidedly unpleasant, yet assumed to last forever.
Contact. Touch. Absent for so long, nearly forgotten, yet fantasized about.
Desperately alone, but not realizing it. Exceedingly sad, but suppressing it. Tremendously lonely, and ignoring it.
But then, a sliver of light appears from a darkened tunnel. Approaching with cautious trepidation, it’s familiar, it’s welcomed, it’s beloved. The light grows stronger, warmer, and more consistent.
The heat dries the tears, the sunlight makes my skin glow. Emerging from the cold darkness, I feel refreshed, living in sync with the world that surrounds me. I’m in the moment, focused, with no distractions.
And then the touch. My skin tingles in anticipation. It starts with an accidental brush of a hand and grows more fervent, intentional, and intensely wonderful. While only temporary, the fleeting moment quickly is over, but my senses will unlikely forget the experience.
It’s that touch that reminds me that I’m alive.
