Of Love & Acrobats

She had always thought it was only in books that a person's life could change. Until sorrow unleashed behind a dreary bowling alley by the return of a letterman's sweater became an opportunity to set out across a dark, lustrous sea with a charming individual chock full of strange obsessions. Obessions such as dancing a flamenco every time a clock chimed ten, or guffawing at the tripping of an awkward person as though the moment were a cosmic joke. Despite his inexplicable behavior the stranger became her new love and the couple disappeared into the future like a pair of dancing acrobats.

Reoccuring Past

He found himself looking into another time. Gentlemen were wearing riding britches, shirts the weight of sail cloth, and jackets with sharply cut tails. Women wore gowns that pooled in abundance on woven carpets and decorated their forearms with gloves that ran from fingertip to elbow. Candles in mirrored sconces provided the light in the room. Refreshments included room temperature wines and salt cured meats.

The unsettling part was this all seemed familiar to him. He was certain the narrow doorway on the far side of the ballroom led to a smoking lounge. He was starting in that direction when he noticed a woman approaching. That face - her face - he knew it in his current life as well.