In my hand I hold a six of spades, and an eight of clubs. I look around and watch them play. The sun, relentlessly trying to break my concentration, to no avail. A drop of sweat makes its way onto my brow. I pass the ante and there's the flop.
A six of diamonds, a six of hearts, the King of diamonds.
I raise 100. Fold. Fold. Fold. Call. She calls, and I look at her, but our eyes don't meet. And then the turn.
The ace of hearts.
I see her eyes widen, and she goes all-in. I look at her again. All she is focused on, is the game and the cards in front of her. I call, and so the river falls.
An eight of hearts.
I look at her. She looks back, and I am lost. She looks right at me, right through me, and no longer can I resist or focus on anything but her.
And as I blink, I remember. I remember the house, that no longer is. The dock that once cradled my feet in the clearest of waters. None of that remains. This is the same place, it's the same feeling. No longer can I see the hill with the tombstone, or the field with the trees. I'm standing on a redstone floor. Redstone laid out in the most perfect of patterns. On the horizon, I see buildings that weren't there before. Here even more, the sun lashes at my feet and arms. As I reach the first house I sit down in the shade and catch my breath.
"Come on, make a move.", I hear her say as I open my eyes again. But I can't. I'm stunned, I'm there. Her eyes are still locked onto mine. The few seconds that pass seem like an eternity. And I blink again.
I am pulled away, back onto the shaded pedestal. The dust clings to my hands and feet. I remember the old man that I never said goodbye to. I remember the graves where they have. None of that remains. All I can see is the sun, dancing through the space with the whitest clouds. And in the distance I see her. In sunglasses and shorts, she walks over the dusty road. Gusts of dust follow her feet everywhere she goes.
Through the gusts and wind, my eyes open again. "What do you have?" I ask tentatively. And she reveals her hand. A king of clubs, an ace of diamonds, as she speaks the same words. Her smiling eyes have shifted, to the most beautiful of smiles. My eyes find no firm ground between her eyes and my cards. I glance back at my full house, and back at her beaming eyes. My heart skips a beat. I look at her, she shyly smiles.
Fold.
Her hand trails alongside my shoulder and I hold her closer to me. Night has fallen and she sits there with me. On the small patches of grass that separate the rocky surface, we lay down our heads. We look at each other, and at the stars, naming them and the clouds. Her soothing voice guides them to their safest haven.
She looks at me with a hint of smug and kindness. And I say nothing, for I am lost.
"You'll meet many girls along the way son, too many to count. There are the ones you'll dance with, the ones you'll kiss. But then there's that special one. The one you name stars with."
