A View to Remember

I have written a few shorter pieces here, but this is the most developed story. I would appreciate comments and responses. Thanks.

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When I entered the carpark I was disappointed to see that I was not alone. At least there was only one other car standing in the dust. I had heard from a friend about this 'out of the way' walking trail and had been looking forward to a peaceful solitary ramble through the bush and perhaps even a dip in the ocean in a secluded bay. I hadn't brought bathers, of course. Just a towel on which to lie as I soaked up the rays of the sun.

Slinging my pack over one shoulder I began my ascent from the carpark. There was a shorter, gentler track which led through the dense bush towards the waves which I could hear crashing nearby. I hoped whoever had arrived in the other car had taken that path, and so would anyone else - in the unlikely event that another car ventured this far off the beaten track.

The sound of the surf was quickly dulled by the thick green canopy of overhanging branches, interlaced with vines, decorated with flowers, deep almost iridescent green punctuated by sparkling rays where the sun pierced through. Ahead of me on the path these rays shot bolts of light across my way, reminiscent of the beams of security sensors trying to detract me from entering into the sanctuary beyond.

I passed through the beams and the only sound released was the chattering of parrots, the chittering sounds under the bushes as smaller birds fought over morsels among the leaf litter and an occasional creaking stretch from trees settling into somnolent afternoon slumbers. Ferns welcomed me with open fronds. Small blossoms along the track-side suggested a joy in being which lightened my mood and swept away the cares of recent months.

Single again after all these years. I had seen it coming. At times I had even welcomed it and part of my heart had reached out to embrace the freedom offered, yet in the end it had been a painful tearing of flesh which had been made one, rent now into two pieces. The rough edges of my heart were still raw ... and so I sought solitude rather than company.

A moss decorated log provided a comfortable and timely resting spot. The water in my bottle was just cool still, but quenching nonetheless. Setting out once again - birds now flitted and dived across my path, and swirled behind me taking advantage of the insects disturbed by my passing, swooping to claim prizes in the air.

One hour of solid walking later I reached the place of which my friend had spoken. Climbing the last few paces to the top of the hill the trees opened up as if an opening night curtain had been eagerly poised to reveal wonders and delights beyond. And the scene so revealed was worthy of the anticipation and beyond expectation.

The curve of white sand which opened up before me was lapped by turquoise waters, graduating to deep dark blue as they receded from the shore line. A headland protected the bay from the roughness of the waves pounding in from the Pacific swell. Another headland on the farther side reached back, like two hands extended but not yet touching. The rippling of water drew a line between the two bulwarks of rock suggested a reef close below the surface. No yachts would be making surprise visits to this sanctuary, disturbing my long sought tranquility.

Down, down again through the trees which embraced the slope. The cool of their shelter was welcome as in the few minutes enjoying the scene from the exposed pass I had felt the heat of the sun on my back. The water looked even more inviting now and so I hurried down the

rough track, taking care to avoid the grasping roots which threatened to send me sprawling, as if they were demanding that I stop to pay obeisance to the trees which sheltered my way. I was thankful for their cover. But I was not stopping now.

Only when I reached the edge of the final barricade of trees did I see her.

She was sitting, gazing out over the water. Her back resting against the bole of a sturdy tree, towel beneath her to soften the hardness of the gnarled root, knees bent and raised ... and her long cotton skirt lay loosely bunched across her waist. Her light coloured hair curled in towards her neck. A large straw hat sat beside her, resting from its protective task and her eyes were concealed behind glasses dark as the locks into which they blended.

I thought that I had been silent but my sudden stop must have disturbed enough stones to make a discernible clatter, or perhaps it was a movement in the air which betrayed me, or perhaps simply the deep awareness of paradise invaded. Her head turned sharply and I saw from the down-turned mouth that she was as disappointed as I to be no longer alone.

But paradise forbids unhappiness for any more than fleeting seconds and her smile transformed my disappointment. She beckoned me over and as I approached her first words tugged at my heart. "Isn't it simply beautiful here!" The only word which registered to my ears was 'beautiful', for it was the word which swirled across my mind like a fog. She had removed her glasses and the eyes ... the face ... I ... I ... Words are part of my stock in trade, my companions in engagement with the world, yet they failed me now as I gazed at her. All I could do was to nod and grunt monosyllabic agreement. Reduced from 48 to 14 in but a few seconds. Confidence and refinement failed me and a bumbling embarrassment seemed to take hold. Thankfully she seemed to understand, or at least she was content to remain silent as we both sat, gazing out over the gently undulating waters.

My voice returned but my first words jarred the silence with resentment barely concealed. "I thought I would be alone here." "So did I!!" her sharp retort alerted me that I had invaded her space as much as I had felt she had disrupted my expectations.

"Sorry, I am just a bit on edge. I came here because I had heard it was a good place to get away and think ... alone." Her apology shamed me. Had I really become so seared and damaged that I was unable to make polite conversation?!? "I should be apologising to you. You were already here and I am the intruder ... sorry ...."

Her smile again blew away any negative threads which had begun to entwine themselves around me. "Can we start again ... I'm Paul." Without hesitation she took my outstretched hand in hers. "I'm Sharon. Nice to meet you ..." and though the usual social protocol would have suggested that the clasp of our hands should have been brief, little more than polite and passing contact ... she held my hand and looked deep into my eyes. "Are you OK?"

There are moments for self-protective restraint and there are moments to trust the instinct of the unexpectedly opportune invitation. Her compassion, so evident, destroyed any defenses in an instant. I held her hand still but my head dropped to rest on my knees ... and my story poured out like sweat from my pores after a long run on a hot day.

The bitterness of a relationship which had become dessicated, sucked dry by the evaporation of embrace or touch, caress or tender reassurance.. I know that the weakness and the lack was mine. My wants not met my heart dried up and I found myself increasingly unable to maintain the semblance of togetherness. Descent into acrimonious exchange and harshness which left us both scarred ... all this I confessed to this unknown woman in an isolated confessional beneath a tree far distant from any world I had inhabited before.

Throughout she held my hand ... and I felt her arm around my shoulders as my story degenerated into sobbing self recrimination. We sat in silence. Gradually I became aware of the selfishness of my catharsis. She had also come here to be alone and her idyll had been sullied by my pain. I felt hollow, but it was the release of a boil lanced, an ache relieved, a strange freshness ... an unusual feeling of silent absolution received.

I raised my head to apologise and to offer to leave her in peace and discovered that the runnel tracks of tears which scored my cheeks were echoed on her beautiful face. As or eyes met a fresh stream welled up and poured unfettered and unattended across her smooth cheeks. My distress nearly destroyed me and the pain of all that I had projected on her gripped my heart in a vice .... until she began to speak.

She did not hang or hide her head but looked deep into my eyes as she shared her own story. Echoes of betrayal, searing shards of savage words uttered in anger, the ostraka of her own shattered relationship resonated so with my own story, yet with dark hues and hidden violence which shocked even my ears experienced in the depths of human tragedy. The bruises which she retained were below the surface, unseeable except when looking deeply into her eyes.

When all that could be said had been drained from us we sat in silence.

And the chirruping of the birds returned to bathe us in new beginnings, a hopeful sound without malice or pain or regret but ringing with delight in the present and thankfulness for being alive.

A deep sigh, then a shrug of her shoulders, as if it were possible to shake off the the scales of the past. "That water looks great out there" she said. "Shall we swim?" "Uuum, I thought that I was going to be the only one here ... and so ... I didn't bring my bathers ..."

She stood, and self consciously he became more aware of the difference in their ages. She was clearly still a young, vibrant woman, in the prime of her life, glowing with barely suppressed exuberant sexuality. I began to feel my nearly 50 years weighing me down. How would a thickening waist, thinning hair and ... well there were some things which just didn't work like I reminisced them being ... how would all this seem to her?? This sad reflection on my advancing path towards decrepitude was suddenly arrested.

"'Stand up" she ordered. To have a woman taking charge ... to have someone so self assured ... both unnerved me and excited me at the same time. "Before we go any further ... I want you to kiss me." I blushed. She wants me to ... is this just sympathy, a response to our pain rendered bare before one another? Is this just ... could she want .... what is happening ... Thoughts tossed back and forth in my brain. She sensed my dilemma and my hesitation ... and acted. She stepped forward and placed her hands on either side of my face. I could feel her fingers teasing through the hair over my ears and her thumbs caressing my cheeks. She leaned forward and, with slightly open pouted lips, she kissed me. Whatever tingling had been present before was blown into insignificance my the feel of her lips on mine. It was a

tender kiss, a kiss replete in understanding, a kiss which was so freely offered that the gift seemed to be immeasurable, a kiss which held promise of .. no I dared not hope for more than even this .. yet also a kiss which encapsulated a desire which had begun to resonate between us, ripples disturbing the air such that it began to ring in my ears.

She was in charge, yet my body and memories of engaging passion began to take hold on me also. As I wrapped my arms around her and took her closer into my embrace my tongue began to taste her lips, then finding her tongue well met in that space between us, they began to slide and dance and entwine with one another.

As I held her close I knew that she could not but be aware of my response to all that we were now sharing. Not wanting to rush this encounter I drew my hips back a little, yet hers thrust forward and ground from side to side, teasing me and setting loose an ache which I knew would only be released by ... oh I must contain my fantasies ... surely this is just a fantasy and when she sees the aging body before her I am sure the laughter will suppress the desire in both our loins ... but as long as she has not yet been deterred ... My hips responded and we held each other close.

Her hand, reaching around to hold then fondle my bum emboldened me. I lowered my arms behind her back and felt the warm smooth firm curves beneath her thin cotton skirt. As me hands began to move there I was surprised. I could feel the folds of the skirt, the thin material moving underneath my fingers, but I could not feel anything else, no other fabric or line delineated the curve as it rounded to her hips. And as I moved my hands towards the centre, presuming that there would be perhaps the thin cords of a thong ... again I found that the only fabric beneath my hands was the cotton which moved with silky smoothness beneath my hands.

She drew her head back for a moment and smiled at me. "I also thought I would be alone ... and it was so hot I felt more comfortable this way ... " Then she leaned in again to resume the passionate kiss which was already causing the seams of my shorts to strain. My hands moved on her bottom and as I did so I began to draw the thin cotton of her dress upwards. "MMMMMM" she moaned encouragingly.

As I felt the lower hem with my fingertips, then twirled my hands so that her warm soft cheeks were now cradled in my palms she thrust forward and began to rock her hips up and down against me. Oh .... up and down, and now that I knew that her pussy was there, barely beyond bare contact ... what had seemed hard before became almost excruciatingly stiff.

Delighting in the feel of her soft skin I let my hands run deep down into the cleft between the orbs which I was cradling. And I felt her shift her stance so that her legs were parted ... and my fingers made contact with her soft wet ... ooooh! I knew that if I did not get out pf these shorts soon they would be almost impossible to prise from my body!

She pulled back, and for a moment I wondered if I had gone too far, presumed too much,

probed where I was not really wanted. Yet she smiled. "As I said ... let's swim!" With swift confidence she stripped her blouse over her head and tossed it aside. No additional layer here either and her beautiful breasts were revealed, nipples hard and red seemed to reach out towards me. Interrupting my ogling her hands moved to the clasp securing the thin cotton skirt and as it dropped to her feet she looked up again into my eyes with desire and with challenge. Then she was gone.

"Come on slacker! Get your gear off and meet me in the water!"

By the time I had tossed my shirt aside, prised myself from my shorts and removed the hiking boots she was already at the water's edge. I watched her plunge forward and dive into the clear water, hoping that she might still be under the surface before I reached the edge and was able to conceal the evidence of years on my body. No such luck. She rose and turned, water streaming down over her breasts, hair flicked from her eyes I was deeply aware of the appraisal which I was receiving as I strode towards her.

I nearly stopped then and there, not wanting to spoil what had already been. She sensed my hesitation and raised an eyebrow "What's wrong? Don't be shy now!" Her chuckle seemed a little like mockery to my ears. I stopped. "Sorry" I muttered. "You would probably rather be here with someone younger, less messed up ... I ..." "Her voice sharply arrested my drooping confidence. "Hey. Why would I want a superficial young stud with no brains or maturity? You are ... just perfect. Now are you coming in or do I have to get out and chase you up and down the beach?!"

Sceptical about how much perfection I actually expressed I took up the challenge and strode forward towards her. She glanced down at the part of my anatomy which seemed to be leading the way and her smile took on a new and different angle. Then ... she licked her lips!!!! It was a long time since anyone had looked at me with anything approaching this desire - in fact never with such open and eager wanting! Yet as I came nearly within arms reach she squealed and dove sideways, doubling back to splash me before another quick turn placed her beyond my grasp.

We were like little children, splashing and dunking one another, diving underneath the water to try to knock each other's legs aside. I finally trapped her, my chest against her back, her arms trapped against her side, my feet solidly on the sandy bed beneath us and deep enough that my extra height prevented her achieving any purchase to trip me up. Her thrashing stilled and as she began to turn in towards me I loosened my hold, yet my arms remained locked around her body.

Now face to face, her head tilted back and the sparkle of playful desire in her eyes enticed and challenged me to take charge. As I leaned in to kiss her I felt her arms raise up to rest around my neck, over my shoulders and her body slid upwards against mine. Her legs parted as they rose and wrapped around my body, her ankles crossed behind my back. My hands ran down the knuckles of her spine, feeling the cleft between her cheeks opening and I cradled her again as I had when we had stood on the beach.

Yet now, with a different angle and with less layers to constrain us, the slow deliberate movement of her hips back and forward was intensified by the placement of our bodies against one another. For the open lips of her pussy were now sliding back and forward along my hard shaft ... back and forward ... back and forward. And in the coolness of the water she felt like fire against me.

Back and forward ... back and forward she moved ... and her nipples, softened by the water, again became hard stones rubbing against my chest. Back ... then back a little further she moved her hips and I felt the head of my penis move into the space between her lips ... and she held me there ... poised over the entrance of her vagina. If I thought I had seen a hint of wild abandon in her looks before ... if I thought I had glimpsed some of the passion for which I longed in any of her glances as we had played and romped in the water ... now her naked desire was clearly evident.

She looked deep into my eyes and drew our bodies together, plunging herself over me, plunging me into her, encapsulating me, embracing me, enthralling and claiming me. OOOOOH if I thought she was fire before I had now been immersed in lava, yet far from shrivelling in the heat it was a purifying fire, a tempering of the steel which hardened it and prepared it and completed all that had been made ready in the play which had gone before.

And plunged deep within her I could yet feel where our bodies met the pulsing of her lips. Holding me there within she pressed her lips against mine and began to rock her hips back and forward, each movement sending shivers and trembling along the full length of my shaft, each movement rubbing her clitoris against me and her lips up and down around the base of my penis.

Then, slowly at first, with rhythm mutually sensed, as if a harmony had already settled into the interaction of our bodies, I began to slide in and out of her hot wet pussy. She clung to me and, though it seemed like an exquisite eternity into which we were immersed it was but a little while before I felt her breath deepen and her body begin to tremble. I felt as well a familiar tingle and tightening in my balls and with a synchronicity which seemed to complete all that had brought us to this moment the cries of ecstasy which she uttered and the sudden thrusts with which she took me deep within her again and the grip with which her vagina held me ... and throbbed ... were echoed in my own cries, my own firm grip of our bodies together and my own climax as we came together.

What words could possible encapsulate or follow such an experience. We clung to each other, thankful for the buoyancy of the water which embraced us. Bedraggled and still, perhaps even more yet, beautiful she looked again into my eyes, a new wonder there which suggested that this may not be a culmination of what had been as much as the beginning of what was still to unfold. With parallel expression, which made us each burst out laughing our voices both uttered ... "Wow!"