Passegiatta Pt. 02

The first one returned as before; it rose from the water slowly and looked at Goodwin again. Silence . . . incredible stillness . . . only the faintest note of water passing between them . . . the hot breath of a million cycles . . . cycles of instinct and understanding . . .

The second dolphin slipped quietly from water and into the moonlight, and this one looked at Goodwin, then at the woman on his back. Then two dolphins came forward and touched Goodwin's outstretched hands, and as quickly slipped under the water and disappeared.

Goodwin felt her trembling through the hot skin of his back, but from the coldness of the water, or the symmetry of the encounter, he could not tell. She loosened her grip, he turned to face her, felt her nakedness conforming to his, and he looked into her eyes. She leaned into him, kissed him, reached down and rubbed him, then eased onto him.

He felt the warmth of her hand, then the all encompassing warmth of her womb as he entered her. He held her as they began to rock in the ebb and flow of a universe now all around them, her hands moved up and over his shoulders, her legs clasped his hips, and he met the pulsations of her need with instincts driven by a million cycles of need.

It built slowly, surely, this release, and he drove into her, held her against the mounting pressure until he felt himself give in to the pleasure she alone could commanded, and soon he felt this release pouring into the womb of the night.

Only then was he aware of them again, of the two dolphins. They were circling this new union, protecting the sanctity of this joining, holding fast to the music of the cycles, to the music of the night.

Goodwin felt first one, then the other as they swam closer and closer, and finally as they brushed against the back of his legs. He felt them brush against Margherita, felt her orgasm stiffen through the pulses of the bodies that touched her.

She slowed, returned to this earth from her journey through the stars, placed her mouth on his and he felt the warmth of their love chase the coolness from the water around them.

They held one another, kissed once again, then slipped apart. He put an arm around her waist and turned toward the rocks. The Doncasters and Elsie stood transfixed in the moonlight, as too did Paulo. Everything was naked and silent as if on the first day of creation, for there was no context for this union, for this passage.

Goodwin did not feel uncomfortable or ashamed. He did not know what had happened, or why, only that something beyond human understanding had been commanded, and had as naturally been enfolded into human experience. He felt different, altered, and if there was an opposite to feeling alone, this was the feeling that washed over him now.

He walked up onto the rocks and reached back to help Margherita climb out into the moonlight; Mary Ann passed their clothing and left them to dress in silence, then Goodwin and Margherita walked back to the road; soon, hand in hand, they followed theirs friends back toward the village.

Elsie turned and looked at the sea, to the hot beating hearts that dwelt there, then she turned and looked at Goodwin.

She smiled, because she understood, she smiled because these human had over time lost sight of something elemental, and only now, deep in the womb of the sea, they had regained something precious.

Would they hold on to each other? Would this rebirth be lost in the light of a new day?

Elsie turned and ran after Goodwin, settled in beside him as he walked. Every once in a while she looked up at him, at the music in his eyes, and she smiled.

End Part II