Rose Damascene

Sitting on the bus, Jayde is wearing her best pink skirt and a white top. Her eyes are lined with black and her lips are red. She wears her new gold earrings, and her hair is managed by her ivory white beret. It is a warm summer's day so she wears her sun glasses, even in the shade.

The bus trundles through the forests and along the country roads as it approaches the city. She is sat at the front so she can see the way ahead. She doesn't like buses. Not at all. Today is different though. Today Jayde is pushing her boundaries.

Somewhere ahead of her, somewhere in the city, is the girl called Jester.

Jayde watches the passing landscape without seeing it. In her mind, is the memory of Jester's eyes and lips on her screen and in her mind she hears the echo of Jester's melodious voice. More people get on board the bus as it draws closer to the city centre, but Jayde pays them no attention. Brash teenagers laugh and tussle behind her but she doesn't notice them. She sits in her own thoughts, the scent of rose Damascene and prickly pear rising from her body and fuelling her imagination.

Eventually the bus reaches her stop and with a nervous fission in her stomach, she dismounts in anonymity along with many others. The street is full of people, young and old, laughing and talking. To her right stands an old woman muttering to herself. Jayde eyes the woman as she passes her by, wondering what journey through life brought them so close together for just that moment. The woman's eyes glance at Jayde and for a heartbeat they see each other's recognition. Their two souls each adrift see themselves in the other.

Jayde has agreed to meet Jester outside the train station but due to the bus schedule she arrives twenty minutes early and for a long moment she stands still, looking around her at the crowds of travellers passing in and out of the big building. She glances at her phone. No messages. She walks over to a nearby café and orders café au lait. The young man wrinkles his brow, so she repeats her order, saying latte instead. He nods and turns to his machine. Jayde looks out of the window at the station entrance, then back at her phone. Seven minutes to go.

Paying for her drink she makes her way back outside and sits at a small table. She fishes up her ear buds and finds a song she likes. Five minutes to go. From this spot she can see every one leaving the station. She sips her drink. Latte is not as good as café au lait she thinks to herself, though objectively she knows there isn't really any difference between the two. Crowds of people walk by her, this is one of the busiest parts of the city, and her eyes automatically follow each woman to see how they are dressed.

Her phone buzzes and she swipes it open.

"I'm here"

Picking up her latte, Jayde stands up and stares across to the station. She sees Jester suddenly appear in the pillared entrance and for a moment, she considers running away. Her mouth is suddenly very dry and the electric feeling in her lower abdomen is almost unpleasant. She walks to the road crossing where the light is red. Jester is standing a hundred yards away, looking at her phone. There is no message from Jayde because Jayde has been too nervous to write anything. For Jayde this moment has roots that extend further back than she can even remember. As she waits for the light to turn green, her memories flood with myriad reflections from the past, fervent dreams that came to nothing and yearnings that were denied. Books that offered solace and music that drowned sorrows. She remembers friends whom she loved and friends who have died and who will never see her in this pregnant moment of long awaited anticipation.

The light turns green and as she starts to cross the road, she sees Jester's eyes catch hers. Her sudden flash of panic is replaced by wonder as Jester smiles, her beautiful wide lips curving in delicate hesitation. Jayde sees the pause and behind it, the pleasure of recognition. Jester's emotions blossom on her face as they draw closer and both open their arms wide. This moment, this golden moment, in the summer sun, in the city of her birth after years of uncertainty and doubt -- this moment will live for ever in Jayde's heart. No matter what comes next, she will never know another moment like this one. As Jester bends closer, her eyes seeking permission, Jayde tilts up her head and meets the lips she has thought about for months.