The first time I saw you,

I heard the rustle of leaves.

Looking down at your feet,

I expected to see them there,

covering the floor,

but it was bare.

The first time you took my hand,

I heard the whisper of leaves

and a breeze rose up

around us. It was filled

not with leaves, but

with fractures of light

filling the air like dreams

given physical form.

The first time we kissed,

I once again heard

the crinkle of leaves.

Opening my eyes,

I saw they surrounded us,

fluttering through the air,

as if we were at the centre

of a whirlwind.

When you took your lips

away from mine,

the beautiful leaves

gave a happy sigh,

as if in content and

flew into the wind

away from us.

As they flew up

towards the sky,

so did my heart,

swelling full of wind

infused with wishes

made reality. Letting out

a happy sigh of my own,

I leaned in to kiss you again

and heard only

the sound of wind

and wishes fulfilled.

 

 * For Michael who is a wish granted. 

How are you sir?

 

I turned around

and saw the

man who had

been working the

table in front

of me. The

table was covered

in all sorts

of rings and

things that glittered.

 

I’m fine, thank you.

 

And how is your pocket?

 

My pocket?

 

I reached into

it and pulled

out some Kleenex

and a pack

of gum. I

showed them to

him, unsure of

what this was

about. A woman

behind him said:

 

Where did you put the silver ring?

 

It’s right there on the table.

 

I didn’t like

where this was

going. Being accused

of theft amongst

a crowd of

people, all of

them looking at

me. I pointed:

 

It’s right there, in the display tray.

 

I saw you put something into your pocket. Make him empty the other one.

 

The woman was

scowling, trying to

figure out what

I had done

when I had

done nothing wrong.

 

Would you mind sir? Empty the other pocket please.

 

I nodded, not

wanting to anger

either of them.

I unzipped my

pocket and the

store became brighter

as if lit

by the sun.

 

What is that?

 

Another woman said

this, and she

leaned down to

look in my

coat pocket. I

saw more light

as she opened

it further. She

let out a

small, soft cry.

When she stood,

she was crying

but a smile

was on her

face, making her

ten years younger.

 

I just saw myself dancing with my husband. That was fifty years ago and he’s ten years gone. It was the happiest moment of my life. Thank you.

 

She touched my

arm and another

person moved forward,

this time a

man. He was

old and walked

with a cane.

 

Mind if I have a look?

 

He bent down

and looked inside

my pocket. The

brilliance of light

increased around us.

He let the

pocket close and

stood back up.

He was smiling

from ear to

ear, and his

smile radiated a

glow that matched

his eyes. He

shook my hand.

 

Thank you, sir! Thank you! I saw the day I met my husband. We’ve been together for thirty years but only got married a few years ago. God, he looked so good back then. Still does.

 

He gave me

his cane with

a roguish wink.

 

I won’t be needing this anymore.

 

People began to

gather closer to

me, all of

them looking at

my pocket with

intense curiosity. The

woman who had

accused me stared

with something like

hunger. The man

who ran the

store came closer.

 

Can you empty your pocket sir? I’d like to see what’s in there for myself.

 

I nodded, not

sure of what

else to say.

 

Don’t do it! It’s a trick! He’s working magic!

 

She licked her

lips as she

said this, hungry

even for something

she didn’t understand.

I reached into

my pocket and

felt something there,

a sphere shaped

object. Slowly I

pulled it out

of my pocket

The brightness was

instantaneous and as

I held onto

the sphere, the

light grew even

brighter still. I

wondered if the

light was coming

from the sphere

or from me.

As more people

cried out, each

seeing the moment

in their lives

that had made

them the happiest,

I could resist

no longer. I

looked directly into

the light and

saw a man’s

face. I wondered

who he could

be, who he

was. I had

never seen him

before. The light

began to dim

slowly as if

receeding back into

the sphere. When

it was dark

again, I looked

up and saw

the man I

had seen in

the light across

the room, looking

right at me.

As he walked

towards me, I

could feel the

sphere grow warm.

As he drew

closer to me,

brightness bloomed once

more. Then he

was right in

front of me

and took my

free hand in his.

The brilliance grew

brighter still until

we were both

bathed in light.

I could hear

them as they

walked up the

sidewalk. One man

was wearing a

bright red shirt

that said “My

other car is

a Delorean” and

the other wore

a backwards baseball

cap with the

words “Yo Bitches”

stitched in black.

You SO cannot tell who’s gay. What do you know about gay people?

The one in

the hat said,

his voice full

of derision and

disdain. His friend

in the Delorean

t-shirt punched him

in the arm.

I can SO tell who’s gay Like that guy there? He’s gay. There’s a girl on his t-shirt and no self respecting straight guy would wear that.

Hermione from the

Harry Potter series

was on my shirt.

That didn’t matter

though. You can’t

tell what sexuality

someone is from

what they’re wearing.

As they came

closer, Delorean stepped

in my path.

Yo, question for you. Are you gay?

I wondered how

to respond to

him. Educate or

mock him? I

decided on mockery.

I AM very happy, thank you for asking.

No, what I meant was-

I know what you meant. And what does that matter?

Delorean pointed to

Yo Bitches and

gave me a

smile that was

meant to put

me at ease.

My friend here and I are trying to settle an argument.

I decide to

play dumb. It’s

worked well before.

What argument is that?

Whether you can tell if someone is gay by what they’re wearing.

I look them

both up and

down. I smile.

Don’t worry. No one can tell, just keep walking and be fabulous.

Their stunned looks

are joined by

my laughter as

I walk away.

 

I was walking

along the sidewalk.

There was a

sound of sirens

in the air

and the third

fire truck I

had seen z       o          o          m         e          d

by me. A

woman I didn’t

know stopped in

front of me.

What do you think is going on?

I had no idea.

That’s the sixth one I’ve seen. I saw three more earlier.

There must be something terrible happening.

We watched as

even more of

them arrived, their

lights flashing in

the air like

clouds filled with

lightning. The woman

pointed to one

of the bright

red engines. It

looked like a

slash of blood

on the pavement.

That must be the fire marshal. What do you think he’s doing with that canister?

I don’t-

My words were

cut off when

the earth shook

around us and

the air filled

with screaming. People

started to fall

from far up,

hitting the ground

as if they

were embracing it.

One girl landed

by my feet,

hitting the ground

with a sickening

splat. The woman

beside me began

crying. The girl

was still alive,

breathing with a

wet hollow sound.

Where’s the smoke?

One boy cried.

Where’s the fucking fire?

I kneeled down

beside the girl

and held her.

I wanted her

last moment to

be one of

kindness. She turned

her eyes towards

mine and they

were glassy with

pain. She reached

out one hand

to my scarf,

smearing it’s red

and gold colours

with blood She

spoke so softly.

Harry Potter?

She said. I

could only nod.

I like your scarf.

She said. Then

she closed her

eyes as the world

came apart around

all of us

and the air

began to fill

with fog like

smoke until I

could no longer

see the girl.

She held on

to my scarf

though, and refused

to let go.

I passed by the store window

and for a moment thought

the mannequin’s were real people.

I wondered why they were

stuck behind the glass.

Then it occurred to me

what they were, that

they weren’t real,

no matter how lifelike

they looked. I was about to

keep walking when one of

the mannequin’s winked at me.

I stared, thinking I had

imagined it. She was pretty,

with a short blond bob,

her eyes covered with

blue eye shadow that

made her grey eyes sparkle.

She winked at me again

and one of her fingers

wiggled at me, telling me

to come closer. Swallowing

my fear, I went into the store.

It smelled of honeysuckle

and roses. A kindly woman

stood behind the counter.

How may I help you sir?

Her voice was like music

and had a lilt to it that

I couldn’t recognize.

I’m sorry, this is going to sound nuts, but-

One of the ladies winked at you, didn’t they?

She said this with a smile,

as if it were an everyday occurrence.

How did you know?

Oh, they wink at people who need the most assistance.

What kind of assistance?

Oh, all kinds of things. Lost keys, lost hearts, lost dreams. Which one was it that winked at you?

I turned and looked at

the mannequins and pointed

at the one with the blonde bob.

It was her.

Oh, Estelle! She helps those seeking love! She’s delightful. If she’s brought you in here, it won’t take long now. She’s very good.

What do you mean?

Watch.

A man was walking by the store

and stopped just as I had. He looked

at the blonde haired mannequin, Estelle,

and I watched as she crooked a finger at him.

He was tall with sandy coloured hair

and soft blue eyes. I saw him blink

in surprise and then look at the store.

How does she know he’s someone I’ll fall in love with? Are the mannequins alive?

The woman laughed and it was a sound

that reminded me of the tinkling of bells.

If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.

Try me.

Magic.

I laughed. Magic? Really?

She smiled. There are all kinds of magic. You just have to be open enough to receive them.

The bell above the door jangled

as the man entered the store.

When he looked at me, a spark

passed between us. It zapped

through the air and heat ran

along my body.

See? She said.

Magic.