Cast a Spell

-The music spirals in the air between them, they look onto the road ahead. His smile still lingering, her hand in his. The car turns, right, right, right, then left. With each turn she sways to the side. With each right, she sways away and he tugs gently on her hand to keep her close. With the final left, she comes a little closer and the muscles on his face, tug a little more, widening his smile. She looks at him and she smiles, also. There’s something wonderful here.
The car stops and the engine idles, then becomes silent. He doesn’t move. There’s something about the moment, just there. He looks at her. She can feel it. She laughs. “Wei?” she asks. He shakes his head with a grin. There’s a kiss, and they both smile. He wants to hold the moment. Slowly his hand reaches for the door and it opens, moments before he’s ready to step outside, before he’s ready to let go.
He opens her door. They stand there, the door still open, her scent surrounding him. There’s nothing else. He holds her close. With a smile, “Should we just stand here?” he says. She smiles, he laughs and takes her hand guiding her. Closing the car door, they walk toward the gravel walkway, the one leading to his aunt’s house, the one he hasn’t seen in years. It was the conversation they had earlier that made him want to visit. And being the new year, he would never have had it any other way, but to have her, the one holding his hand, with him.
The space inside the home is distinct, different and unfamiliar, but none of that matters, so long as she’s there with him. And they sit. They sit there, as if there is only the space between them. If this could be more real. Their hands still in each other’s hold, it is hard sometimes for him to let go. And he smiles at the warmth. She laughs when he kisses her suddenly, as they sit quietly together.
He looks at her, his smile bursting. “There’s a song,” he says, “and it keeps playing in my head. The lyrics ‘I cast a spell on you’ and it’s like they’re your words.” She smiles, and he thinks she understands.