D A W N

The cool, dark hours pass. Through the half-open window, the stars slowly fade as the heavens evolve from crystalline blue-black, through deep purple and magenta, to hazy gray. Even the bright gleam of Venus, newly risen in the eastern sky, yields to the warm glow of feathery, rose-tinted clouds, scattered over the horizon. In the oak tree outside the window the twittering of sparrows and finches heralds the arrival of the new day.

Sleeping on her side, she breathes slowly, evenly. As the room gradually lightens, so does her slumber. The first glint of sunlight from behind the distant hills creeps along the rumpled sheet, falls upon her pillow, touches and warms her hand. The corners of her mouth curl slightly upward, hinting at an inner serenity. She luxuriates in the warmth surrounding her, wriggles her backside against the adjacent form of her sleeping mate. He shifts position, draping his arm over her. They doze.

A breeze stirs. The clean scent of dew-bejeweled grass, mown the day before, mingles with the lingering, musky aroma of their passion from hours earlier. Slowly, she awakens to the deepening cadence of her lover's breathing; to the tingling caress of his hand on her belly; to the gentle rhythm of his love once again pulsing within her. Answering the glad, tangerine radiance of the rising sun, her smile spreads, deepens, fills her soul.

=SAJ=