* * * *
I awoke to the static of a radio as it switched channels. I was lying on a red fur rug. I got up and stretched my limbs and saw her.
She was sitting on an off-white Danish sofa with short wooden legs. She was wearing skinny jeans, cowboy boots, and a pink oversized cashmere sweater. Her hair was in a French braid. The walls were covered with mirrors in frames of various shapes and colors.
“It never had to consider another person before,” she said, eyes wide in astonishment. “It’s overwhelmed. I-I-I was afraid to touch you in case—”
I rose to my feet. “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Hearing the fear and uncertainty in her voice made me drop to my knees in front of her.
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “I thought I was never going to see you again.”
Something squeezed my heart, making it difficult to swallow. I blinked back tears. “I’m sorry.”
She laughed as her tears fell. She placed her hands on my cheeks. “There is nothing to apologize for.”
I shook my head. “I still don’t remember.”
She ran her fingers down my hair. “It will take time. What’s important is we’re together now.”
“But I don’t know what’s behind that door.”
“We’ll face it together anyway.”
We held hands and turned toward the door. It bore no strain or injury. Its doorknob was intact. She wrapped her hand around the knob and looked at me over her shoulder.
I nodded.
She pushed the door open, and we stepped into a new world.
The Proposal by Shara G.
The evening sun glowed orange as it raced to set behind the distant crags to the west. As I walked out onto the balcony, I found him watching the swans drifting on the pond below. Li Wei leaned heavily on the stone wall. He was wearing the royal blueYuanlingpaowith golden embroidered phoenixes; such a lovely garment. I gave it to him five years ago, when we were first getting to know each other. His shoulder-length black hair was still scruffy, though. He was twenty-three, thin and gangly, with beautiful, fine features and the biggest brown doe eyes I’d ever seen. Li Wei had been part of my life for five years. Now I don’t know that I could live without him. After three weeks on the road, I was home and had news from his homeland. Our lives were about to change forever.
I went to him, sidling up and leaning against the wall next to him. Li Wei gave me his classic side smirk, putting his arm around me and pulling me close. “Back from your trip, my king?”
“King? Am I a king suddenly?”
“Of course,” he said. “Have you forgotten?”
I sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could. But it’s Jun to you. No need to be so formal.”
“I’m happy you’re back, Jun.”
“As am I. It was a long trip. Negotiations were difficult.”
“Oh? What were you negotiating for?”
I looked into his eyes, those same eyes I’d fallen in love with years ago. “Do you remember how you came to me? Five years ago, you were a scared young boy coming to the court of a king as a hostage.”
His smile faded a little as his mind wandered back to those days. “The end of the War of Succession. My father and elder brother were gone. My other brother, Jian, told me I had no choice. I wanted to stay home and mourn, but he wouldn’t letme. I arrived here on the day of a funeral.”
The funeral of my lover, Kai. The first man I’d ever loved and one of the greatest warriors I knew. He fought for me, led my armies against my uncle’s, and gave me hope and love when I needed them most. The one thing he never did was tell me that he was sick. “Kai. He carried my army through the worst times. I will never forget his spirit. He lived just long enough to bring about the future he wanted to see. I was cruel to you back then, Li Wei.” Li Wei was so disruptive when he first entered the palace, fighting loudly with his brother, who had to drag him in through the gates. Li Wei’s noisiness bothered the mourners in the antechamber of the main throne room, where I still knelt bleary-eyed over Kai’s coffin. I ordered the guards to take Li Wei to the dungeon and lock him in a cell where I had left him for three weeks.
“I forgave you for that,” he said. “I had it coming to me.”
“No, you didn’t. I was wrong. I never should have…”
“It’s alright. That’s in the past, Jun.”
