tell me a story

prompt: Write a story that includes the words: art, complain, diamond
word count: 290

***

“Tell me a story?” she asked, turning her head to look at him where he lay on his back nearby her.

“No.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you always complain that my stories are boring, that is why,” he responded crossing his arms over his chest.

“Please. I will not complain, I promise. I just cannot sleep and -”

“My stories bore you to sleep. Understood.”

“No. Your voice. I - it calms me.” She wrinkled her eyebrows in thought.

He released an exaggerated sigh. “Fine,” he answered looking up at the night sky, the stars twinkling like diamonds in vast blackness above him.

“Wait,” she said suddenly. There was a rustling beside him and he looked over to see her scooting her sleeping mat closer to him. “Okay go.”

He looked back at the sky, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

“This is not the first time we have met,” he began, “We have met many times before, spanning many lifetimes, many languages, many countries. Some lifetimes ended after many years together, some just a stolen night, some just a few seconds. Sometimes we were enemies, desperate to end each other. Sometimes we were lovers, desperate for the other's touch. We loved, we hated, but regardless of the reason, we were always drawn together.”

She moved closer to him, snuggling her head against his abdomen and he put his arm around her shoulders protectively.

“Because thou art the one which my soul belongs,” he continued, “for it is thy soul as well.”

He looked down to see her eyes had closed and her breathing slowed in a peaceful cadence. The corner of his mouth pulled up in a half smile.

“Only in death are we truly apart, at least until the next lifetime starts.”