mirage
Mirage Blues
Once Elise was on the promenade deck, she gazed at the sparkling moonlight reflected on the waves. This gold and silver wake appeared to her as a carpet rolled out by invisible sea creatures, thereby ensuring that the Île-de-France would never lose its bearing until finally reaching New York. The star-studded and cloudless sky heralded a peaceful Atlantic crossing. The fresh ocean air made Elise shiver. She promptly wrapped herself in her scarlet red velvet stole. All of a sudden, she heard heels hurriedly clicking on the lower deck. She leaned over the guardrail and recognized the couple that she had noticed when boarding. Breathless, the young lady was running, roaring with laughter at the same time, whilst her GI beau, laughing as much as her, followed close behind, trying to catch up with her. He managed to grasp her by the wrist. She twirled round and like a magnet was drawn close to his chest. He showered her with intoxicating kisses, whispering sweet nothings into her hear. Then he started humming a Lindy Hop beat1, enticing her to dance with him before she even had the time to catch her breath. After a few minutes of tumultuous dancing, the young lady playfully pushed her partner away, leaned against the guardrail and tilted her head back. He promptly threw himself on her, covering her throat with burning kisses. Slightly ticklish, she could not put up with such exquisite torture for more than a few seconds before giggling. He hugged her passionately, just as Bradley would have done in the same situation. This sudden thought cast a cloud over Elise’s already gloomy mood.
“This is a pure and precious moment of happiness that I’ll never be able to afford again”, she lamented deep down.
“This is a pure and precious moment of happiness that I’ll never be able to afford again”, she lamented deep down.
1 - Dance originating in Harlem in the mid-20s, derived from swing dance and similar to boogie-woogie, considered to be the precursor of rock’n’roll.