Black Silk

Finally, it was time to indulge in the most decadent thing she’d ever worn.  She tried to give this to herself once a year.  Once a year she wore nothing but black silk.

Earlier in the day, she had stripped her sun dress over her head, dropped it to the sand next to her bag and froze in pleasure.  Her firm belief had become firmer.  Yes, the first time in the year that the sun and wind caresses every inch of skin you can possibly give to it is one of the sweetest moments of each year.  She had pulled the sensations of the warm sand up through her feet and concentrated on spreading that through her limbs.  Then she had set off for the water. 

She started stripping slowly in preparation for this moment of the year.  First came her forearms and a bit of ankle between her shoe and pant leg.  For a couple weeks, that’s all that she could expose to the cooler air.  But she was so eager for the touch of the sun she indulged the small spots that could handle the weather.

 Gradually the creeping months peeled back her sleeves, revealing the elbows and continuing the slide upwards to her shoulder.  Her pants became lighter and shorter.  She felt less weight pressing her down as the days went on and there was a feeling of giddiness descending around her.  She now had slightly tanned arms and her legs loved the heat of the sun.

As the sun grew hotter, she traded tennis shoes for toenail polish and flip flops.  Straight heavy skirts were cheerfully abandoned for light summer dresses that let air flow through her outfits.  Then the summer dresses came off leaving a bikini. 

Then she traded the bikini for black silk.  Tonight.

She sunk into the water and watched the sky turn darker and darker.  Eventually the entire world wore black and she felt in suspended in it.  She laughed at the moon and pulled herself into a ball.  Flipping, she drove herself down, further into the core.  She could feel blackness slide along her body and she turned, rising towards the surface.   The night air was cool on her face but she could still feel the blackness on her face.  The separation between the two surfaces was less defined here.  She was less defined here.

She lingered as long as she dared and then, drawing in a breath and smoothing her hair back from her forehead, she headed towards the beach.  She started the slow process of dressing again. 

First the bikini and then a sundress….