free-flowing water. It smelled of lilies and roses and fresh oak, but they had no words to describe the aroma. I could only imagine them now, silent and blank, face to face with an otherworldly dream brought to reality. I could only hope they found it beautiful.“ Mercury! Wolfram!” I lunged at them, wrapped my arms around their shoulders, pulled them close, and peppered their cheeks with kisses and tears.“ I love you, I love you, I love you!”
“ What is this?” Wolfram asked.
“ The springs! The springs I told you about! The water and warmth and, and, and …”
My voice trailed off. I was shaking, though not from the cold anymore. I rubbed my eyes on my sleeve. I sighed, then smiled. I can’ t cry now. Focus.
“ Words won’ t do this justice,” I growled. I turned back to the water and took to unbuttoning my shirt.“ You need to feel this. Follow me.”
“ Is this safe?” Mercury asked.
I rolled my eyes and cast my shirt into the snow.“ Would I do it if it wasn’ t?”
“ Surely there can’ t be this much clean water in one place.”
“ The world is big, Mercury. Your heads are gonna explode when you find out what a beach is.”
The snow on my skin was gentle. I took a deep breath of the steam. Whatever filth crawled in my lungs from the cave was now to be purged. Everything ached, but the water would cure it. Nothing was sure but my love and the water.
Wolfram followed my lead in undressing.“ I would hope so. If I crawled through that cave for the world to be small, I wouldn’ t know whether to hate you or myself.”“ Why not both?” Wolfram stared at me. I grimaced.
18 TEMPO MAGAZINE— SPRING 2025