Nepal
1920 BS
In the month of Mangsir
~
they met on the cold misty hillside.
Mist draped the mountains
their peaks covered in clouds.
Green terraces stretched along the hills.

~
She stood on a greenway
draped in a flowing Nepalese traditional dress
her long hair rippling in the soft gusts of air.
She turned & their eyes met
deep, significant & dreamlike.

~
Suddenly
tears welled in her eyes.
& for reasons he couldn’t name
they welled in his too
He reached to wipe them away
but with the cold wind of Mangsir
she disappeared
like every shade of burning paper blown toward the sky.
~
She disappeared
~
She disappeared
Yet
if she loved him
why didn't she leave a flower
where he first wiped her tears?

Why?