A2

Retreat

a place of privacy or safety (Merriam-Webster)

Who would've imagined this old place...gutted and made to be pretty...?  That staircase wasn't there before....where the dance floor used to be. There's the stage door....still in the same place...opening right onto the busy street.   How many times was I snuck in attached to one band or another....jokingly labeled a groupie but really just passionate about being lost in the music and dancing.  The cheap beer didn't hurt.   I close my eyes and I'm transported to another time.....another place....and with my eyes closed I can sense that old warm energy licking my skin and my hair....warming my heart within the frozen casing of armor.  A moment can last forever in my vivid memory.