A Perfect New Year's Eve

We ended the year in the cold, by a fire, pouring our regrets into the flame. A little family and a group of friends, happy people all. Growing happier sharing the warmth of each other on a winter's night. We looked for answers in the embers, knowing nothing much would change. But we hadn't lost hope thus far, and were so very glad we came. All the dregs of the year we consecrated to the fire, and all our hopes as well. Down to ash it went to make room for something new. I sat there. You sat there too. We lit firecrackers full of joy, and scattered our own luminance across a glittering sky. We added soft creases around our smiles and returned that hunger to our eyes. We became beloved of the Moon and it's laughing sisters, the Stars. We sipped wine and told stories, refined laughter into a three-act play. There was so much we kept hidden, so much that made us afraid. But that night we became who we were meant to be, and so the Joy came to our souls, and there it stayed. We watched the Sun rise over a forest meadow, and saw the dawn deer quench their thirst with the morning dew. We saw the leaves of the grandfather trees, stern and tall and wise, with all that morning light shining through. We saw the ghost of Kipling walk across and get into the jeep. No sounds of traffic or crowds, just the swish of the mosquito net, as we lay down to sleep. We found what we were looking for. Momentarily, in each other. We looked at stranger's faces and saw nothing but a sister and a brother. We ended the year happy, full of all the things we really need. True friendship, love, and a perfect meal, every time. Our New Year began like a prayer. The way it's meant to be.