Song to the Siren
You make your way inside the now dimly lit confines of the Espresso Pump. The wait staff is busy clearing tables and mopping the floor. Across the room, a lone figure sits atop a high stool on the barely raised surface of the cafe's "stage".
Clad in a charcoal sweater and blue jeans that nicely hug him, Rupert Giles lets one leg dangle while he hooks his other bootheel in the crossbar of the stool. He uses this bent knee to balance the polished acoustic guitar he is busily tuning after his latest performance.
He seems to keep scheduling these shows for when he knows you have to work. You could be rather annoyed with that except for the sneaking suspicion that you have that he is simply embarrassed to have you witness his rock star fantasy.
A brief tightening of his shoulder muscles alerts you to the fact that he has spotted you lurking in the perimeter of the room. His quick relaxation lets you know that he doesn't intend to let on to your presence yet. With a smile, you seat yourself in the shadows by the door.
Rupert strums a sweet brush stroke on the instrument's strings and lifts his head into the remaining light. His eyes, now unobstructed in the absence of his glasses, pick up the illumination and produce sparkling green magic.
When he opens his perfect mouth, the sound that issues forth steals your breath away.
Long afloat on shipless oceans
I did all my best to smile
'Til your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving to your isle
And you sang
Sail to me
Sail to me
Let me enfold you
Here I am
Here I am
Waiting to hold you
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you hare when I was fox?
Now my foolish boat is leaning
Broken lovelorn on your rocks,
For you sing, "Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow:
O my heart, O my heart shies from the sorrow"
I am puzzled as the newborn child
I am troubled at the tide:
Should I stand amid the breakers?
Should I lie with Death my bride?
Hear me sing, "Swim to me, Swim to me, Let me enfold you:
Here I am, Here I am, Waiting to hold you"
When Rupert's hand stills the strings you stand and walk to him. He smiles at you and stands, laying his guitar across the top of the stool. He opens his mouth to speak but your finger against his lips quiets him. Seconds later, your mouth replaces it. As your kiss shows its appreciation for what his lovely mouth has just performed, his arms come around you, enfolding you in his embrace.
"Song to the Siren" lyrics by Tim Buckley
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| The character of Rupert Giles and the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer were created by Joss Whedon and are © Fox. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made. |