I watched the sun drop behind the hills and the whole lavender field turned the color of a held breath. Rows run straight to the horizon, stitched into the dry earth, and the clouds above burn orange and gold like the sky's last fire. I didn't move. You wouldn't either. The light went soft, then softer, and the purple rows went dark at the edges while the tops still glowed. A breeze came through and everything moved at once, a slow wave with no sound. Somewhere a bird called twice and quit. The hills turned into black paper cutouts. First star, somewhere over my left shoulder. Then another. I stayed until I couldn't tell the purple from the gray. Some evenings ask for nothing but your attention. This one asked. I gave it. The dirt path between the rows is pale and stony, warm from the day. Bees had gone home. Or maybe they never left and I just stopped hearing them. The air smells like nothing I can name, dust and sugar and sleep. Night comes slow out here. I like it that way. I breathe it in. #lavender #sunset #fields #dusk
