Listening to Savage Garden in Secret

You and me, both vicar’s kids, ached for unnameable things. We sat on your bed, a little bit past fifteen, and waited for the soft click of your dad’s study door so we could risk the slip of our favorite disc into your CD player. Track 1: Affirmation. Darren Hayes crooned “I believe…” and we sang along—for once believing did not drown us. You showed me a diary written in code, hidden in the back of your bookshelf. I showed you the cage where I kept my heart and the retainer I wore to keep from grinding my teeth.

Photo Credit: Mercedes Blanco