The Approaching Curve

The music blaired with a calming frequency
The speakers gently seeped the sound of ambient keyboards and light percussion
Creating a seductive soundtrack to our midnight drive through curtains of blackness
The windows were cold to the touch
Reflecting the icy conditions in our immediate extremity
Salt stains and fingerprints littered the glass
And streaks of melting snow cascaded down its length
The music pulsed louder, but gentle
Like the far away squeal of a pot of boiling water
The skyline was glowing faintly with vague hints of an impending dawn
The car raced along a painfully straight stretch of road
And she hadn't so much as turned the steering wheel two degrees in the last twenty minutes
Nor had we spoken

As we were, so perfect, so happy
They'll remember only our smiles
'Cause that's all they'd seen
Long since dried, when we are found
Are the tears in which we had drowned
As we were, so perfect, so happy

"Why are you doing this?" she spoke as if not expecting a response
Her voice penetrated the still air of our speechless drive
So suddenly that my heart had jumped
"I'm not doing anything", I said, but I didn't even believe that myself
"This is what's best, for me, for you, for us", or maybe just for me I thought
As a tear formed in the pit of her eye
The music poured through the speakers and we were losing ourselves in the cadence
She looked down momentarily and closed her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink
Then she was crying, then she was shouting
Then I was shouting, now pouring confessions
Having no answers or solutions
We barely even knew the questions

As we were so perfect, so happy
They'll remember, only our smiles
'Cause that's all they'd seen
Long since dried, when we are found
Are the tears in which we had drowned
As we were so perfect, so happy

Don't put me underground
I was meant for a life somewhere else
Please, love, give me the wheel
Before both of our hearts you
Will steal tonight
(Will steal tonight)

As we were so perfect, so happy
They'll remember, only our smiles
'Cause that's all they'd seen
Long since dried, when we are found
Are the tears in which we had drowned
As we were so perfect, so happy

Our cracking voices became part of the music
The car pressed on faster through the night
As our voices lowered, the cadence again overtook the air
Up ahead there was a curve approaching
She made no indications of slowing