This path is harder to navigate in the increasing darkness of the dusk...

Shadows made the way seem narrower, and the bushes seemed to reach toward Emily more insistently. Panic percolated within her and she began to doubt herself.

"Maybe I should have waited for Evan," she said aloud to hear something human in the wildness around her.

But when she broke through the final clutch of branches, she was rewarded for her bravery with the most gorgeous sunset she ever bore witness to.

Pillowing clouds of lavender floated in a backdrop of deepening purple, and the whole thing delicately streaked with shades of mauve. They pressed down upon the sun, which was now a faint orange ball resting low against the horizon. The crescent moon was a barely visible white scar, a mere sliver high above. The reeds and rushes rudely interrupted the scene with a ribbon of deep green, nearing black, before the water reflected the shades of violet above so that it was a gently moving twin of the sky above.

Emily sat down to take it all in.

It feels like I've stepped into a piece of art... But I can't decide if it is a canvas or a song...

Her eyes told her it was a painting of the most spectacular landscape. But her heart told her it was a song, because the way it made her feel was a combination of delicate appreciation and melancholy.

And I know which song this moment would be...

She took out her phone and listened to the violins begin. The delicate keening strings were soon joined by a quivering flute and the honeyed voice of Nat King Cole. Tears sprung into Emily's eyes as he sang "And now the purple dusk of twilight time steals across the meadow of my heart..."

The opening line of the tale of loss encapsulated in "Stardust" partnered with the sky before her in a beautifully painful way.

It's too much to handle... It feels like my heart is burning inside my chest...

Her eyes erupted in trails of silent, bitter tears.

With the line, "Sometimes I wonder why I spend the lonely night dreaming of a song..." she truly wept and allowed herself to release a loud sob that she had been containing.

No sooner had she lost control of her emotions than she heard Evan.

"Oh God Emily! Are you okay? What's wrong? Has something happened?" He knelt beside her with a blanket in his arms.

This is so embarrassing...

Emily wiped the cuffs of her sweater across her eyes and nose. "No... Nothing... It's nothing... I'm fine," she mumbled through her frantic face wiping.

Evan set the folded blanket in a heap on the ground behind them. "No, you're obviously not fine. Even an idiot like me can see that."

His brows dipped into his eyes as he fretted. His hand lifted, then hesitated a minute before finally reaching over to pull her onto his lap for an embrace.

Emily protested, "Really... I'm okay..." But she couldn't say it without a small hiccup in her voice and another trickle of the damnable tears that wouldn't abate.

Evan made soft shushing sounds into her hair and rubbed her back. Emily could feel that his gestures weren't born from lust but rather from his desire to comfort.

Yet this still feels strangely passionate...

He didn't press her to talk, but after a few minutes when she was finally quiet, he did.

"You really make me feel the strangest combination of emotions Emily. I got your text and came here half expecting you to jump my bones. I mean Joan Jett, combined with how you let me touch you last night. Honestly, you had my mind picturing certain things."

She apologized, "I didn't mean to lead you on..."

Evan shook his head, halting her words. "Will you just let me finish what I was saying?"

Emily bit her top lip and nodded.

He continued, "So then I get here and you're sitting in your flowery dress and little cardigan, against this insane purple sky, listening to freaking 'Stardust' and it was completely the opposite of what I was expecting! But it was so much more than what I had imagined. You looked like something from another time or a scene from a movie and I was even more excited to spend time with you. But then I saw you crying and the only thing I could think of was that you were here to tell me that you chose Kelly. And even if that is what you need to tell me I couldn't walk away from you. You make me feel like a different Nat King Cole song."

He picked up her phone and then she heard the shimmering harp in the opening strain of "The Very Thought of You."

Emily looked up into Evan's eyes.

There are spots of purple reflected there tonight...

Evan held her gaze until finally he leaned down and gently kissed the salt from her cheeks. He whispered, "Why were you crying?"

Emily snuggled her head against his neck and breathed out. "It's stupid."

Evan laughed. "I don't believe anything you can think of is stupid. You're one of the smartest people I've ever met. I'm surprised I understand even a quarter of what you say."

She gave a little huff before attempting to explain. "I've never seen a sky so purple before. Well at least not in real life. And it's just that it was so beautiful and so sad."

Evan adjusted her on his lap so she settled in between his legs on the ground and asked, "So purple is sad?"

Emily asked, "You're Catholic, aren't you?"

He nodded and so she continued, "Well then you know that purple is the color of mourning. It represents the pain and suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion because he was draped in a purple robe before they placed the crown of thorns to mock him as the King of the Jews. That's why it's used during Lent. It's also used during Advent to symbolize repentance and fasting. And it's not just Catholics that think of it this way. In ancient Greece and Rome the tale of Artemis or Diana is associated with violets."

Evan scratched his head. "You're going to have to remind of that one."

Emily gave a small smile. "Artemis or Diana, the twin sister of Apollo, was a huntress, a sworn virgin and the protector of maidens. One of her followers was the beautiful young daughter of Midas or Atlas depending on the version. Anyway, one day Apollo saw this maiden and fell in love with her. He coveted her so much that he wanted to kidnap her, but she cried out to her goddess for help and was changed into violets on the side of the road to hide her. So violets and purple are often associated with death, humility and modesty in art and literature."

Emily paused and looked up at Evan's confused face.

He thinks I'm weird now...

"I told you it was stupid," she mumbled.

Evan shook his head. "No it's not stupid. It's actually fascinating that you have all of that in your head. The only thing I know about purple is that it's the color of Barney and wine," he said with a laugh. "I guess it makes better sense to me now why The Purple Heart is purple."

He gently stroked her arms as they sat in silence again.

I don't know what else to say to him...

"So, how do you know all of this stuff?" he asked.

"Um... Well... I went through an intense Percy Jackson phase when I was about eight so I learned a lot of mythology. I also learned about some of it in school when we read Ovid and Homer," she explained.

"You've read Ovid and Homer?" he marveled.

"I go to a really good school," she shrugged.

Should I explain more?

Emily cleared her throat. "There's actually more to the story of Artemis."

She pointed to the river. "The river god Alpheus fell in love with Artemis but it was Orion who won her heart."

She moved her hand up to point towards the three faint stars of Orion's belt which grew more visible with each passing moment. "Ovid wrote about Orion in his 'Book of Days' and associated him with the 11th of May. In the end of the tale, Artemis killed Orion. There are two versions of his death, either her brother tricked her into shooting him with an arrow in his head or her mother sent a scorpion to sting him," she finished.

They sat in silence as they listened to Nat King Cole and watched the purple intensify into the indigo of the night sky.

Evan looked back down at Emily when he asked again. "Why were you crying?"

Her eyes filled again as she looked back at him. "This can't last. Just like that beautiful sky, just like Artemis and Orion."

"You're not a sworn virgin who's going to kill me. Are you?" he joked.

When Emily didn't laugh he pulled her tighter against himself. "The More I See You" began to play and Evan made her eyes meet his own steady ones.

"We're not Artemis and Orion," he said with finality.

Then he kissed her with a tender passion that complimented the song they listened to. They lay down against the blanket that was crumpled behind them to kiss some more. Evan groaned when Emily administered a well placed kiss to his neck.

"Nat is the ultimate wingman!" He laughed.

"Mmmm hmmm," she murmured her agreement as Evan slowly stroked his fingers up and down her thigh.

When Emily went to drape her leg across his waist, he stopped her. "Emily, let me lay the blanket out so you don't get dirty."

She stopped kissing him but shook her head no. "Will you come back to my room?"

He sat up on his elbows more. "Are you sure?"

Emily's ears burned. "I want to spend more time with you and we'll be more comfortable."

"Okay," he agreed.