The small mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, was bustling with people, many arriving to take part in the annual Bluegrass festival. Lisa laid in the soft grass, staring up at the clear, blue skies. She should practice for her performance tonight but was enjoying being home, breathing the crisp mountain air and avoiding the pressure of family expectations.
The Sanders family had participated in the festival for over 40 years; all the way back to when it was a 4th of July picking and grinning picnic. Now it drew people from all around the world and would start tonight with the lantern lighting ceremony. The musicians would be given an old-fashioned lantern to bring to the town square and hang on the poles placed around the courtyard while the announcer introduced them. This was a nod to simpler times and the history of the festival, performing by lantern light acoustically.
Lisa joined the lineup of musicians waiting to enter the town square, holding her fiddle and her lantern. It was packed with musicians and jostling crowds and the buzz of conversation and noise was making her nervous. The festival coordinator Anna was lining up the artists, be they solo or band, in order of how their stakes were placed to hang their lantern, matching the line up the announcer was going to read from. She motioned to Lisa to come and take her place, and the young woman hurried to do so, bumping into a man who was headed for the same spot.
His lantern tipped, the flame growing with intensity as it received more fuel, and Lisa grabbed for the falling lantern before it hit the ground.
“Nice catch.” the husky voice said from above her. Lisa straightened and met the cool blue eyes looking down at her as she handed back the lantern.
“Sorry about that.” was her soft reply. She knew Anna was waiting for her to take her spot, so she hurried over to the line and the guitar player followed.
“This is my first time at the festival. How about you?” he said.
“My tenth, I think.” she replied, nodding to Anna as she lined up, the man right behind her.
“Did you start playing as an infant?” he teased, the twinkle in his blue eyes making her heart stop.
“No, I was 15. I grew up here.” she said, thinking the last thing she needed to do was get involved with another musician, but the words, giggle and the playful flirting sound to her voice betrayed her.
“I’m really nervous,” the man began, a slight tightness in his voice betraying the truth of his statement. “I wrote a new song to debut tonight.”
“It will be fine. Telluride always has a great crowd, very welcoming.” She reassured him with a pat on the arm, but decided her heart was just too fragile. She turned her back to him and focused on her chosen piece of music as the line moved.
“My name is Jake.” a husky voice whispered just above her right ear, stirring the hair with its proximity, sending butterflies fluttering in her stomach. There was so much promise in the introduction, so many implications in his tone.
“Lisa.” She replied a little breathless over her shoulder as they walked in line to the town square, but she was going to blame that on the altitude, not the attraction.
“Meet me by the lanterns when this is all over?” he asked, his warm breath tickling her neck. But before she could answer, the announcer began introducing all the performers, ending the chance to finish the conversation. She nodded her head and moved forward as her name was called.
*
The poignant sounds of the guitar blended perfectly with Jake’s voice as he wove a spell over the audience, but Lisa felt like she was the only one in the square. The song and the eye contact felt personal, even intimate, as he sang about the light of love. Surrounded by the lantern light, she felt warm and cared for in a way that she never had. The look in his eyes promised more than she’d ever felt.
A broken piece way down deep in her heart healed and she knew, down deep, that love was as necessary to her life as air, or food, or music. The words of the song and the gentle strum of the guitar made her heart want to dance with joy. All the pain she’d allowed to live in her heart popped like a balloon and dissipated. She didn’t know where this would go, but she knew that love always trumped fear and somehow it would all be alright and if not… well, it was worth the risk.
The crowd went wild at the end of the song and the privacy of the moment was lost. Still floating on the music, Lisa made her way to the edge of the town square and waited under the lantern she’d placed there earlier that night, briefly wondering at herself, thinking about how much had changed in such a short time and a man who could heal her heart with the words of his song. Jake had already created a new space all his own in her world, and she wanted to share it with him.
She watched as he made his way across the crowd, his eyes holding hers as well-wishers congratulated him. But she didn’t mind. He deserved his moment in the spotlight and this was worth waiting for.
Finally reaching her side, he gently took her in his arms. His eyes asked permission as his head lowered to hers, just inches from her lips, as he whispered, “Some things are worth the risk.” Standing there under the lantern’s light, he kissed her, and everything in the world felt right.