Abbozzo

No longer nighttime but the day not fully there yet.

A hint of the sun behind the clouds, half-hidden.

Our blurry outlines obscured by the sheets.

Entwined no more, not fully separate either.

The beginning or the end, an item or a mistake?

Who are we then?

Two bodies half-asleep when it’s time to get up.

Hasty platitudes, furtive glances, coffee left unfinished.

Time to go.

My hand half-raised, almost touching

Your stubble not yet a beard.

I almost kiss you.

You almost say goodbye.

(85 words)

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Abbozzo comes from Italian (obviously!) and means the first draft, a rough sketch or an outline of something: a text, a painting, etc.

The word made me think of those sketches painters make so as not to forget things: a specific grimace, an angle of a raised hand, a body position... Hastily drawn lines, unfinished shapes not meant to be seen by the public, mere hints of what can be found, much later, in the actual painting. And I thought: isn't it what our lives are? So often, we encounter new circumstances unprepared, we muddle through, perpetually uncertain, and do the best we can with our limited knowledge and skills. The image is never complete as long as we are alive.

And then I thought: where can there be more uncertainty than in relationships? Especially when we are young!

This is a very interesting challenge, go have a look:

https://vocal.media/writers/the-a-z-of-unusual-words-part-a#comment-fcac48db-32cb-43d3-b42e-d62f52fb3576