A carpet of bluebells heralded the spring, rebirth and growth surrounded them.

They lay among the flowers in the sunlight that blazed through the forest canopy, enjoying the intimate closeness of their bodies next to each other.

‘I’ve missed this,’ the girl murmured, her hands roaming across his chest and stomach.

‘Me too,’ the boy replied, stroking her hair and kissing her lightly.

They had been unable to touch while in lockdown. Three months stuck in their parental homes, banned from seeing or meeting anyone, reduced to webcam communication and phone calls.

The restrictions had been lifted the week before. It wasn’t over. The authorities warned everyone not to rush back into life as it had been before.

But they were young and passionate and their feelings had been kept in check for too long.

‘From now on we will never be apart again,’ the girl said.

‘Never,’ the boy sighed.

Overhead the birds sang.

A light breeze swept through the forest carpet, the blue flowers swayed, tolling their bells.

In the silence of the clearing, the boy coughed.

This is a response to the #writephoto Prompt: Bells curated over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click on the link to read other stories inspired by the image.