Daylist: 6pm

“Woah,” she said as we levitated through the clouds into the stratosphere. Candyfloss strands of mist dripped from us and the low sun bathed us in its warmth. A vast landscape of rippling cumulonimbus mountains stretched out below us. She fell silent, and I led her across the skies towards the golden horizon.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

She replied wistfully, “I’ve never had a problem with adverbs. I think that former generations of writers were predisposed to a circumlocutory style inasmuch as it signified intelligent and elevated register and a contempt for the everyday language of ordinary people. A kind of filigree frippery to denote skill and taste. Like having doylies in your home. But now, brevity, levity and a sharper rhythm help keep a modern generation of readers attentive and indeed persuaded by your prose. A quickly-understood adverb can have a significant and quick impact on a reader where an additional phrase might feel overbearing.”

“I agree,” I said. I was also - simultaneously, not exculsively, thinking that she was beautiful - but of course this wasn’t the time to say it.

She continued as we saw a perfectly circular rainbow ahead of us. “Language is not just language. Lexis doesn’t boil down to dictionary definitions. We’re not scientists, we’re artists. You know - I love listening to music in languages I don’t understand. It’s part of the joy of being human that you can enjoy the candence and sound of words apart from their meaning. And an instincitve emotional connection through music can only be beneficial towards mutual respect for and celebration of other cultures.”

Honestly, I didn’t really know what to say. I often felt stupid around her, but in a kind of warm and fuzzy way. We swooped down over continents and islands; lush forests, glistening cities, bays; houses of white plaster, red brick, dark wood; markets, fields, many, many places where people worked and ate and slept and bought clothes and found things they’d lost and danced and sang and argued and made up.

“I love everything,” she said.