AND IT ALL WENT BLACK

The branches clawed at him as he scrambled through the brush, sweat streaked his face and soaked through his clothing. He dared not stop, he had to keep moving -- stumbling over roots and the dead undergrowth, he pushed himself forward.

How did things get so desperate, how did he allow such a vast distance to come between them? His mind felt like a choppy ocean crashing against the shore, images of her flashed in and out of existence, pushing him faster, harder, and ever onward. His heart was beating like a jack hammer, he knew he couldn’t keep this pace, and yet he knew that he could not slow down either.

He was working his way up a hill, every step forward brought him closer to her, yet it felt like every second that ticked past only took him farther away. How long now had he been chasing her through this wild place, how long had it been since he had her by his side? Time seemed to have lost its meaning in his frantic panic to find her again. It could have been days, weeks, months, all he knew was that if he stopped...all would be lost. She...would be lost.

He reached the top of the hill, at last he was clear of the dense forest, the sky opened up before him and from this vantage point he could see in all directions. He was finally able to catch his breath and get his bearings, if only for the briefest of moments. Turning round and round in a circle he looked in every direction, “please,” he whispered to himself, “please, show me the way, show me where you are...allow yourself to me.”

The wind was cold on the top of the hill. It whipped against him and cut through his sweat soaked clothing, biting his flesh beneath. Shivering, and fighting off the chill, he searched in every direction at once. “Where, where, where...where could she be!?”

And then his eyes found her...off in the distance, just a speck on the horizon, she was standing along the shore -- alone, beautiful, everything and so much more of what he remembered. His heart leaped, suddenly it was hard to breathe, all that he wanted, everything he dreamed of was finally in his sight. He was scared to take his eyes off of her, lest he lose her again; but the way down the hill was treacherous, and it would need all of his attention.

His legs and feet propelled him into action, he launched himself off the top of the hill and down the loose scrub and sliding debris. Half on his feet and half on his a*s he worked his way closer and closer to her, every few seconds his eyes scanned ahead, fearful that it was all just an illusion, that she was never even there, or that she had moved on, away from him yet again.

Suddenly his foot caught on a boulder jutting out of the hill, it threw him forward, out of control he tumbled head over heels, bruising and gashing his body as he went along. In a futile attempt to protect himself he covered his head with his hands and tucked into a ball as best as he could. Down and down he went, losing all sight of her and everything around him, he crashed his way down the rest of the hill.

He finally came to a bloody and broken rest at the bottom. Laying there he looked up at the sky and tried to take inventory on anything he may have permanently damaged. Legs, arms, chest, head, they were all battered and beaten, but seemed to be working. Breathing a sigh of relief, he raised himself up on one elbow, looked back up at the hill he had just fallen from...and laughed. “typical,” he muttered to himself, “right f*****g typical!”

And then the ground on which he was lying upon broke apart from under him.

Arms and legs flailing, the wind whistled past his ears as he fell through the air. There was nothing he could do, nothing to grab hold of, he just fell and fell...

His eyes flickered open, he couldn’t feel his body, all was darkness in front of him as a slow blurry light tried to come into focus. He could feel his life leaking out of him, he was scared, alone, full of regret. All he had wanted was to hold her again in his arms, to feel her cool lips upon his skin. Memories of her flashed in front of him, their life together and the laughter that it brought along with it. He raised his hand trying to clutch at the visions of her, to bring them close to him one last time, but it was too late, she wasn’t there, he had failed.

Silence enveloped him, he fixated everything that he was on his memories of her...

And it all went black.

Reviews

[navah74]

This was a great piece of short fiction. It conveyed the longing and desperation of the character and his need to catch her. The tone invoked a lonely desolate place almost otherworldly. There seemed to a quality of fantasy about the world the character was traveling. Even the voice worked to create this atmosphere, so when his thoughts were more common and simple ie he fell on his a*s, it seemed somehow out of place. I think the single sentence "silence enveloped him..." could be cut due to the strength of that last paragraph. Great Job I shall continue to read your work with pleasure.

[A Boy In The World]

Thank you. Appreciate your comments.

[Rogue]

I really like the emotion and anticipation you slowly built up in this piece. Chasing the ever elusive dream..

Great write! :)

[A Boy In The World]

Thank you. :)