Grip

A Story by B. Bassett

We were so aware, yet very unprepared. Vibrations of this Earth forcing our weightless bodies against the concrete, the tar, the grass, against whatever was below us.

Don’t move.

His words were so desperately needed, but quickly disregarded. As I had no choice but to move. I moved with the world. In unison we fell. No one wanting to let go of their hatred for one another, only made the grief easier to dispose. We were no longer a population, but a natural disaster.

Hold on.

I grasped this moment for as long as I could. It wouldn’t be long before he falls, and I’d tumble by his side. Holding onto him with the strongest of grips. I listened to him this time, and we both stood still in each other’s firm hold.

In a matter of days, she’d given up. Her arms loosened around me, and she tumbled to her death.

My heart tightened. It became harder to breathe. As if someone were squeezing my heart with all of their might… I felt this before. She hadn’t given up at all.