They Would

A short story about love and saving a life.

He would be twisted, his arms flailing beneath dark water as they strain to find a surface he will never reach-- a struggle so inevitably leading to a death he would never see coming. He would scream and lose the last breath of air before he could open his eyes to adjust to the black light, a horror struck deep in his bones as his brain fails to comprehend the lack of sight he is presented with and will die trying to escape. His life will no longer be a misery, because his death is his unwilling escape from it. He would press his palm upwards, stretch his fingers beyond the surface until his nails touch the air above, his lungs screaming for the same release. Only darkness would be his friend.

She would walk on a path, her black hair cropped into a scene against the society she would forever hate. Her left ear pierced by a silver stud that would be hit by moonlight on a night chilling her bones with its eerie breezes. Her feet would be sore and bare, but she would not complain as she gazes upon the lake so black. Her hazel eyes will remember the night, always, that she sees five parallel lines breaking the surface with a pale glow. The shortest of five would only appear to her as the tips of fingers. Her realization would creep in like a nocturnal creature, stalking her mind until it presses deep into her nerves.

She would pull her sweater above her head and throw it aside, playing a rustling melody upon blades of grass as her body moves with a silent rhythm. Her heart would play the beat of the music and a splash into deep water would create the cymbal crash. Her arms would find another heart to warm as she returns to break the surface, dragging another body above the water with her, giving lungs their food to return life to an airless boy.

He would awaken, his brown eyes bored by an alien’s eyes so beautiful that he can only gasp. His wet, brown hair slicked back. He would drift into an endless dream that would later be known as memory and life. In that moment, though…

In that moment he would kiss the savior-- angel-- that would become his love. His lips would brush against soft security and he would know protection as she would from him.

In that moment, they would.

Author's Note

Please review to the best of your ability. No one-word reviews. This is a writing site. I will not tolerate laziness.