Donovan's Mark

The story of Donovan and Natasha as their relationship grows and hits a bit of a speed bump.

Donovan's Mark

    Natasha watched as the sun grew tired of the sky, and took refuge into the sea to avoid the oncoming gaze of his distant brothers. Shades of purple and gold smeared the horizon as the sky and her orb parted for the evening. The waves sprayed mist across Natasha's face and limbs, and the wind ran it's fingers through her hair. The old wooden dock creaked and moaned with each passing surge as it cradled the girl above the water. A single tear dripped away from her eye, rolled down and off her cheek, and fell in the gap between two pieces of wood to join the ocean below. Natasha had no idea where to find him, so she came to the place where they had met so many years ago. The sound of the first thing she ever heard Donovan say was still as clear to her now as it was when it was spoken five years ago...
   

Five years ago.  
    The young girl heard footsteps thumping quickly along the wooden dock behind her. Natasha turned to see a boy running towards her with a corked glass bottle in his hand. The absence of his shirt revealed his tanned, beach-accustomed  skin. His hair was long and brown, and his eyes were as green as the water. The boy launched the bottle into the air and it landed with a splash in the sea. The girl looked at the boy with questioning eyes.
    "I just saved someone's life," he gave as an answer to her stares.
    "You threw a bottle into the ocean, some people call that littering, not exactly heroic." Natasha smiled the intense smile that requires the use of, not just your mouth, but your eyes and ears too.
    "But hopefully one day someone will find the bottle and remove it. Then they will read the message and I will have saved them."
    "How? What does the note say?" The confused eyes came back.
    "I love you." The boy just stared at the sea breathing deeply.
    Natasha left one brow down, raised the other, and turned to face the horizon with the boy with a half smirk on her face. "And how will that save anyone?"
    "Love protects people from the Hearwraiths. I come here once a month to try to save someone. I figure eventually somebody will find one." Both of the girl's brows went up. The question wasn't necessary.
    "Heartwraiths are creatures born of hate. They hunt down those who are unloved. When they find them, they use a long, black, searing, whip to make a brand around your arm. Once that happens, you have one year to find love, or they come back and turn you into one of them." The boy was as serious as any Natasha had ever seen. She was as confused as any girl the boy had seen.
    "Wellp," she said, "I've got to go now." And Natasha stood at the end of the dock, turned and began to walk away quickly.
    "My name is Donovan." He turned to watch as Natasha walked away from him. "It was very nice to meet you."
    Natasha couldn't help it. The departing message was too friendly for the situation. There was something special about him. She knew she shouldn't, but she stopped. "I'm Natasha. See you around." She gave that full-faced smile to Donovan again, and then continued to walk away, leaving the smiling boy alone with the sea.

    Present day.
    The sunset was ending and dusk was at hand as the first stars began to poke holes in the night sky and the moon pushed through the clouds, both late, yet again, for their meeting with their lost brother. Birds fluttered about the shore searching for any last crumb of bread or puffy cheese snack. Natasha's thoughts tried to drift away from Donovan, but everything around her held a memory. How many times had they jumped off this dock together to play in the waves? She thought of the countless times they had eaten lunch here and talked of the world, philosophy, and music. That strange boy from so long ago had become the biggest part of her life, the happiest part.
    After they first met, Natasha avoided that part of the beach for about two months or so. Then summer came and all her friends had gone away on vacation. She was bored and became curious to see if Donovan was still trying to save people. When Natasha returned to the dock she could see him standing at the end, staring off over the water as a bottle floated away into the distance. She slowly walked up behind him. Before she could say anything, he turned toward her and they shared their respective smiles. The feeling inside her rose again that told her she shouldn't be here, but she was compelled to stay.
    The two spent the day together at the beach. They walked up and down the sandy shore searching for the shells the saltwater creatures had left behind, souvenirs of an unknown world. She would stumble on some loose sand and he would reach out to catch her. The stumbles were never significant enough that she needed to be caught, he just wanted to catch her, wanted to hold her for just that moment. They shared stories of everything good and bad in their lives, and soon they had gotten to know each other almost better than they knew either of their friends. Natasha knew that the connection between them could become dangerous in the future. "Hopefully," she thought, "it won't come to that."
    And so it went. As the end of summer came, the duo parted to return to their lives. Each hoping for each season to past faster every day, so that summer could bring them together again. Their lives continued happily in this manner of cyclical reunion and separation for the next few years. The memories brought a smile to Natasha's face that quickly faded as she remembered what was so important about this day, and what happened exactly one year ago.
  

 One year ago.
    The clouds were thick and dark, and the sun shuffled about behind them like a man pressing his way through a throng of spectators to reach the optimal viewpoint of some interesting occurrence. The air was cool and moist. Natasha arrived at the dock at their usual meeting time, and, as always, Donovan was already there, standing in his favorite spot at the end of the dock. He was wearing long jeans and an orange hoodie. His gaze was pointed down towards the planks of wood of the dock instead of his usual preference to face the horizon. Natasha could not see a bottle. Something was wrong.
    Natasha's footstep's fell lightly on the damp wood. She could feel her heartbeat quicken in her chest. Natasha's hand reached out and landed on Donovan's shoulder. He jumped and quickly spun around with fear etched into his face.
    "Natasha," He let out a breath and leaned in for a tight hug using only his left arm as the right one hung limply behind. Natasha hugged Donovan back. The action seemed different than it had before. The single arm seemed desperate for something. Natasha released her arms first, then, Donovan quickly removed his arm to avoid any more awkward moments than those he knew the evening had in store for him.     Their eyes met and Natasha noticed how red his were. He had been crying. Her heart nearly exploded. She knew what was happening, but she had to ask. "What's wrong Donnie?"
    Donovan took a deep breath and turned away from Natasha. "I have something to tell you." He slowly lowered himself to sit on the dock and let his legs hang over the edge, his feet grazed the water. "You're not going to want to hear this, but I have to tell you. It may by far be the most important thing I've ever had to tell anyone. Please just try to understand."
    Natasha moved to Donovan's right side and sat down, she too let her legs dangle over, but her feet could not reach the water. She tried to look her friend in the eyes, but he was trying to avoid eye contact again in an attempt to not divulge too much before it became necessary. Natasha waited patiently, not wanting to rush her friend.
    "Natasha, you are one of the greatest friends I have. You have definitely changed my life in more ways than you know. You've woven into my life deeper than I had intended. I know you aren't comfortable with the subject and I know we've always said we were just friends, but..." He took another deep breath. "Natasha, I love you. I love you with all of my heart." Natasha could tell he meant everything he was saying. She was fairly certain she knew why Donovan felt it was so important to tell her this now, but she needed to ask to be sure. There was a chance that it hadn't happened.
    "Why are you telling me this Donnie?" Her voice faintly quivered as her last strand of hope began to die. Donovan's eyes began to flood as he used his left hand to grab the sleeve from his right wrist. Slowly, he pushed the orange cloth up his arm revealing the spiraling black scar. This was what Natasha had been afraid of. She couldn't do anything to help Donovan. She wasn't allowed to interfere.
    "Do you remember the story about the Heartwraiths Natasha? They're real. I've felt one following me for the past few days. It caught me this morning." Desperation masked the boys face. Natasha was the only one who could save him.
    Natasha felt her world stop. She had to leave. Now. Reluctantly, she got to her feet and began to move quickly back to shore just as she had when they first met, fighting back a stream of tears through clenched, angry teeth.
    "Natasha! Please don't go." Every ounce of hope Donovan had spilled out with his words and was swept away by the wind.
    Natasha stopped suddenly, and without turning to face the boy she said, "I'm so sorry Donnie, but I have to go. I can't do this." She made her way past the shore and disappeared over a hill of sand and grass. Donovan was left alone on the dock as the rain began to pour.
    

Present.
    Night's curtain pressed out the last few rays of light, and the moon's reflection made a shimmering crystal path in the sea, a spotlight searching for the sun. A glimmer caught Natasha's eyes and she heard the sea whisper, "clink," as something bumped against the dock. She plunged her hand over and fished the glass bottle out of the water. Emotion surged in Natasha's heart and tears became a river. She pulled the cork out of the neck and a string tied to it brought to note along. Shaking, she unrolled it.
    " To whoever finds this. Whether you understand this language or not, no matter how unfortunate your life has been, no matter what kind of person you are, you share this life with me, and for that I love you.
           -Donovan D.
                     P.S Thanks for removing my litter."
    "He's not coming," thought Natasha, "He has every right to hate me. I hurt him. He gave me his heart and I walked away like it was nothing. I had to. They would have never let me go through with it. If I could just find him now, I would spend every breath I have trying to make him understand." She held her head in her hands. She had lost the only person she ever felt truly loved her.
Heavy footsteps thumped on the wood behind Natasha. She turned to see a large opaque shadow in the figure of a man brandishing a whip.
    "Natasha," spoke the shadow, "I have spent the last year trying to be angry with you. I have tried to blame you for what has happened to me. But my heart won't let me do it. I still love you, and I guess I always will. There are rules my new condition requires of me. I am not allowed to contact anyone I love. My only companions can be other Heartwraiths. I know you don't love me but I didn't want our last encounter to be the last time I saw you. So I've come to tell you goodbye." The shadow hovered for a moment and then turned to walk away.
    "Wait," spoke the softest, most beautiful voice that Donovan had missed so much. "I have to show you something." Natasha stood and faced the the shadow, and he turned back towards her. The girl's silhouette became dark and her shape became less defined. Her body became a shadow, and in her hand appeared a whip. "I never said I didn't love you Donnie. I said I couldn't. But now that we are of the same creed, I don't think that limitation stands." Donovan's shadow seemed shocked, as far as shadows go at least. "I love you too Donovan. I hope you can understand why I did what I did."
    The two shadows stood for a moment, then merged in embrace. Deep within the shadows, a light began to grow. The light became so large and brilliant, that the moon and the stars looked upon it in hopes that they had found their lost brother. But the light soon vanished revealing a vacant dock, and, disappointed, the celestial bodies returned their gaze to the horizon, resuming their search for daylight.