Journey to the Unknown

i had an epiphany on friday night and this is the only way to explain it.

 

                And that’s when the sirens started.

                We knew what was happening; everyone did. The war that had been going on for a year had gotten to the point where alliances were blurred and the population was dropping faster than ever. We knew what was happening but we wanted to live by our own rules and find beauty and keep our drowning innocence.

                There were four of us. My two best friends, the love of my life, and myself. We treated it like a normal day. We woke up. We got dressed. Then we adventured. We planned this- to a point. We didn’t know where we were gonna go or what we were gonna do, we just knew that we wouldn’t hide.

                It wasn’t suicide. It wasn’t cowardice. It wasn’t stupidity. It was just four kids trying to find beauty in this shell that was left of the world. Four kids wanting to be content forever and not deal with the mistakes that everyone has forced on us. We weren’t trying to become legends. No one knew we were here and no one would probably notice when we didn’t return so we kept going.

                As twilight settled in, we came across our old elementary school. It hadn’t been used since school let out the summer before last. Oil became more important to our strange country. We pushed our way through the tall grass where we used to play soccer to the playground – peaceful and untouched and wonderful. She was sliding along the glider. He was hanging upside down on the monkey bars swinging back and forth. My darling was running in circles, climbing up the fake rock wall and sliding down the slide. I sat down on the swing and swung back and forth, observing my friends, my love, and my life. My mind was unclouded.

                Everyone else was doing things and having fun and forgetting as I started to listen to music and kept swinging. We were living our last moments to the fullest and trying to be as innocent as possible. Our only light was from the stars and the full moon that somehow managed to push its way through the haze that has blocked the sky for months.

                And that's when the sirens started.

                We all stopped what we were doing and looked at each other for a moment and hesitantly started what we were doing again. It was then that I realized I was crying. My darling walked over and a stopped swinging. I shut my music off. I realized how quiet we were even though the sirens were blaring.

                “You better have a good reason for these tears,” he said as he took me in his arms. I must have been shivering or shaking because he took off his bright yellow sweatshirt and wrapped it around my shoulders.

                I shook my head. I shouldn’t be crying. But I didn’t stop as his arms brought me comforting warmth.

                I thought of all the people I’ve met, the places I’ve seen, the books I’ve read, and the things I’ve learned. I thought of all the poems I’ve wrote, the songs I’ve sung, the people I’ve loved and the friends I’ve made. I thought of our worried mothers trying to reach us on the cellphones that we had thrown over the bridge and into the river. I thought of the people we had seen earlier today trying to be happy and doing what they love to do, having their mindless conversations, no matter how different they were from our mindless conversations. I though of all the nights I’ve had where the whole world could have ended and I wouldn’t have cared. Just like tonight.

                I looked up at his beautiful face and he smiled slightly and kissed the tip of my nose.

                “What seems to be the problem?” he inquired.

                “I’m not afraid to die,” I whispered.

                “I’m not either. Because I’m here with you and that’s all I need.” He smiled wider and pulled me tighter to him and I kept crying.

                There was a flash of red across the sky followed by a crash, very much like how thunder follows lightening. The sirens kept sounding and I vaguely wondered how safe everyone who wanted to be safe was.

                I took my love’s hand and he brought me to the steps that lead to the rope bridge on the playground and we sat down. He wrapped his arms around me as I curled up next to him. Our friends joined us and I looked up at their faces. We all looked across the field and watched as the falling bombs drew nearer.

                “I’ll love you forever,” he whispered in my ear.

                “I’ll love you for always,” I whispered back and I kissed him lightly before looking out at the bright red sky.

 

 

 

Author's Note

i dont know what to think of this, so you tell me.

Reviews

[Ashley]

wow. this made me so happy, you don't even understand.
but at the same time, it made me cry.


/applauds.

[Benjamal]

mixing fact and fiction and epiphanies and creativity together works out really nicely!

[Moki]

I can picture those so well!

Was this at Brookside?

I really really liked this, it made me smile.
I hope you two stay this happy. :)