Life is an ocean, and most everyone’s hanging on to some kind of dream to keep afloat.
Zitao was floating, weightless upon the waves as he slowly drifted nowhere. His eyes fluttered in the pink and purple sunset, the colors dancing across his honey tinted skin. There was such peace in the utter silence that every bone in his body relaxed. Nothing existed save for the gentle pull and pushing ripples of the sea. He knew though. All of this was a fantasy, but here, he could pretend the water’s loving embrace was that of another. One who calmed his heart and mind like no other. Something caught his attention, the softest call of his name on the wind. Glossy droplets cling to his lashes as he stirred, the sun framing his dark form as he turned and swam through the tranquil waves. When an island came into view, he sped up, his curiosity morphing into an irresistible pull to reach the wispy call.
Sand shifted under his feet as he slowly stood, silvery eyes roaming the small piece of land. They settled on a lone figure leaning against a palm tree, her long hair catching the breeze. Zitao’s breath halted in his chest like a trapped bird, then fled him in a quick rush. She was so beautiful, like a goddess. His own personal goddess right before him. Every fiber of his being screamed to kneel before this otherworldly creature, but, even more, his fingers twitched with the unadulterated desire to run his hands through her hair. To touch her silky skin.
As though in a trance, he approached the ethereal creature, her name a prayer on his lips. “Seungyeon.” A smile graced his otherwise sorrowful features, for he knew in the back of his mind, this was not real. “My love.” Her voice shivered and rang through his body, and he pulled her closer until he was a mere breath away from her. Close enough to kiss those parted lips. “I missed you, why did you leave me?” His silver eyes gazed longingly into her gold ones. She caressed his cheek and smiled sadly. “It was time. You have to forget about me.” Zitao shook his head, confusion clouding his features. “I can’t. You saved me, I can’t just forget about you.” His throat tightened as she lightly brushed his lips with her own. “Oh, my love, you have to. I’m not coming back. You’re going to have to save yourself.” And with that, she pushed him away into the awaiting arms of the sea. He was tossed under the waves, and tumbled deeper and deeper into the water. Images floated past him endlessly, all his happy moments, and he decided he could stay here forever. A stark image slid through the water beside him, reaching out in the perfect silence to grasp his own fingers. Seungyeon’s clear eyes regarded him in his to be tomb, and the shook her head sadly. “I can’t save you...” And with this she faded away. Pain tore through Zitao’s chest and his mouth opened in a silent scream as some unseen force hurtled him toward the surface. Toward the unwelcome reality.
Zitao awoke coughing violently, his hands grasping at his bloody chest. The damp wood of the bench beneath him seemed to chill him to the bone. Shivers racked his lean frame, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to go back to the blissful blackness. Heedless of his injuries, he curled in on himself and prayed for the nothingness to rush in again. He couldn’t save himself, that was what his dreams could not understand. Zitao was a king without his queen, and as such, had nothing left to fight for.
