Ch. 68- A Life I'll Make with You
Her movements were sluggish, the serenade continued as water rushed into the room, faster and faster, distant creaking providing a disharmonious break in the rhythm of play. The woman's expression began to grow distant, the crescendo neared, an act she'd been preparing for, but one she never truly could be ready to face.
"You should run while there's still time for you"
She spoke calmly, an understanding tone saved until the end, her selfish desire keeping the girl close for as long as her heart could manage.
"I don't wanna go... if you won't come with me..."
Empty platitudes she'd expected, words backed by air so thin it was suffocating. This too she'd prepared for, to snuff out the flame and let the flower bloom anew, absent her barbs and poison.
"I can't go, and you can't stay, that's how it has to be. I'm glad I got to play you my last song, now go before there's nowhere left to run to"
In lethargic defiance, the girl dragged herself closer. She lacked the strength for words, feeling weaker the closer she stepped towards her, but persisted in her advance none the less. Back to back she stood behind her, slumping beside the woman as she continued to play.
"I am forever grateful for this indulgence you've given me, but I don't want to see you gone. Please, while there's still a chance, go, and let me have hope..."
The girl's breathing was heavy, the water was now up to her waist as she sat slump against the chair on which the woman sat. She blinked here eyes, slowly, filling her lungs with a gasp of salty air.
"I don't want to do this anymore... not again... not without you... if this is it then... I'm happy where I am..."
With shaken fingers she continued to play her somber tune. There was a pearl of joy, locked deep within her heart, a shrouded want to accept this token of devotion for what it was and embrace it, but she couldn't bring herself to to pay the price. She strained, the choked back tears filling her throat, and sheltered ambition finally began to sprout.
She stood, taking the girl by the arm and dragging her through the raging torrent as sea water crashed through growing cracks in the ship. The two ran as best they could, making their way back towards the deck. They found scores of empty life boats, awaiting passengers that would never come to need them, and a pair of lovers who each thought themselves undeserving, saving each other from the deep's embrace.
The woman pushed her aboard, reaching for the rope to lower her down, a fatalistic end for one who saw no other path, defied by a girl who'd had enough of sailing upon the whims of an uncaring world.
"I told you, didn't I...? I don't wanna go... If you won't come with me..."
The pair drifted, peaks of waves carrying moonlight atop their crests like rolling hills. Distant glances at the infinite expanse, nowhere to go but closer.
"Why did you want to die so bad..."
A wave crashed against their little boat, the gentle sway and cool night breeze took up the space as the woman thought of what to say. There were secrets she kept close, a putrid shadow that had festered with her silence, but ones she was still unprepared to speak of.
"I didn't... I just don't know what else there was..."
She pulled herself tight, knees pressed against her chest and fearful look at the distant horizon.
"I knew what I had to do, even if I didn't want to, I knew how it would go... But I don't know what's out there..."
"I don't either... but... when I'm with you, I want to find out..."
