Every Little Earthquake
Late at night - already in the early hours of morning, when the sun had yet the rise - the silence was deafening loud. Each step screamed what we couldn't bring ourselves to say. The rolling wheels of the luggage cart was amplified by the high ceilings; the lights glaring down harshly to illuminate the entire building burned the already stinging eyes. The few lost souls passed never made a sound - as though ghosts drifting about, terrified of breaking the spell cast upon the place. The security check-in area was quickly closing in. Unsurprisingly, there were no others heading there.
Suddenly, it was time.
Your hand grasped mine, holding on so tight, the thought that they'd become melded together and unbreakable briefly flitted across my mind. And somehow, I was already there, held against your chest, shamelessly sobbing and gasping for air, tightening my arms around you as you tightened yours. I wept for the time lost, cried over what had passed, and what would soon come. I squeezed my hold of you as tightly as my chest felt - suffocatingly, endlessly not enough.
'Is this what it's like to struggle for your last breath; for your will to make one last fight against death?' the words echoed in my mind. Whether they were simply recalled, or if they had actually come from your lips or mine, was impossible to tell.
The bustle of a crowd broke through hazed thoughts; all around us, pressing and oblivious, newly arrived and soon departing passengers and their families brushed past us. The crash of fallen suitcases; the mechanical, female voice of an automated announcement over the intercom; children screamed and cheered, running about and weaving through the maze of tall bodies and luggage cases; all filtered through and cleared our senses.
Looking up as you looked down, eyes closed as your lips smoothed away the lingering traces. A feathering touch brushed against the frozen set of my lips, as the feeling of my hand enveloped disappeared.
Standing still within the crowd, a ring and necklace in hand; the certainty of happiness vanished along with you.
[Author's note: Yes, I'm aware this can be confusing and vague. The way I've written this story to be nonsensical is completely intentional. This "drabble" was, indeed, merely a whimsical thought written for your interpretation.
I apologize in advance if you've read a similar scene as to this - I've read countless stories on this site, and so far haven't come across one. If you had difficulty understanding the story, I suggest reading it once again and see how many possible scenarios you can come up with. I hope you enjoy :)]