One paw in front of the next. Head down. Keep moving.
"Where are you going?" a voice called from behind me, shrill, uninviting.
One paw in front of the next. Head down. Keep moving.
"Answer me!" she yelled. I heard footsteps, leaves shattering, branches rustling, steam likely rising.
One paw in front of the next. Head down. Keep moving.
She cut in front of me, strident tone still intent on piercing my eardrums. "Dammit, Will, just listen to me!"
"My name's not Will," I said gruffly, not losing a step. "I'm Cain. And you're long forgotten."
At that, I stuck a paw out, all but shoving my resister to the side. No family love today.
Well, no family.
I strode right off, the sun staring me down as I averted its gaze. A hundred emotions were running through my veins, but only the bad ones seemed to be revealing themselves. It was like Pandora's Box inside my mind, with despair and skepticism leading the way. As the wind sent trembles through my bones, loneliness decided to rear its head too.
If only she was here…
One paw in front of the next. And so on…
There was no road under me, nothing leading me forward but my empty mind and whatever was in front of me.
Such as a really pissed off Ursaring.
I sighed, my right front paw starting to glow.
He charged, wildly.
I struck, with Sucker punch.
He fell, like fresh lumber.
Ho-hum.
I walk in big strides.
I run but I can't hide.
My past is behind me,
But it's catching up.
And if it finds me,
Well, I'm out of luck.
I'm a poet and I didn't know it.
I reach a fork in the 'road.' For the first time I hesitate, before recognizing the barely noticeable paths and wandering left, east, towards the sea. The only time I actually know where I'm headed.
The air grows brisk, my fur rustling in the unsettling breeze. It's nearly summer, but the night is approaching and the temperature is on a freefall. No matter. I keep on, Pandora's Box still in tow.
The sea draws nearer, and I finally sense that my destination is close when the dirt yields to grass, the rustling of leaves relinquishing their monopoly on ambience to the crashing of waves on rocks. Drayson's Cliff is visible to my left now, and the statue of a Sharpedo perched near the edge of the ledge seems to follow me away.
Without any real warning, I stop. And, turning, I gaze out. The sun is being swallowed by the horizon, and the clouds are only barely making their escape from the infinite jaws of the skyline.
Looking down, I see just rocks and water, with the rocks playing wife to the sea's abusive husband.
"Nice day for a swim…"
I pick up a paw and inspect it. White fur, black claws. Light and dark. Symbolic, for sure. I'd always had that choice, light or dark, good or bad.
And every time I chose, I felt like it was wrong.
I was the epitome of the term prodigal. I was my own pariah. I was a white black sheep.
I was garbage, spreading my odor everywhere and yet always there, no matter where I'm moved.
A step towards the edge gave me a wave of adrenaline.
A second one gave me a slight rush of second-guessing.
A third gave me a voice saying "Long time no see."
I whipped around, a yard from the verge. And there she was.
"I know how much you like swimming," she said sarcastically, beckoning to me to come back from the brink, "but it's almost nighttime and you wouldn't want to try and sleep with soaked fur, would you?"
"It wouldn't be as hard as one would think," I responded, staying my ground. The thrill of seeing Lauren had clashed with the rest of my thoughts, and warfare had commenced in my head.
She sighed, exasperatedly. "Will, I don't know what you're doing, but it's obviously nothing good. Come on."
"I… I'm not Will anymore. Cain would be the correct title," I said. She spat on the ground in front of her, a white paw of her own wiping the saliva into the ground.
"Cain my ass." she snapped.
Silence impaled the conversation, until the sword was finally pulled from its stomach and the conversation made like Inigo Montoya and stood back up.
"Just answer me this: what were you going to do? And don't just give me some vague gesture behind you, some stupid little flick of your head. Tell me," Lauren commanded/pleaded. I stared at her blankly, her crimson eyes as entrancing as her fine, silky fur. She looked impervious to anything Nature felt like throwing at her, and as I shivered from a harsh wind she stood still, shooting daggers with her eyes.
"Well?"
"Fine. I was going to jump. And that would have been that. Nobody would have seen, nobody would have cared," I told her, my volume raising with every word.
And then… a tear.
A drop of water, escaping the confines of her eyes.
The invincible woman was crying.
"I would have cared…" she said quietly, hurt, stabbed in the heart and left for dead.
My eyes widened ever so slightly. "…Lauren…?"
"Will, I wasn't gone that long! I thought about you every day! You honestly think I wouldn't have been crushed if you'd left me like this?" she questioned, sitting down. Her body was quivering now, and mine was shaking so much I thought I was about to fall off the edge right then.
Instead, I walked over and nuzzled her.
"I'm sorry…" I moaned gently, running a paw through the fur on her back. She rested her head on my shoulders, and together we wept, two shattered spirits by the sea. Our tears were one, our pain homogeneous, our souls intertwined.
"All I ever wanted was to live happily ever after with you…" I whispered, squeezing her as much as a four-legged creature can.
Lauren sniffled, the golden sun melding with her misty eyes to have them shine, two lush pearls with the power to stop heartbeats at a glance.
She glanced at me, pulling back from our hold.
"That can be arranged…" she managed to say, her voice trembling as she had the saddest smile on the earth forming on her delicate mouth.
"But… after this…" I stuttered, but I wasn't given the opportunity to finish my broken thought.
"This never happened. You're alive, you're here, and you're mine. And that's all that needs to happen in my life," she spoke, tactfully.
Silently, our gazes locked, and after a couple seconds her face exploded into a wide grin.
"Come on, Will. Fairytale endings don't just happen," she said, and turned to leave, following the sea east.
A second later I followed, with a kiss on the cheek and a nuzzle of joy.
Fairytale endings don't just happen… but then, neither does finding love.
This is not just any oneshot. Why? Because it's for my girlfriend, and because today is our one-year anniversary.
Since June 17th, 2010, she has done so much for me, and without her I literally don't know where I'd be. She's given me new life and new things to strive for, and for that and for her love I can never repay her, except with my own support.
Since we met thanks to writing FF and all, writing a story seemed like the perfect way to celebrate this milestone, and as such here it is. Enjoy.