I saw it coming. Even though I say to myself- "Ari, it wasn't your fault. You didn't know it would happen!" But it did happen, and I could have stopped it.
It happened on that night, that peaceful night. The stars shining their spotlight shining on us, like we were the only people in the world. All of this was ours and ours alone.
We had crept out of our cabins, and had met there, like we had a thousand times before. We lay by the side of the lake, two halves of a whole. Fingers entwined, we would stay together, not uttering a word as the world went by.
Usually the sun would rise, greeting us with a swirl of purple, pink and yellow as it told us to go back to our respective cabins. Signaling the end of a beautiful night, beckoning us towards the following day.
However that night, you didn't see the sunrise.
That night, the waters looked serene. The moon reflected in the center, surrounded by lotus flowers, tinged by the lightest of pinks. We wanted to do something different tonight, I don't remember who suggested it, you or me but we did it anyways.
We jumped into the lake, the waves crashing around us as we squealed and splashed each other with the cool water. That was when he decided to do it; I could have stopped him, but I didn't.
He wanted to see how far you could go underwater, as a child of Athena he was always looking for challenges. That was one of the reasons I loved him.
One minute he was there, the next he was down; I clapped as he went further and further. It had been a minute or so and he was still down there, I could have retrieved him then, but I didn't. I don't know why.
I started to truly panic after a while and went down after him. My eyes stung in contact with the salt, but I didn't care, I had to find him. It was then that I saw the red tinge in the water, I knew what happened then but I didn't accept it.
He was at the bottom of the lake, looking peaceful, as if nothing was wrong. However, everything was wrong. I swam down to him and grabbed him by the waist then heaved him up. His blonde hair trailed across the water, looking angelic in the moonlight. There was nothing angelic about this moment though.
I heaved him, face up on the ground and pumped his chest. "One-two-three," I counted, feeling wetness on my face. Was it water or my tears, I would never know. I pressed my wet lips to his, like I had a thousand times before but never as important as this. The most important one, and he never did.
They searched for us in the morning, but I wasn't going to leave him, not now. Never. They found us, him in my arms, by the lake. If you could rub us out of the picture, everything looked normal, same scenery, same lake but you wouldn't feel the spirit that had been sucked out of the place. But I did.
There were questions, many questions which I answered, I was on autopilot; not caring about what I said. I just wanted to leave that stuffy room, without the gazes of a hundred eyes on me wherever I went.
Our love was our little secret. We didn't want to share our world with the others; it was the moons and ours. However I was forced to share it, as our little world had crashed into a million pieces.
I couldn't bring myself to go back to that place since the incident. That was what everyone was calling it now. However one restless night, I found myself drawn to the place more than ever. I got out of bed and automatically went, no ran to the lake and stopped, breathless. I slumped to the ground and cried; to the stars, to the lake, to the world.
A soft hand touched my shoulder, comforting me as I wailed. I looked up at her, but she only smiled, her silver eyes sparkled much like the moon. Even out of my blurry vision, I knew who she was.
Her auburn hair flowing in the soft breeze, she helped me up and stroked my hair, feeling at home under the moon's glow.
She stepped away from me after that and started to walk away.
"No!" I screamed, in the panic that had washed over me. "Don't go!"
"Then come with me child," she said softly, the stars shining around her, creating a halo overhead. I ran to her, my hand tangled with hers as we walked off under the moon's protective light.
Hey guys, this is my one shot for a challenge by glitter blizzard. Hope you enjoy! Join Percy Jackson and the Land of Writing if you want to take part in similar challenges. Reviews would be appreciated; constructive criticism is welcomed gladly! Till next time