Can't Breathe
Tell me how I'm supposed to breate…
I walked, I ran
I jumped, I flew
Right off the ground to float to you
There's no gravity to hold me down
For real
Before one more person dies. That was what hesaid, but that was not what he believed. He never thought she was gone, even if people around him said so. They denied and accepted, grieved and commemorated, blamed and vindicated, but it never changed his opinion.
Well, not exactly opinion. It was more like…like…feeling.
Feeling. It sounded like the right word. His faith that she was out there, somewhere, was primarily based on what his instincts told him. The night the Boss told them that there were no survivors from the ship, he felt, not dread claw him from forehead to toes, but a soft brush of sorry news, like what he sensed whenever they investigate uneventful deaths. He thought that maybe he was just shocked, and gripping agony would consume him later on that night, but it never came.
Over and over again, he recalled to mind the exact frame of her workspace, both with daylight and darkness, and also the portrait that was her face. Yet, nothing.
It was then he remembered an old impulse. Years ago, when he couldn't find something important, he would know whether he lost it or not by the way his heart acted. Whenever it knocked loudly on his ribs, he knew he had lost whatever he was searching. However, whenever it was calm and softly beating, he knew he would find it.
Every day, every night thinking of her and what happened, his heart's rhythm remained undisturbed.
She was alive.
When they came to the land of sands and wind to challenge Vendetta's power against Death, his conviction was reaffirmed. The second their tire tracks came into the circle, her presence traveled from the idle ground to his senses. He knew she was there, and it was just a matter of time before they saw her.
Before he saw her.
Hits and hits and kicks they endured. He and his partner were separated. One of them was sent to a cage match with Death himself, and one of them was sent to kiss the dust.
He wasn't surprised when his lower lip busted after it collided with the floor. After all, it was all what his worth could buy.
Eternities and eternities later, Saleem brought in another hostage. His eyes were closed, but he could see it was her. He waited to hear her voice, her hum, her breathing to prove that he was right. He had been chastised, glared at, thought in denial, but when he hears her…
Are you alright…?
…he'd know his faith was right to exist all along.
I'm just glad you're alive.
And he meant every word of it. It was unfortunate that he only had the chance to feel ecstatic about the rescue after they boarded the plane, but he guessed it was fine. He was very content that the four of them were finally together, although they sat rows apart. It was silly, but that was how he found their unusual reunion.
Hours into the night, while everybody was sleeping, save for himself, he felt a strong urge to stand up and walk towards her. She seemed cold, sad, alone, and he wanted to be there to accompany her-just like old times. Before he knew it, he was already sitting beside her, struggling to smile without worsening the cut on his lip.
His eyelids began to gain weight as exhaustion perched on his body, but the silent sob that ensued from the small frame next to him slapped him awake. His eyebrows knitted at first. Then, his mangy hand floated up to her shoulders.
She jumped up upon his touch. She paused, and discreetly, she turned to face him.
Tears. Tears fell from brown orbs that were afraid. For a split second, brown and green met, and it was enough for understanding to be reached. She looked away, ashamed, carrying with her tears that blinded. He reached for her face before it was buried to oblivion again. Her lips trembled as she gazed at him. He wiped away her tears, then he smiled.
He did not wait for her to smile in return. She allowed him to help her, and that was enough. Resting his head back, he closed his eyes and called for sleep to come. While he did, he sensed her relax in her seat, and then she was asleep.
She slept calmly and somewhat secure. That was enough.
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