"Alina?"
"Hi lovely." Alina smiled, she was bouncing around the brightly lit stage.
Aislin and Alina were both in their long silver dresses they used for their ballet performance in the 8th grade. Complete with tons of stage make.
"What are you doing-?"
"Alive?" Alina smiled.
Aislin nodded.
"I only wish…" Alina shrugged. "Their's just a few things that I have to tell you."
Aislin was confused. She must have been in some parallel universe…right? Or more logical reasoning pointed to the fact that she was probably just dead too…but was Alina dead…she had just been missing….for months?
"Your mad at me because I don't think of you every day aren't you?" Aislin asked.
Alina laughed, her long lashes cast a shadow on her cheeks from their beautiful length. "No stupid of course not, you have more important things to worry about."
Aislin went to her fallowing her downstage. "So you are?"
"Dead? Yeah fore sure."
Aislin felt tears well up inside her, still after all these months Alina's disappearance still felt like Alina going off for spring break, like she's be back smiling like she was now.
"Don't cry." Alina wrapped one of her arms around Aislins hip. "Its really not so bad…"
Aislin sniffed. "How is this not bad, Alina!"
She was silent a moment. Shadows cast the curves of her cheeks perfectly. "Aislin…I cant answer everything but you need to know that my death doesn't involve as much of you as it may seem, it was my…fault…hmm is that the right word?"
Aislin shook her head. "What the hell are you talking about! How did you die."
Alina looked up at her, her angelic features so lovely with the stage light. "Aislin…I cant-"
There had to be a way around not exactly saying it all. "It doesn't have anything to do with Marko just know that okay? At least not technically."
Aislins eyes were filled with cool tears ready to escape her lids. "I don't know-"
"Alina I cant stay long."
"What no! This isn't fair! Why cant I know! You're my best friend I have to-"
"I was your best friend." Alina smiled. "You have a new best friend. Marko, remember? Pretty blue eyes gold curls, mischievous smile?"
Aislin looked up at her friend confused. "Alina?"
"I have to go."
"When will you come back?" Aislin looked up almost pleadingly.
"Silly, you control that."
Aislin awoke in a cold sweat her hair matted to her forhead. She was in unfamiliar place with a brown gold glow of light, it smelled of earth and rain, it was a cave, she was on a mattress laid in a crook of it, her dress and shoes folded neatly in the corner of the crook. She was her undershirt and black boy shorts on.
She stood up lazily and looked around. She heard laughter coming from higher up. She walked out into a brighter gold light. She saw Paul and Dwayne making their way around a broken chandelier smashed in the middle of the room. Marko was rested on a bed with transparent cloth canopied around it, David was nowhere in sight.
Her eyes wandered over the walls covered in vines and what looked like old tattered broken up frames.
"Marko?" She squeaked. She was still half hidden behind a curve in the cave.
Marko turned his head quick. "Hey beautiful, your up." He smiled.
Aislin said nothing.
"Where is.. I mean where are we?"
"Well we're at my home."
"Our home." Dwayne corrected her.
Aislin said nothing. Marko made his way to her, "Didn't you want to put your clothes back on." Aislin shook her head. Paul was finding it hard to block his thoughts of the things he wanted to do to her and Dwayne couldn't help but look at her like she was a piece of meat. Way to annoying for Marko.
"Uhhh…we erm…need to talk." Marko said running a hand through the back of his hair. "Aislin thiers just this thing for guys like me and its kinda it, ya know like when it happens its there."
Aislin looked at him puzzled. "Uhh? Are you breaking up with me?"
Paul and Dwayne laughed from behind them.
Marko looked back at them frustrated. "Hey why don't you two get the hell out of here and let us have some privacy, and Paul quick looking at her like that!"
Paul licked his lips and smiled. "Yes sir, noble Marko." Paul smiled saluting Marko and making his way up the riffs if the caves the boys had already well indented.
Dwayne made a nod of his head and fallowed Paul.
Aislin walked out from behind the shadow of the curve in the cave, "I've had the strangest dream."
Marko took her hand and lead her to a little worn out couch the boys had thrown in a corner. "Want to tell me about it?" Marko asked, Aislin responded with the shake of her head. "It was just-" She paused. "What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked.
"Oh yea, well Aislin you and I are kinda…ummm…."Marko stuttered looking for the right words as he looked away. "The way we are now wont work."
"Oh." Aislin looked down at her bare legs and began making little circle patterns within her skin. "You just wanted to sleep with me right?"
"No of course not."
Aislin looked up at him. "That's all right, I should have known a little better. You're just a guy, that's all you'd ever see when you'd look at me right?" She stood up and took a breathe.
Marko wasn't sure what to say. Argue? Let her go? That would be the best thing for her, to let her go and to let her forget about him and the boys. But he knew Aislin wasn't the type to just let things go, she was the kind that would constantly wonder what it was that went wrong and look at all the things she could have changed but ever had the opportunity to do.
"Aislin that isn't it at all." he took her hand and tugged on her. She looked down at him. "I don't think you could handle what it would take to be with me. And I'm fucking petrified that once you find out you'll leave…I care for you more than I've cared about any human in a long time."
"Try me Marko."