A/N: If you haven't already heard this song, you need to listen to it. It is like the ice-cream of this chocolate sundae chapter. What a fantastic song!
CHAPTER 25:
"There's a drumming noise inside my head
That starts when you're around.
I swear that you could hear it,
It makes such an all mighty sound.
There's a drumming noise inside my head
that throws me to the ground.
I swear that you should hear it,
It makes such an all mighty sound.
Louder than sirens,
Louder than bells,
Sweeter than heaven,
And hotter than hell.
...
As I move my feet towards your body
I can hear this beat, it fills my head up
and gets louder and louder,
it fills my head up and gets louder and louder.
I run to the river and dive straight in.
I pray that the water will drown out the din.
But as the water fills my mouth
it couldn't wash the echoes out."
Florence and The Machine (Drumming)
That night I dreamed I returned to the beach.
My toes pinch the soft sand, my hands scrunch at the sides of my light-blue night dress. The breeze blows across my neck and lifts my loose curls from my shoulders.
I feel an internal pull toward the quiet waves, like a muffled drum beckoning me on and taking control of my body. It's more than the force of curiosity influencing my steps now, but rather a familiar energy calling me on, possessing my body and making me move forward.
As I advance, the drums grow louder and the will to turn away ebbs further from my consciousness. With each step the power of the drum swells and I feel a magnetic charge between me and the water. I need to be in the water. I need to climb into its icy warmth and embrace its beating heart.
I walk steadily into the cold, dark waters, my dress soaking itself in the magic, deeper and deeper till my head is submerged. Total darkness blinds my vision but the drum beats louder and directs me straight toward it. The deeper I swim, the more I can see.
And finally I can see the drum and feel it pulsing in the water. I swim willingly now to the blurry oblong shape till it changes, seeming to produce four tentacles. I suddenly worry about oxygen and the possible threat of this creature, and in that moment of distraction the drum sucks me in closer.
The drum pounds against me as I examine its black mass. I reach out to touch its beating surface. And suddenly it moves and two eyes open above my hand.
I pull back with fright but the drum grabs my wrist. It's human. The beats pulsate down my arm and suddenly I am beating with equal intensity. As the human drum takes my other arm we become swallowed up in a bubble and now the beats emanate from outside us.
And, as if in becoming one, I can see clearer in our bubble and I recognise the face. Black locks float around dark orbs that shine against white eyes, and dark skin that glints in these green depths.
Whether it's the supernatural force propelling me all this time or my own will, I reach out my hand to touch his face, not believing it. He mirrors my movement.
Our eyes connect and we drift closer. He presses his lips against mine and fills my mouth with water kisses. And suddenly, as if by perfect design, a colossal beat escapes from our unity and water fills my soul.