Dying light
Under vermilion sky
Stirred with monotony
Streaks of stone clouds
Footsteps
Progressively
Require more energy
Vision was a haze
Sensations
Extreme heat
Lethal cold
Taking turns
Killing him.
From a crawl
Walk
Accelerate
Run.
A peculiar effect
A man in fear
Progressively
Move faster
Upon breaking into a dash
Sprint
Like the devil is after you.
Speak of the devil.
Turn
Face to face
Immediately halt
Rosy eyes
Deadly
But now
He could not care less.
Strangely
Unreadable visage
Her expression
Miniscule smile
Tilting her head
The devil stared at him.
Standoff
Yet
Concede
She moved aside
Gesturing to a direction
Looking.
Skeptical, he looked at her.
Words refused to form
But there was no need
Silent understanding
Quite unsettling
She knew
Witnessing
To where
A flame
Had fled.
Perhaps
Too far.
There must always be a line
Draw the limits
Her plans
Dangerously
Effective.
He too, knew.
Resume
Once again
But not before looking back
Silhouette of a woman
Crossing her arms
The bane
To his existence
She who rocked his boat.
A saddened look on her face?
Illusion perhaps.
To her
Indeed
She was forlorn
Yet admiring
Unbroken resolve
The cynic
Refused to fall
See him pursue
A woman
Other than her
Quite
Painful.
Realize
He never pursued her.
It was always her
The devil
Giving chase.
To this
She was envious.
Subtle understanding
Refusing to accept
He did not
But.
No.
What made the fire queen
Better than her?
Worth pursuing?
Worth loving?
Answers to the questions
Perhaps
Subconsciously
She knew
Indeed.
Self-assumptions
A reflection
Of the self.
Assumed
She was
Inferior?
And for once
A sharp fracture
On her perception
Presumed perfection.
His silhouette vanished into the distance.
So did her spirits.
On the other hand
He pushed on
Regardless
Tired and battered
Physically
Mentally
Ironically
He felt
Stronger.
Exhaustion
Brought clarity
Mind and body
Cleanse
As his blood surged
Giving him
Newfound strength.
Faster, he ran.
Fear and dread
Like sweat
Shed
Evaporated.
Drawing closer
Her home
Dwelling of a queen
It seemed bigger
The doors
Heavier.
Grass seemed dull
The flowers
Still life
Yellow lights
Sinister.
Pushing it open
Deafening silence
In the dim
No traces.
Small hint
A sign
Momentary
Relief.
On the floor
Her bag
Looking around
To the staircase
A crumpled blazer
Points connect
An arrow was formed
He followed.
Ominous silence
Anxiety override fear
The corridor
Narrow down
Or so it seemed.
Doorknob felt stiff
For a moment
Trepidation engulfed him
But it yielded.
Push
Firmly
As if there was a weight
But there was none.
When he peered inside
He nearly collapsed.
Bursting forth
Into the room
A sight.
It was like a painting.
Unfortunately, gruesome.
Colors of red.
Certainly jarring
And he was stunned
Seconds seemed frozen
For hours.
For there, she sat.
On the corner
A dying fire.
From a parallel cut
Dark red
Seeped out
Forming a thin pool
Beside her.
White marble and blood.
Thin streams of tears
Glistened
On her weeping face.
Tragic scene
Almost Shakespearean
Evoking sorrow
Grief
Despair.
A withering rose
Her colors
Bleeding out.
