Thanks to everyone who bothered to take a look at a story with a very vague summary and a
very strange title
Abandoned Sand castles 8/8
by Lady of the Lillies
Death is the dream that which I cannot wake. The dream that I do not want to
wake from.
In death, there is only darkness. It is resigned and undecided. It recedes
and creeps up slowly, only to hesitantly embrace. Death is a primordial type
of love. It flows through our veins, and we are all swayed by it's currents.
In death, there are also doors. I've fallen deeper into the rabbit's hole.
I'm falling farther into my own whole.
I stand in front of my own. As a proverbial Alice staring at the door for
which there is no key. But it opens anyway.
"Something is wrong."
Michael glances back at Isabel keeping an eye on the road. "What are you
talking about?"
"Stop the car Michael." Like a women on her death bed, her eyes are glassy
with fear and death. "Stop it."
With a sigh, he pulls the car over. "What do you-" He's cut off by the
slamming of the car door. Digging his nails into the steering wheel, he
looks at Maria in the rear view mirror. "You talk to her."
Silently obeying she walks over to Isabel and lays a hand on her shoulder.
He can't see what they're saying but it's obvious that Isabel is winning.
"We have to go back." Looking Michael directly in the eye, Isabel took off
on foot. Maria watches her and then turns to Michael.
"It's Max." Patting her gun holster nervously, Maria gets into the back
seat. "He's in trouble."
Even before Isabel, he could sense the darkness coming. Eventually, you can
block it out. Or just ignore it. But Isabel Evans could never ignore
something that was a stronger than her.
"Maybe," Maria pauses and bites her lips," we should go. She could be right."
"She could be wrong," he shrugs.
A disappointment settles in her aura. "You would let him die, wouldn't you?"
Michael turns away from her fading figure as she runs after Isabel.
Mockingly, the question echoes. "No," he lies.
The doorknob is in my hand with no recollection of the door even having one.
The light from the opening slowly pushes the darkness seductively out of the
way.Then, I see.
Water.
Laying out and then stretched contentedly across the sand. Lapping gently on the shore.
I want nothing more in the world, then to be one with this, so I jump.
With patient hands it guides me to the beach. The sun soon dries me and
directs me to Isabel.
For the first time in seven years, she hugs me. She wraps me in her warmth
and herself. She squeezes the darkness from every corner of me. Fills me
with her light. Her arms bind me to her and I never want to let go of this
moment."I miss you," she whispers as she lets go.
"I missed you," I mummer. With her light behind me, I begin to walk.
Although it's appearance would suggest otherwise, the hotel door is more
resilient then first thought. Beating on the door with her fists, Isabel
tries to test it anyway. "It's locked. We have to help him." She cries as if
tears alone are going to open it.
The only calm one of the party, Maria yells into room. "Max? Are you in
there?" After a pause, she turns to Isabel. Softly, she tries to explain.
"He probably went to go get a drink with Kyle."
"No." A voice from behind makes them turn. Michael looks at them
apologetically. "We have to help him." Placing his hand on the door, there
came a pale green glow. The door creaks open slowly.
"Walk with me." Michael is ahead of me, but I quickly fall into step with
him. The silence is so heavy that even the waves do not dare to sing.
Looking out on the sunset gives him an almost Buddhist calm. An air of
meditative reflection softens his features. The anger in his eyes is gone
and replaced with the sun.
"You know," Michael says pensively, "we all died seven years ago."
He stops and sits. In slow fluid motions, he traces symbols in the sand.
"But, I guess it started long before that."
I stoop down to join him. We watch the waves, watch the sunset and watch Maria.
The surfs swirling lazily around her ankles, she reaches down with bare
hands and scoops up the sand. On the edge of the coast, she is building a
sand castle.
When ever she gets to the lonely towers that over looks the ocean, the water
comes up greedily and invades. Flowing through and taking. Until all that is
left is sand.So she starts again.
The irony is not lost on me. I turn away but Michael keep a obscure vigil.
"When did it begin?"
Michael smirks sadly as we watch Maria kick down her own castle down. The
sand goes flying and ripples. What once was the wall reaches up for
salvation from the ocean. "Once upon a time, Maximillian, like all other
great tragedies."
"I wouldn't call it that." But the look from Michael makes me wish I had
never said that.
"What would you call it?" He turns back to Maria.
She has built a castle to her knees. In the face of despondency, one
solitary sand castles guard the balance. It is beautiful. Maria walks away.
Not bothering to look back when the waves claim it.
Michael sighs. "It shouldn't have ended this way though." He stands and
walks towards the castle.
Kneeling in the pool of blood, Michael absently traces it's path. Then,
looks away. Some things, no one should see. Thank god, Max's eyes are closed.
Screaming is all that Isabel is capable of at the moment. "Max! You can't
leave me here! You can't leave me here alone!"
Alone, Michael thinks dully. Whether she knew it or not, Isabel had blocked
him completely. He was nothing, her problem, her burden. It conforts
Michael, in a selfish way.
Standing and facing away from the body, he came eye to eye with Maria. A
pale blue fury in her eyes.
"Do something." Maria's commandment broke his trance.
"What?" He dumbly looked into her fevered eyes.
"Do something. Cure him. Make him better. Now." Maria's scales were tilting
towards darkness again.
"Save him Michael. Or can you handle that?" She
motions towards his shaking hands.
"I can't do this Maria." Looking at the body, he's all to aware of the
shaking of his hands. "I'm not God."
"Do something!" Maria screams. Throwing her fists on his chest repeatedly.
Controlcontrolcontrolcontrolcontrol... The same shaky hands that had once
loved her, wanted to hit Maria. Knock her back to the woman that once, he
had felt something that he thought was love.
But before he can move, one looks makes his stop. Isabel looks up at him.
With mercy the only thing keeping her standing. "Help him, Michael." A
selfish hope strings through her voice. "Help Max."
"I'm sorry." My foot crashes through one of the walls of the sand castles.
Liz looks up and smiles.
"It's all right." The apology seems to amuse her. I watch her hands nimbly
building the tower of the castles. As it is finished, she takes my hand. The
sand on the fingers rubs off on mine. The horror in my eyes makes her head turn.
The beach is littered in abandoned sand castles. All waiting and bowing to
the mercy of tide. The only armor from the darkness of this world is sent
alone waiting to die.
Liz follows my glance. "There is nothing that we can do to help them Max.
It's inevitable."
The crack of her voice makes me leave her arms. "You can't just leave them
there to die."
She stares out with tears in her eyes. "You can't stop the tide."
And suddenly I am just another sand castles being built by loving hands. I
can feel Liz's love around me as soft and warm as the setting sun. Her hands
leave me quietly as I watch her walk away.
I am just another sand castles waiting for the inevitable.
The water swirls around me. Invading, conquering my senses until there is
nothing left of me. But an arm reaching out for salvation.
I wake.
I rise.
Michael is crying with Maria's arms wrapped around him and my blood on his
hands. He looks to me. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
I lay down.
And I drown...
...drown
...drown
very strange title
Abandoned Sand castles 8/8
by Lady of the Lillies
Death is the dream that which I cannot wake. The dream that I do not want to
wake from.
In death, there is only darkness. It is resigned and undecided. It recedes
and creeps up slowly, only to hesitantly embrace. Death is a primordial type
of love. It flows through our veins, and we are all swayed by it's currents.
In death, there are also doors. I've fallen deeper into the rabbit's hole.
I'm falling farther into my own whole.
I stand in front of my own. As a proverbial Alice staring at the door for
which there is no key. But it opens anyway.
"Something is wrong."
Michael glances back at Isabel keeping an eye on the road. "What are you
talking about?"
"Stop the car Michael." Like a women on her death bed, her eyes are glassy
with fear and death. "Stop it."
With a sigh, he pulls the car over. "What do you-" He's cut off by the
slamming of the car door. Digging his nails into the steering wheel, he
looks at Maria in the rear view mirror. "You talk to her."
Silently obeying she walks over to Isabel and lays a hand on her shoulder.
He can't see what they're saying but it's obvious that Isabel is winning.
"We have to go back." Looking Michael directly in the eye, Isabel took off
on foot. Maria watches her and then turns to Michael.
"It's Max." Patting her gun holster nervously, Maria gets into the back
seat. "He's in trouble."
Even before Isabel, he could sense the darkness coming. Eventually, you can
block it out. Or just ignore it. But Isabel Evans could never ignore
something that was a stronger than her.
"Maybe," Maria pauses and bites her lips," we should go. She could be right."
"She could be wrong," he shrugs.
A disappointment settles in her aura. "You would let him die, wouldn't you?"
Michael turns away from her fading figure as she runs after Isabel.
Mockingly, the question echoes. "No," he lies.
The doorknob is in my hand with no recollection of the door even having one.
The light from the opening slowly pushes the darkness seductively out of the
way.Then, I see.
Water.
Laying out and then stretched contentedly across the sand. Lapping gently on the shore.
I want nothing more in the world, then to be one with this, so I jump.
With patient hands it guides me to the beach. The sun soon dries me and
directs me to Isabel.
For the first time in seven years, she hugs me. She wraps me in her warmth
and herself. She squeezes the darkness from every corner of me. Fills me
with her light. Her arms bind me to her and I never want to let go of this
moment."I miss you," she whispers as she lets go.
"I missed you," I mummer. With her light behind me, I begin to walk.
Although it's appearance would suggest otherwise, the hotel door is more
resilient then first thought. Beating on the door with her fists, Isabel
tries to test it anyway. "It's locked. We have to help him." She cries as if
tears alone are going to open it.
The only calm one of the party, Maria yells into room. "Max? Are you in
there?" After a pause, she turns to Isabel. Softly, she tries to explain.
"He probably went to go get a drink with Kyle."
"No." A voice from behind makes them turn. Michael looks at them
apologetically. "We have to help him." Placing his hand on the door, there
came a pale green glow. The door creaks open slowly.
"Walk with me." Michael is ahead of me, but I quickly fall into step with
him. The silence is so heavy that even the waves do not dare to sing.
Looking out on the sunset gives him an almost Buddhist calm. An air of
meditative reflection softens his features. The anger in his eyes is gone
and replaced with the sun.
"You know," Michael says pensively, "we all died seven years ago."
He stops and sits. In slow fluid motions, he traces symbols in the sand.
"But, I guess it started long before that."
I stoop down to join him. We watch the waves, watch the sunset and watch Maria.
The surfs swirling lazily around her ankles, she reaches down with bare
hands and scoops up the sand. On the edge of the coast, she is building a
sand castle.
When ever she gets to the lonely towers that over looks the ocean, the water
comes up greedily and invades. Flowing through and taking. Until all that is
left is sand.So she starts again.
The irony is not lost on me. I turn away but Michael keep a obscure vigil.
"When did it begin?"
Michael smirks sadly as we watch Maria kick down her own castle down. The
sand goes flying and ripples. What once was the wall reaches up for
salvation from the ocean. "Once upon a time, Maximillian, like all other
great tragedies."
"I wouldn't call it that." But the look from Michael makes me wish I had
never said that.
"What would you call it?" He turns back to Maria.
She has built a castle to her knees. In the face of despondency, one
solitary sand castles guard the balance. It is beautiful. Maria walks away.
Not bothering to look back when the waves claim it.
Michael sighs. "It shouldn't have ended this way though." He stands and
walks towards the castle.
Kneeling in the pool of blood, Michael absently traces it's path. Then,
looks away. Some things, no one should see. Thank god, Max's eyes are closed.
Screaming is all that Isabel is capable of at the moment. "Max! You can't
leave me here! You can't leave me here alone!"
Alone, Michael thinks dully. Whether she knew it or not, Isabel had blocked
him completely. He was nothing, her problem, her burden. It conforts
Michael, in a selfish way.
Standing and facing away from the body, he came eye to eye with Maria. A
pale blue fury in her eyes.
"Do something." Maria's commandment broke his trance.
"What?" He dumbly looked into her fevered eyes.
"Do something. Cure him. Make him better. Now." Maria's scales were tilting
towards darkness again.
"Save him Michael. Or can you handle that?" She
motions towards his shaking hands.
"I can't do this Maria." Looking at the body, he's all to aware of the
shaking of his hands. "I'm not God."
"Do something!" Maria screams. Throwing her fists on his chest repeatedly.
Controlcontrolcontrolcontrolcontrol... The same shaky hands that had once
loved her, wanted to hit Maria. Knock her back to the woman that once, he
had felt something that he thought was love.
But before he can move, one looks makes his stop. Isabel looks up at him.
With mercy the only thing keeping her standing. "Help him, Michael." A
selfish hope strings through her voice. "Help Max."
"I'm sorry." My foot crashes through one of the walls of the sand castles.
Liz looks up and smiles.
"It's all right." The apology seems to amuse her. I watch her hands nimbly
building the tower of the castles. As it is finished, she takes my hand. The
sand on the fingers rubs off on mine. The horror in my eyes makes her head turn.
The beach is littered in abandoned sand castles. All waiting and bowing to
the mercy of tide. The only armor from the darkness of this world is sent
alone waiting to die.
Liz follows my glance. "There is nothing that we can do to help them Max.
It's inevitable."
The crack of her voice makes me leave her arms. "You can't just leave them
there to die."
She stares out with tears in her eyes. "You can't stop the tide."
And suddenly I am just another sand castles being built by loving hands. I
can feel Liz's love around me as soft and warm as the setting sun. Her hands
leave me quietly as I watch her walk away.
I am just another sand castles waiting for the inevitable.
The water swirls around me. Invading, conquering my senses until there is
nothing left of me. But an arm reaching out for salvation.
I wake.
I rise.
Michael is crying with Maria's arms wrapped around him and my blood on his
hands. He looks to me. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
I lay down.
And I drown...
...drown
...drown