So I've had some pretty terrible writer's block recently, and had this little snippet of an idea rolling around in my head that I decided to use as a little warm-up exercise. And I decided to subject everyone else to this warm up idea, published as if it's a finished work. Because that's the kind of guy I am XD. That said, it's not Shakespeare- but like some of my other shorts, it was an idea that was taking up space in my brain, and hopefully will get the creative juices flowing again so I can work on some of the other things that I'm SUPPOSED to be doing, haha.
Title (and inspiration) is from "City Grown Willow" by Radio Company. Gifted to Timid Antelope partly based on the fact that she just rocks, and partly based on our shared love of Radio Company.
Rivulets of rainwater flowed down the windowpane, trickling down in lazy paths before shedding off the sill at the bottom. The sky outside was leaden, a glum and morose monotone, seemingly bent on sucking the joy out of each day.
And it just so happened that it wasn't the only thing trying to get Elena down.
After months of back and forth texting, phone calls, and the occasional visit following the explosive search for El Dorado, it seemed that Nathan Drake had finally moved on. It had been weeks since Elena had heard from him. She had seen it coming all along, of course- right from the start she had him pegged for the girl in every port type. But there had been a brief moment where she imagined it might be something more…
She could remember the rain that fell from a blazing scarlet sky as Navarro's boat sailed away from the island, when everything was at its most dire. She had been folded over the edge of a crashed helicopter while Nate played a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with Navarro, always apparently just one bullet away from the world being destroyed by some kind of crazy bio-weapon. She remembered it being so hard to move, so hard to believe that the desperate situation they found themselves in would somehow be salvaged. Hard to believe, as the rain pelted her aching back, that this memorable run-in with Nate would end with anything other than their deaths.
Then, somehow- miraculously- it did. Nate had pulled her from the smoking wreckage, and just moments later had shoved the helicopter over the edge, dragging both Navarro and El Dorado with it. Elena could still remember the feeling as Nate's strong arms had lifted her clear of the cockpit, pulling her close to him, their rain-soaked bodies pressed against each other for a few breathtaking moments. Somehow, Nathan Drake had pulled through and saved the day. As if on cue, the rain had also stopped, leaving nothing but a beautiful sunset to sail off into, and where moments before had been fear and uncertainty, there was a sudden flood of confidence- as if something wrong in the universe had been set right as she melted into his embrace on the back of their stolen boat filled with treasure.
That feeling had, of course, slipped away somewhere over the months that followed it.
Elena sighed, pulling on a jacket in preparation to head out into the dreary, rainy day where she would go in search of another story. Reaching the door of her apartment, Elena pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and reached for her keys.
She felt quite certain that whatever had been between her and Nate really was real, and she had a feeling that he could always bring some sunshine to the dreariest and darkest days. In the meantime, though- she could always grab an umbrella.