"I warned you Mia." Mia turned to eye the older version of herself, who wore black for the occasion. Mia pointed at her with hate. "I WOULD'VE NEVER WENT IN THAT WATER IF I KNEW THINGS WOULD END THIS WAY!!" " I couldn't tell you flat out, that's the whole point of my mission." "But you're the older version of me? If you know this is how my story would end, why would you let the chapter end with such bitter resolution?" The woman put her head down, unable to answer Mia's inquiry. Mia looked at her with desperation, dying to know what the point of her suffering was and what she gained from it. She put her head up once more to look Mia square in the eyes. "You're dead Mia, but not as dead as you think. Your memory will live in the ones you love." "What's the point of a memory if it fades?! Memories are meant to be shared with the person that's by your side, not in the ground!" Mia felt her soul shift, looking towards her coffin as it lowered into the dark earth. As her body faded from view, the army of black suits and dresses began to dissolve, vanishing one by one. Mia looked for the one person in the crowd she wished would be here besides her own mother. "Where's Brad? He promised he'd be there for me no matter what." She continued to scan the group until she realized he never showed, shattering her heart into millions of organic pieces never to be mended again. Her tears melted her face before rolling off, moisturizing the soil her coffin would be under. "Brad was right, no one would ever love me." As the few members cleared out, one person stayed behind and watched the groundskeepers cover her coffin, looking upon the mound of fresh soil with a broken heart. Mia looked at that person and remembered that she in fact did have someone by her side, even if her own selfishness clouded that fact. "Liam...". When Liam was left with the wind's breeze and his own thoughts rattling behind his eyes, the stage was set for him to say his piece. He stared at the newly carved tombstone in disbelief, unable to grasp that his only friend was no longer by his side. He took a knee and closed his eyes. "Mia...". Mia ran to him and hugged him, even though the embrace would be left unfelt. His chin rested on her shoulder, unbeknownst to him. She heard him sob, she felt him shake and after several seconds, she felt him get up and leave, leaving her in the graveyard of her mistakes, a memorial of everything he lost. She spent that night in the cemetery, bound to the perimeter of her grave, feeling loneliness at its most potent.The cold was no longer a physical reaction but a mental one; she didn't know ending her life would come to this, spending the rest of her days leaning on her tombstone to be forgotten with time. "I wish I could take it all back." She whispered to the moonlight. "I now know what I have, what I possess that many people do not." The morning came and she was awoken by Liam, who began pacing around her grave, as if he waited for her to hear his speech. He cleared his throat before taking a deep breath. "I knew you were unhappy. Despite everything I tried to do, every weapon I used in my arsenal to break your sadness, it wasn't enough. I never told you this, let alone had the guts to say but I loved you Mia, more than I loved myself. It's easier to say now because, I didn't know how much your disappearance would affect me. I know you can't hear me, but if you do I just want to ask you why. Why?" He began shaking uncontrollably, the rage in his eyes bringing tears to hers. "WHY?! YOU WERE MY ONLY FRIEND! DAMN YOU! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE! YOU LEFT ME HERE TO DO IT ALONE, AND DESPITE TELLING ME YOU'D NEVER LEAVE, THAT WE'D BE FRIENDS NO MATTER WHAT, YOU STILL LEFT!" He began to hyperventilate, looking away to catch his breath. She felt numb; her soul felt like drifting but for some reason it stayed in front of him. She knew they were friends but never thought for a second her suicide would take a chunk out of him the way that it did. "But after all of this Mia, I forgive you. Hopefully your suffering ended, and hopefully you're where you belong. No one could laugh at you, belittle you or downplay you like you weren't the greatest thing to grace this world." He began crying out loud, laying down next to her tombstone. She laid down next to him as he looked right in her eyes, as if he knew she was there listening to him talk. "I know where ever you are, whatever worlds you're visiting or discovering, you're still the biggest light around, and the greatest source of inspiration to others. God knows you've been mine, and I can't hate you for that." He wiped his eyes before closing them as he whispered to her. "I just wish you were here to see how I turned out, you would've been proud of me, I just know it." Mia blinked and time began to travel in light speed, Liam went to college, became an author many people loved and adored. Every moment he had, he visited her grave reading her stories that made her eyes water and her soul flicker. Time stopped speeding itself through light speed to show Liam with a smile. He grew older, fresh out of college she assumed. She grew older in a way too; her hair was short and her height was a few inches under Liam's, causing her to chuckle a bit. "It's time for me to move out of this city Mia, I'm so sorry." Her chuckling ended, looking at Liam as if he spit in her face with venom. He brought out a weathered object, a notebook Mia never saw before. He opened it up and smiled ear to ear. "I never told you this Mia, but every waking moment we had together was recorded in my mind. When I went to my house I wrote it down to make sure the memory was alive, and now that I look at this I know you'll live forever." He laid it down next to her and gave a weary smile. "Don't worry, I'll visit when I can, I just have to work on me. Our friendship was bittersweet, a rose without color or smell, a colorless sunset we were forced to eye with the hopes that the earth would be kind enough to show us hope in the gray. It was my fault for not making my intentions known, but I fell in love with you through our friendship so to me, I saw the roses and the beautiful sunset through your eyes Mia, and I'm glad I got the chance to. My favorite poem is called "my biggest fear", it describes how I felt about you all those years. It's not a rhyme scheme type of poem, but it's a freestyle poem, my favorite type of poetry." He walked away before running back, slapping himself on the head. "Sorry! I forgot to tell you more! That was always the clumsy part of me wasn't it? I wanted to ask you to watch over me, I know that with your light shining on me, I'll achieve anything. Just promise me you will, okay?" He walked away and stuck his hands in his pockets, leaving Mia to hold the notebook in her arms. She opened the cover, excited to read the first story he wrote about her. She found the first poem to be his favorite one. "My biggest fear." She began. "My biggest fear isn't that our friendship would fade, but that my love for her would separate us. She's been hurt and she wears it on her skin, hiding it with her sleeves. I saw it one night, as she rolled them up to paint on a blank canvas. I saw "regret" and "sorrow" imbedded into her epidermis. I gasped at the sight of them. I used my words to wipe them away but they'd only reappear, appearing bolder then ever. My biggest fear is that I fail her, that I'm not able to be there for the girl that let me see her smile, the girl that showed me the words she hid underneath the flaps of her eyes. My biggest fear would be to ask her out. Would she see me as another guy waiting to get his turn, or a friend that wants to help her wipe away the words of doom? Even if we remain friends that would be all I desired. After all, I could never live without her, I don't see how anyone could. The biggest fear I have isn't a failed relationship or a friendship that ended in flames. My biggest fear would be if I never got the chance to gaze into her oak brown eyes, to savor the memories of the past, make moments in the present and plan for our paths to cross in the future. If I never met her, I would've never found my biggest fear, my weakness, the tremble in my voice and the friend that allowed me to see her for who she was. This is for you Mia Powers, the biggest fear in my life yet the greatest fright I never knew I needed." Mia closed the book and ran towards Liam, breaking the barrier that kept her chained to her grave. She stuck her hand out and grabbed him, closing her eyes. She opened them to find herself in her room with her hand extended out. She began to weep as her mother opened the door to hand her breakfast. She leaked out of the bed to wrap her arms around her mother, who asked her if she had a bad dream. "The worst dream I ever had in my life." Later on that day, as her mother headed to work and Mia was left alone by herself, she called Liam, hoping he would pick up at the first dial tone. "Hey Mia, what's up?" Liam said. "Meet me by the tree right now!" "Okay, may I ask why?" "Just get down there and hurry!" She put on her clothes, brushed her teeth and hastily threw her shoes on before bolting out the door. Liam sat under the tree, writing a part to his newest story in the composition notebook, smiling at his work. He looked up and saw Mia running full speed at him causing him to brace for the impact that was to come. "Mia! Slow down! I'm here! On time too!" She halted in front of him and pressed her lips to his, causing him to drop his composition notebook. After a few seconds he closed his eyes, savoring the moment they shared. Once her lips detached from his she wrapped her arms around him, taking in his essence as he slowly reeled in from her spontaneous act. "What's gotten into you?" She pressed her nose against his and said the words she told herself she'd never tell another soul. "I love you Liam." Liam looked at her and returned a kiss of his own, secretly longing for this moment since he knew that his heart belonged to her and only her. "I love you too." He said with vocals wrapped in emotion. "Come with me to the beach, there's something I want you to do with me." He nodded as he took her hand, grabbing his notebook before they walked to the beach, where the sun shined upon them and the water calmly leaped onto the shore. She ran to the mound of sand near the lifeguard box, taking out the black stones she hid. "Take one, Liam!" "What's with the stones?" He asked her. "They're special to me, it marks a new beginning for me, on the count of three, throw them into the water. One, two, three!" They threw the stones into the ocean, watching them disappear in the waves. Liam scratched his head as she began to tear up. "Whats the meaning behind the stones?" He asked again. "It's a souvenir I want to leave in the past. I'll tell you more after we leave this cursed beach." "Okay, whatever's good for you." Liam said with a smirk. "Thank you Lima bean." She said with a grin. As they slowly sauntered away from the beach, she gasped, letting go of his hand and running towards the waves. She spotted the older version of herself, who smiled at her like the day she met her. She took her shoes and socks off, leaving them close to the edge. "I'm proud of you Mia." The voice said to her in a warm tone. "I now know I have someone here for me, so my story doesn't end here." Liam opened his mouth with confusion, but closing it before he made a fool of himself. She looked out towards the calm waves, thanking the older version of herself for showing her the very thing she needed to see. "Take care of Liam, you know he's clumsy." "I will!" Mia said out loud. "You will what?" Liam inquired. Mia told him he was clumsy, causing him to become lightly offended. "I am not!" "Then where's your notebook?" Mia said with her arms crossed. Liam's eyes widened and he began looking around for the notebook, scurrying around the beach in search for it. Mia laughed at his misery and helped him look for the notebook, leaving her souvenir to face the waves alone. Liam closed the book and looked at Mia, who's short hair began smacking her earlobes. "Well, how's the story?" "That was a great way to tell it." Mia commented. "It wouldn't of been possible without you, so thank you for letting me write this story." "I'm surprised you managed to do it while writing your novel that's due in a few days." "I can multitask Mia, I'm not incapable!" Mia giggled as he smirked, leaning back in his office chair. "It's been ten years since we became girlfriend and boyfriend." "And now you're my loving husband." She pointed out. "I try my best." He admitted. "You're doing more than enough." She gave him a kiss on the forehead before leaving his office, closing the door behind him. She brought out her tablet, where she began drawing the cover art for his novel. His dreams of being an author became reality, as well as her dream of being an artist. She was his illustrator and they worked together to make both of their goals visible to the world, becoming beloved in their respectable categories. She often looked back on the yesteryears, smiling at what she overcame and shedding an occasional tear or two at what she could've lost If she drowned herself in the ocean. With Liam at her side, and her thoughts of suicide in the past, she began to appreciate life more and more each day. She decided to name Liam's story for him, titling it Don't Drown, in homage to the words her current self would've begged her younger self not to do for the sake of enjoying life above the surface. (End of story).
YOU ARE READING
Don't drown(part1)
Short StoryWhen Mia Powers attempts to end her life by drowning in the Pacific Ocean, a woman shrouded in mystery comes to rescue her. Is it coincidence that she saved her, or the beginning of a tale that ends in tragedy?
