Foreign: Spider Socorro

30

"I cannot believe they did that." Spider spoke. Another village in ruins behind us.

He held down the raft to the sand, allowing me to step in carefully. I sat quickly as he hopped in, pushing us off of the sand and into the waves. The water was calmer today, not a sound but the quiet lapping against the raft. No storms, rain or fire. But grief and guilt, they raged among many.

"I just want to escape. This is wrong." I agreed with him, wiping away small droplets of water from my skin.

The blue sheen on-top of the ocean reflected in his mask as he steered the boat into the deep. His eyes looked ahead, to the future. I could tell he had been worrisome and pained by the destruction of many villages.

Not another word he spoke.

I looked out to the sea and began to rant uncontrollably. I felt this pressure to fill the silence with meaningless conversation. This man would have to never get tired of it, loving me.

"I know this is a bad time... but do you know what day it is? I feel odd." I whispered the last bit of my sentence to the side of his head.

"It's the 6th." He said blankly, driving the raft.

Had the time been different? I knew when I left Earth my 17th celebration was only 3 months away, leaving me torn about it.
I thought hard, trying to calculate days and weeks. Weeks of the same thing. It hit me quickly.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Spider! Tomorrow, tomorrow I am 17!" I laughed, putting my hands on his arms and pulling him to face me.

His eyes grew wide and his face was pale with shock.

"No shit! We have the same day?" He laughed, placing a hand on his head in shock.

I smiled to him. Thinking we have been so close all this time and I never even knew. How could I have imagined that I would be falling in love with a boy from another universe?

"Wow." I said, looking up at the sky. It was full of stars, creeping into the mid-night.

"Only a few more hours, then." I finally said. My heart skipped in my chest, beating loudly. I had been dreaming of 17 since I was 12, but it looked much different. I wished for a party, friends and a real family.

All of that was thrown away. I had a new wish now.

Spider looked up to the sky, smiling a little bit at the edges of his mouth. I noticed him searching through the stars, watching them blink. Again, the silence terrified me.

"You know..." I whispered, standing and motioning for his legs to open. I sat between them, my back on his chest. I felt his heartbeat as I grabbed his hands.

"There... that constellation is a group of stars containing the Earth. It's called the Milky Way, kind of stupid." I chuckled, turning my head to watch him. He stared, smiling up at the sky. Our hands still pointing together.

I felt his breath through the filter of the mask, light and happy. It wouldn't be long before the sun shone again, prompting our next mission with the barge, and I wanted to enjoy every second.

I examined his face, hair and skin. Perfect.

In my trance of thoughts, his hand slid down my pointing arm. I felt his touch bending my elbow, placing my arm backwards against his face. My skin cupped his with fiery feelings. How his eyes dug into mine before he spoke was mesmerizing.

"I know this is a bad time but... I think you look beautiful and I just..." he paused, running his hand down my shoulder to my chest and waist.

"I don't know how much time I have left with you, I want to enjoy it." He whispered, cupping my waist and moving his hands up and down. Oh it was like my skin melted as his touch. His words meant nothing and everything to me, I could only feel him against me.