Remembrance

Chapter 2: The River

Chapter 2: The River

"I'm gonna miss you..."

"It's just gonna be a year...

I promise."

Cold water sloshed against my face and clogged my ears. My body jolted upward as I gasped. My eyes opened as water poured into my mouth and ran up my nose. Everything around me was blue, a force pushing against me as I struggled to move. My head went back, looking up to see the tint was lighter. I kicked my feet underneath, reaching my arm out, trying to grab it.

My chest screamed for a breath but every time my mouth opened the taste of calcium and minerals broke through. Sand caught itself in my teeth and I couldn't breathe. I screamed. My throat forced the water out as I struggled to move but the water was overpowering.

The edges of my sight turned black. My legs went numb. Nothing else moved as my hand stretched out.

"Please!" I screamed, waterlogged. Please... I couldn't see. I could hear the waves move but I couldn't resist the pull.

Something grabbed my hand. Something warm. The water's frigid grip clung to my ankles as the warm force pulled my body away. The water broke from my wrist and traveled from my arm to my head. Shoulders. Chest. Stomach. Hopefully my legs but I couldn't remember what else I had left on me.

I tried to cough but I didn't move. I tried to look around but I couldn't see. Everything was... dark. My nose burned but felt cold. My body didn't respond to any signals I sent to it or flinch when I tried to move.

Am I dead?

...No.

Because I'm able to talk to myself.

Did someone pull me out?

I felt something pushing my chest, yelling "Wake up!" without my name.

I could hear it.

The black started to fade, but blurry light replaced it, almost impossible to see. Maybe I really was dead and this was Irene and Esmund tricking me into believing I'm done.

Another push to my chest made me cough. Water shot from my nose and mouth.

I screamed.

My entire body jolted and burned as my nose and throat violently rid itself of cold water. My eyes watered and I could feel something hot dripping down the sides of my face.

"Hey, Hey!" A voice said, my arms being grabbed. The same feeling as my wrist just a moment before.

"No! Get off!" I shouted. I tried to kick my legs. Pain erupted under my skin. I forced my heels into the dirt and felt my body move until I saw and felt a green mass slam into my body. In an instant, a ring blared in my ears as everything went dark again.

"It's a necklace, stupid."

I started to look around. A dress I had never seen before was around my waist and legs, and a man, around my age, was looking at me, his features dismembered but his hand reaching to me, a silver necklace embraced in the creases of his palm.

"A necklace?" I asked, looking at him before at it.

A chuckle gently rang out from beside me, "Yes... for you."

Confused, I laughed, "But, why?"

"Well, I wanted to give you something before you left. To remember me by."