Changer Of Time

Changes | Chapter 6

Her hands wrap along mine, concealing my pain. Fingers tickling. Minds motivating. Our bodies float together in symmetry, swimming through the forests. We fall into corners and my freckles glisten in the light. Her long purple dress flutters like a butterfly and ripples along the air. My pale complexion shines and my body feels utterly alive. Locks of hair sway in the wind into my eyes causing me to look away, and we keep running. Although dazed from the exhaustion and confusion of life, I feel alive and I run. Legs limping, arms trailing, we run.

We run and keep running.

Pain. Alive. Run.

She turns a corner, leading away from the pathway and enters a small circular chasm that conceals a cave. I had never seen the face of the cave before, but it felt like I had. It felt like I had known this place or would come to know it. Maybe this would be mine and Abbie's place? The Cave. Our Cave. Abbie's blonde hair twisted along her neck due to the wind we had ran through, and her cheeks grew red in the strength of running. I was running away from my problems...Why was she running? I notice her marked face, the redness I had noticed hadn't been just from the running, she looked like she had been crying. Desperately crying.

Maybe she was running from her problems too.

Cave. Running. Problems.

I had known Abbie for what felt like an eternity. She was a girl who fluttered through my life, noticing me occasionally in the smallest of ways. The story that identifies our friendship most was when the Governor of Pi was elected. 2050, I was 7 years old. I remember the way the shouting began after his election, the fires, the destruction. My parents are both part of the Government, they've always been. When the screams and cries began to swallow our city, they were forced to go to work, and I was bound to my house. Hours drifted by, hours turned the day into the night, time took away the cries...but the anger remained. From the slight edge of my eye, I had noticed a girl wandering through the riots, she was shouting but her screams had been muted by her weak voice. Cries coming from other directions had hinted at anger, but her cries were wanting, needing. Her blonde locks fell from her head, and I had noticed it was Abbie, a girl I had encountered with since I was born. My seven year old self, held himself up and opener the locks that secured our door, opening himself to the world of hatred. Pushing past the swarms of aliens, I had reached Abbie's fingers, and pulled her inside. She embraced me with screams, she had lost her home through the fires and her parents also worked at the Government, so she tried to find a way to get to The Government Building.

"I tried, I tried to find someone. But they kicked me and pushed me. I don't know what happened, but then you held out your hand for me and I felt safety."

My heart died for her, and I welcomed her into my house, for security. For love.

"It's okay Abbie, it's okay! You can, urm, you can stay here if you like? Mum and Dad aren't home for a little while and Peter won't care. Would you parents be okay with you staying at..at a boys house?"

Even at the age of seven, I was insecure.

"I have no where else to go, Spero."

Girl. Fire. Love.

I sit across from Abbie, my thumbs twiddle, my brain fiddles with memories of our friendship. The word 'awkward' sits between me and Abbie like we are strangers, but we're both just deciding about life, or atleast I am. I'm not a mind reader.

"Well this is awkward, sorry I was just thinking about life."

I'm a mind reader.

"Hahaha" - awkward laughing. "Yeah, me too. Why did you drag me out here?" The sarcasm tips my tongue.