Esc. | KTH

°•.:*Esc.*:.•°

Cold.
Numb fingertips and misty exhalations.
Chattering sound of teeth against teeth.
Ivory was freezing.

Clearly, dashing through the large maze-like woody expanse like her life depended on it, all the while attempting to balance a huge rucksack atop one's shoulders is not enough to warm their appendages.

Aching-shaking feet finally coming to a halt to catch huffs of breath missing her lungs. Ragged pants vaporizing into the chill night air. A single glance at the dim flashes of digits blinking around her wrist indicated her unearthly hour of escape.

4' o clock.

With a heavy chest akin to her feet that failed to carry her on. Her eyes skimmed across the emptiness of the soulless highway, searching for traces of life. A hint of regret was starting to creep it's way into the crevices of her bones.

She gazed at the navy clouds in the distance, floating tranquilly about the prussian hues. Barely there strokes of lilac sporadically spread across the horizon. The waning moon keeping her company. The sky was beautiful. Almost so beautiful it had her heart aching for a reason unknown.

Gnarled naked branches spread out into dark stencils against the sky which was slowly starting to show hints of a pale dawn. It was as if the trees were stretching out their arms to grab hold of a piece of heaven.

It has been a while since Ivory let her mind adrift. Her head free of the usual incoherent gyrations of a thousand thoughts. One can say Ivory almost feels at peace. As akin to the rotten side of an apple, the apprehensive feelings start to form rings of regret at the back of her mind.

Was it worth it?

               ☁⭐°•.:*______*:.•°⭐☁

"Ivory!" She hears it loud and clear, echoing through the stillness. Shooting her head towards the source of the familiar voice she catches sight of a silhouette making its way towards her from the foggy end of the highway.

Ivory looks up at the panting figure in front and out of breath. The previous small silhouette now a tall lean frame laden with a ragged blue parka and dusty old jeans. Fluffy brown mess on a head that hung low, with a bent torso and hands resting upon knees. Ivory felt the urge to smoothen out the mess by threading her fingers through it.

Lifting his head so that now Ivory had a full view of the face her heart wrenched for. Tan skin softly glazing under the moonlight reminded her of sweet warm honey and bright sunny days on the porch. Oh, how she longed to trace every inch of it, to sprinkle its entirety with all the affection she could accumulate. Staring at the flushed chiseled face, his thin lips a pale pink she wanted to adorn with her own. She wished to drown in the depths of those eyes that stared right back at her, those sparkly almond slits that seemed to hold a galaxy.

Even the moon would shy away behind the clouds when catching a glimpse of his beauty.

"Tae." She let out a whisper as if to confirm that his presence wasn't an illusion concocted by her idle mind. And sure enough it wasn't, as the coldness of her frozen palm was replaced by a warmth encircling each digit, filling the gaps in between. Her chest felt like it grew an entire garden of sunflowers, all of them facing towards him and his radiance, that shone brighter than that moon in the vast lone sky.

"Hm?" The deep sound entered her ears and travelled all the way down to her heart, leaving behind a golden warm trail, making a home there. Searching his eyes with her own, Ivory seeked for a sign of safety, an assurance of sort.

Would you be here even after the moon falls asleep?

All of Ivory's regrets and worries dissipated into thin air as if they didn't exist in the first place, her building anxiety crumbled down to become one with the earth beneath her feet. Taehyung squeezing her hand interlaced with his, twirling their pinkies together while flashing his million dollar boxy smile wasn't very convincing when you think about it. But for Ivory it was all the assurance she needed to break free and let go. She felt like she could jump off a cliff, sprout wings and fly.

"Let's get lost?" His voice as deep as his words tugged at the tangled strings of Ivory's heart. Her chapped lips stretched to the point where it slightly stung, but the ecstasy it emanated was enough to thaw the frozen land that surrounded them. Enveloping the scenery in a white, icy wonderland as far as their eyes could traverse.

The entire world is blue inside the moonlight.

"Okay."
⭐☁°•.:*______*:.•°☁⭐

Taehyung was Ivory's sky. Endless and eternal. Where she would fly off to when it became hard to breathe.
Likewise Ivory was Taehyung's sunshine peeking from behind the clouds. A silver lining. Which he would cling onto till the end of time. It's not that Ivory didn't ever think of the consequences, Taehyung did as well. It takes trust as big as the heavens above, trust as ginormous as a galaxy, trust as endless as the universe, to muster up the courage needed to get lost together. As long as they were willing to bet their mortality on it, they knew deep within that this was worth it.

With that the two restless souls that found solace in one another ran. Ran till their feet were bruised and bleeding. Ran till their lungs felt free of air. Hands held tight in an intangible bond that no matter could tamper with. The raucous ringing of sirens tore through the blanket of silence, followed by incessant yells and screams that got louder by the second, but their ears seemed to be deaf to all but the sound of their wildly beating hearts.

They left their hasty footprints, mapping the way to a place far beyond the moon. A place beyond all tangibilities.

Not as easy as it looks, not as scandalous as it is made to seem. Escapism equates to something way deeper than just the adrenaline rush they seem to term it as. And that is just one of the million ways to interpret it.

Getting lost didn't seem like a bad idea.
Sometimes you ought to get lost in order to find yourself.
A maze may lead you to places you never knew the existence of.
Instead of following the stars home, dance beneath their shine and let your spirit free.
Sometimes home isn't a place.
It's a tiny little thing inside your chest beating away to keep you warm inside.

A hand to hold and get lost in the hallways of each other's hearts.

An escape through embrace.

___•°*End*°•___