༶•┈ 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 ┈•༶
┊͙ˏˋ 𝐜𝐡. ❾ ࿐ྂ
-͙
"First one down wins!" I utter and run as quickly as possible.
"Aishh!" Jungkook grits his teeth and chases after me at full speed.
We make our way down the staircase leading to the watery wonderland. Slumbering in its blue robe, the sea greeted us and the half-moon of beach softly. The sugary-white grains envelope our bare feet as we run across the field, kicking the sand and shouting out of pure bliss.
I slow down my pace once I begin to feel a cramp formulate in my stomach, and eventually stop to catch my breathe. Jungkook catches up to me and snakes his arms around my waist.
"Gotcha!" He picks me up from the ground and twirls me in a circle.
I laugh in amusement and lean my head back against his chest. He finally puts me down and lightly pecks the side of my cheek, while tightly embracing me.
Stars are filling the sky like a promise of light in the darkness. The beach is drenched in a lightning-gold, dawn haze. The mighty heap of sea flowed in its astral-blue smoothness from the horizon in.
I wobble like a penguin towards the waters with Jungkook backhugging me. The cool water laps at my feet, fizzing and bubbling like brine. Waves ahead roar and roll down, crashing onto the shore with a soft hiss; peeling away at the deep bronze sand beneath my feet.
A gust of wind forces itself past me. The wind whips around me, cutting through the stitches of my clothing, and carries the unmistakable aroma of salt. But somehow, I enjoy it. I enjoy the faint taste of salt on the breeze that was complimented by the ambrosial aroma of the flowers around me.
I suck in the salty air like its an elixir, to me I think it is. It tastes like home. The waves are rolling in white tipped, spreading themselves like fine lace over the beach after they crash in their soft way. There is nothing noisy about them, yet they have sound.
Perhaps to me, it is more like the music of my childhood summers so long ago with the people I have loved and lost. If I close my eyes, I can hear my mother calling me for lunch and my father rustling the newspaper as he turns a fresh leaf.
In this moment, I can tell that time is almost up. My time is almost up. Soon enough, I'll be reunited with mom and dad again. The thought of it makes me happy.
But, I didn't realize it'd be this soon...
Sweat begins to bead all over with the reoccurring nerves I thought that I had finally abandoned, leaving me absent of the ability to do anything. I grip onto my fingers, penetrating the skin of my palm in order to fight the pain but it is meaningless.
I can practically hear my own heart beating in my ears as the pain travels up my neck, into my jaw, and then radiates to both of arms. My entire body is becoming numb, number than it ever has.
"Thank you," I finally say.
"For what?" He rests his chin on my shoulder.
"For everything," my voice wavers, exhilarated from the tension between them.
I look back at Jungkook, and there is a softness in his eyes.
The waves are suddenly murky, crashing with golden swirling crystals. They move with immense force and travel a few feet farther than before. From them comes the salty smell, that fragrance that conjures fishing fleets and nets of sun-bleached blue cord hanging out to dry.
My heart begins to ache when his hands cup my cheeks and he pulls me towards him, taking me in for what I know is one of our final embraces, the kiss of death.
It is with this kiss that I know I'm in too deep. His lips are not a foreign touch to mine. For him, it is a reason to hold on. For me, it is goodbye.
I can feel tears stinging in my eyes, and when he pulls away for air, I pull him back in. I'm intoxicated—I'm intoxicating him, but it doesn't matter. Nothing would matter after this.
I don't want this moment to end. I don't want to wake up from this dream. But, dreams don't last forever. And unfortunately, neither will we.
I look into his glistening eyes and reach my hand up to cup his cheek. I rub my thumb across his cheekbone, feeling the softness and warmth of his skin. My lips curve upwards into a smile.
Once the words escape, my eyelids begin to loosen from their tight embrace.
"I love you."
He stares at me, his oval brown eyes now widened behind the tussled locks that are covering the entirety of his forehead and a bit of his eyelids.
" ... "
Silence is a worse impact than I once imagined. I watch with hesitant eyes as he now begins to reveal his subtle lips, opening just enough to respond:
"I love you, too."
I can feel a tightness in my chest as my legs are starting to give in. My heart beat is increasing, wheels turning to comprehend the situation with fists softening and a smile now spreading. A tear glides down my cheek.
There is no anxiety now.
My vision fades to black.
And I fall.
⠀
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