"I had no reflection though, which frightened me more than it should've."
Coquelicot's Demise...
The skyscrapers were threatening to intimidate my heart into a frantic sprint, but I felt like there was a hollow hole where the organ of love should've been.
My long hair blew across my face; covering my vision with gold.
Alone I walked forward, towards the horizon that sailed into vast empty fields of faded yellows and blues. The sun was setting slowly, and yet my steps fell even slower to the ground than the blazing star did to the other half of the world. As it lowered itself over the edge, my feet began to tread harder and faster against the cold tar of the long and broad road. My heart began its drum.
Suddenly, I'd found it.
The city around me was so empty to a point where I felt uncomfortable and yet oddly and pleasurably satisfied. Yes, it was empty and it made me feel defenseless, but that wasn't all- it also made me feel invincible. Honestly, I couldn't fathom why.
The sun dragged me to the horizon.
In old westerns or in some poetic stories, the hero and his lover ride off into the sunset, forgetting the past and the world for those few precious cinematic or literary moments. This was unlike that. This was real. Felt real.
In reality, you don't ride off into the sunset and you don't leave the past in the dust and ashes.
You ride the waves of regret and remorse till the horizon, and there, at the end of the edge, you either fall apart, jump over or retreat back to the spoiled soil. Some never even reach the edge...
This was my edge.
As I stood gazing down over the land, I was sadly shocked to find no body of water at the base of the giant cliff. Instead, I was gazing over a sea of purple. It looked like lavender flowers, but longer and richer in colour.
With the abandoned city at my back, I tried to jump, but found my feet glued to the rocks of the edge. I peered behind me. This was the part where the hero hadn't looked back, but instead, grabbed his horse and damsel and rode off without a care in the world.
I resisted the urge to retreat back towards the blackened horizon calling my name. It was harrowing.
The city slowly began to hide itself under the cruelty of the night sky, while the sun's last rays rolled on. My heart skipped a beat and tried to cover it up with a faster rhythm.
My neck stiffened as I turned my head back to what lay before me. Suddenly the cliff was edged out as if a large hand had taken a rolling pin and had rolled the cliff flat like dough. I took a step towards the horizon once more.
The black heavens consumed the countless skyscrapers and tarred roads with one big gulp.
She was fast asleep.
Like a princess. No, like an angel...
The involuntary reference to holy figures made me twitch, but it couldn't be helped. My arm was still placed under her soft, warm neck. Her hair spilled over my tanned skin like white wine over a blanket of rich honey.
She was so tantalizing.
Her body was turned away from me, her mouth slightly agape. Aurora's full lips were parted in such a way that it seemed like she was begging for me to close them with mine. A slight blush-coloured stain was visible on her bottom lip. She'd bitten herself and I couldn't help but feel envious.
I wanted to leave my marks. I wanted to be the first thing she thought of when she looked in the mirror in the morning.
Though, I knew that I already was.
She was fascinated by me. That was clear. She was frightened and cautions as well, but mostly, she was intrigued and allured; and that's what terrified her the most.
Unfortunately, we were on the same page.
I was obsessed, to put it lightly.
Perhaps Conrad had a point; I had to handle the situation differently. Or perhaps I shouldn't be taking romantic advice from a man who's been single since the French revolution. Maybe I shouldn't think of this situation as 'romantic'.
But how could I not?
She was dreaming in my arms, like a lover.
My index finger wouldn't stop trailing her cheekbones and it was impossible for my eyes to leave her features. I'd stopped trying to steer them away about an hour ago. They simply wouldn't budge.
Not that I minded; her beauty had no end. It was infinite in its depth and magnitude. My finger trailed the same path for the hundredth time and yet everything felt like the very first time I'd ever laid a finger on the sweet-scented, sun-kissed skin of her face.
Our feet were tangled in the sheets, exactly like lovers. Her delicate feet pressed up against mine and my hips smouldered contently against her firm, plump rear.
Every breath I inhaled was coated with her natural perfume. I tried to swallow the air.
I want to consume everything about her.
'Romantic' was thus an appropriate word, I suppose.
Her heart-beat, that though, was something special all on its own. It was fighting life. Fighting every second. Some hearts just beat to provide. Some beat to pass time, but hers had a rhythm unlike any other. It went beyond the ordinary and never halted. I felt like it was speaking to me through beats.
I trailed my index finger down towards her collar-bone and rested my chin on the incredibly soft skin of her shoulder. I planted a trail of loving kisses from her shoulder down to her collar-bone and cupped her chin delicately, so as not to wake the sleeping beauty.
Her eyes began to fluttered, but I quickly lifted my head to whisper sweet nothings in her delectable ear, "Sleep, sweet angel..."
My hand gently cupped her cheek that rested on the pillow, "Sleep until you're content."
Her juicy lips turned slightly at the ends. I couldn't help but mirror the movement. She did all the wrong things to me.
Aurora's eyes slowly stopped vibrating; her senses dulled by my enthralling voice. Tenderly, I stole a kiss from her lips- staying longer than I intended as her addictive taste swept my rational thinking to the side. I wanted her to sleep soundly, so I could have more time to understand this new emotion- this foreign experience. I wondered suddenly what it would feel like to fall asleep beside her. I hadn't slept in years, ever since...
Well, no matter. It might be interesting to try with her beside me? It might be worth it when I'd wake up with her sleeping next to me in bed.
"Sleep sweet angel, until I'm content..."
The field was ploughed by the hands of God.
Or so it seemed.
The purple ocean of lavender stretched out before me with such grace and unnatural alignment. The arrangement of the rows were precisely measured; it was like someone had taken a large ruler and spent their entire life dedicated to creating the most accurate and perfect garden that ran past the very horizon.
I felt honoured to be standing in the midst of such a peculiar and ominous place.
Honoured, yet guarded.
What magnitude of trouble have I gotten myself into now?
"Come..." Her voice was exquisite.
I continued to walk forward- in the direction of the horizon.
She was there somewhere, waiting.
I fastened my pace, but suddenly I was halted by what seemed to be a large mirror. To my left, was the longest and greatest mirror I'd ever seen. The strange item was at least twenty feet long and about ten feet across. I had no reflection though, which frightened me more than it should've.
I turned my head slightly to find the exact same mirror to my right. The two large objects were seemingly just floating in mid-air. My heart steadied, beating to a soft rhythm. I walked towards the mirror to my left.
"Closer..." Her voice pulled me away from the mirror and directed me towards the horizon again.
I felt torn between following her call and finding my lost reflection, but, like a small child being called by her mother, I turned my direction to the wide path between the endless rows of lavender fields.
The air began to acquire an odd, sweet smell. Like something was burning slowly.
As I peered over my shoulder, the golden mirrors were gone. A vast space of darkening blue sky in its place.
"Here..."
I stopped at the command of her soft voice. When I turned my head back to the front, I came face-to-face with a tall, dark trunk of a tree that must've been so thick, that a bulldozer wouldn't even be able to make so much as a dent in it.
The tree was green; rich in colour and it smelled of spring and rain.
In front of the tree sat a beautiful woman, her body facing the large trunk and her head turned upwards to the dark leaves and intricate network of branches. I stepped closer until I was under the tree's last bit of shade and a few feet from the strange woman.
I could tell she was beautiful.
Her hair was the colour of cotton. So light in blonde that it almost seemed like a heavenly white. Her skin was fair, but not pale. I stood there for a few minutes, just watching the pocket watch she held in her hands. She was so quiet. It seemed like she didn't even need to breathe, whereas my breathing grew harder. I placed a finger onto my temple as a sharp pang swept through my head.
She looked down to the ground. "You're early."
I paused. How do you reply to that?
"Oh, um... I'm sorry?" I tried to count my words.
I couldn't think of the reason why, but it felt like I had to have known her.
"I just came as you asked." She didn't ask, but the words dropped from my mouth in any case. It made sense at the time to say she'd called for me, but had she really?
The air was wet with rain and the tree's leaves still had morning dew on them. It was so quiet. There was no other form of life except for us and the plants, and I began to fidget with my fingers against my satin nightdress. She didn't seem to care.
The time passed. One minute became two... And two minutes became five.
Then she finally stood up.
"Aurora..." She said my name like it was a prayer and I felt deeply touched by her presence and tone. I couldn't put my finger on what made her so magnetic.
Was she an angel?
"You should be careful with the dangers that lurk so very close to you. Closer than you think." She said and folded her arms across her chest and examined the thick trunk before her. Her words were serious and yet her tone was one of boredom.
"Thanatos won't leave me be and I've-"
"No. He is not your danger."
Suddenly a pair of bright green, cat-like eyes met mine and I knew she wasn't an angel. There was something damaged about her- the way her shoulders slumped and her skin faded with ash. She was too pale.
I found my strength. "You're saying Death is not dangerous?"
I wanted to scoff at her ignorance. She fixed me with a stone-cold stare, but yet it seemed that she was more concerned than cross with me. "He is, but not to you."
I opened my mouth to question her sanity, but she quickly interjected, her fierce eyes closing with concentration.
"Not like that. There's something else you need fear."
She was beautiful; probably in her late twenties or early thirties. She was young in appearance but I had a feeling she was very older at heart. Her eyes were laced with wisdom and her skin shone with a certain appeal that maturity brought elders.
I was confused by her words that were filled with such an indemnity that most people never would doubt them for a second. I was at a loss for words. I stood speechless before the green-eyed woman who looked to be more patient than I'd first thought. Her eyes held me in place; her intentions though, weren't to scare me.
"You doubt me..."
"No!" I quickly dismissed her assumption as she lifted an eyebrow. "I believe you."
Oddly, I did. I knew her barely for a second and here I was, trusting her words as if she were a sister. I understood what she was trying to say to me, but I did have doubts.
How could she think Thanatos was not in any means dangerous to my well-being? He was death. It's not like I was immortal. I had an expiry date and hanging around with the entity of literally 'the end' was not in my best interest. Especially if I wanted a long life.
She didn't take that into account; or perhaps she saw something I didn't. Couldn't. Maybe she knew things I'd never thought of. It did seem likely, like I'd said; she seemed wise and knowledgeable beyond her years.
She seemed to know everything.
It was up to me to decide whether or not that was good or bad?
"You're dreaming..."
I took a deep breath.
Somehow I'd expected her to say this. "I know..."
She didn't look surprised; instead she smiled softly, the grin never reaching her eyes. "Then wake up, angel."
"I don't think I want to." My voice was so soft, I shocked myself. I wondered if she'd even heard me. Her eyes grew sad and I felt like crying, not because of this wonderful feeling of freedom that was so futile and fleeting, but because the amount of sadness expressed on her beautiful face was enough to bring an entire army to its knees. I was one mere girl, trying to listen to the wisdom she hadn't had the time to give.
She was trying to steer me. I was one dim-witted, mortal girl who'd accepted Death and not her life...
Maybe I should've fought longer, harder. Perhaps I should've been tougher and more strong-minded in my attempt to rid him from my life. Or maybe I should've been braver. Whichever the case, she was fading and the fields of purple prosperity with her.
I felt my vision weaken from this plane and I could feel my heartbeat fight to stay connected to hers, but as she gave up and closed her green eyes and departed from this level of the world, I felt cold and alone.
Once again I felt her touch on my cheek trying to tug me back. Then, a new whisper echoed out into the blackened night, "Wake up angel..."
A little dream sequence- some things won't make sense now, so don't worry about that too much.
Xx