Repose

The meeting was a surprise.

It always is, or so you've been told. Everyone told you it could happen, but no one could have prepared you for the fear.

The weight of a life finally unlived -- a burdensome, but wholly vital thing -- lifting away from you, never to return.

Then came the peace. A solemn tranquility, resigned to the nothing. The absence of everything was overwhelming and at the same time, not.

Fate often was a cruel mistress. But despite – because of this? – it also had a tendency to be surprisingly gentle with those showcasing great deeds of idiocy.

It would seem, for a fleeting moment, you qualified.

Something drifts away from you, consuming all, until --

Miraculously, you awaken once more, not so much torn awake in a flash, but softly roused.

As sense begins to return, slowly, you piece together your surroundings.

Your sense of smell came first, you are reminded of grass on a rainy morning.

You feel strands of something softly poking your back, not enough to hurt, but enough to annoy.

Sound begins to filter through previously deafened ears, a soft breeze.

Finally, you open your eyes, momentarily blinded by the light of a pale star. You squint and try to power through the minor hurdle anyway.

The sensations of the world around you stand in stark contrast to your condition.

Your body, sluggish. Your head, a minor ache. A feverish warmth coursing through you.

...Why are you sick? Didn't you just die? Fantastic. Just what you need, really.

You attempt to rise to a seated position, failing on the first, succeeding on the second. Getting a grip on yourself, you look around.

You are surrounded by lush greenery. A white tulip occasionally peeks between the grass.

...Where the hell are you?

Through your haze of exhaustion, you stand. Looking around, nothing but the plains and gloomy sky overhead.

You inhale deep to steady yourself. You try to grasp your surroundings once more, God forbid you remain lost in an eternal flower field...

...Huh. Speaking of flowers, suspicious clusters of them appear to grow heavily in on direction, as if marking a path.

You look around some more, making certain there was no other desperate lead you can grasp. Nothing.

Oh well. Why not? Slowly trudging forward, you follow this flower trail.

Your walk was peaceful in a way, certainly your thoughts were currently spinning around numerous assumptions and theories all at once, but that tiny part in the back of your brain that still recognizes the scenery around you made the occasional chime of "Oh pretty flower!"

Where you were going was up for debate, though you had plenty of time to think about it on your way. Food and water should have been pretty high up on the list, but you didn't feel hungry either, so those could wait.

Your musings hit a small stop however, as in the distance, a splotch of color amidst the green and gray reveals itself.

Your curiosity now taking the wheel, you ignore the soft ache in your joints and mosey on over to the sight.

It was an unusual one, to say the least.

A rather sizable tree stands straight amidst the field, and underneath the shade, a red and white picnic blanket rests. A basket fit for the supposed occasion sits atop it, you can barely make out the sight of sandwiches and fruit within it.

Then there was the young boy with onyx hair and matching eyes, languidly tapping away at a red Gameboy. More jarring however was, the large black cloak that he wore over a casual black shirt and gray shorts.

Oh and who could forget the large scythe, carelessly lying about?

...

For a moment, his eyes remain affixed to his game, before taking a small glance at you.

He tilts his head, but does nothing more. Returning to his game, he pats the space next to him.

Uh. Well. Why not...? You don't see anything you can do right now, and you don't really want to take your chances with the forever flower field.

With small hesitation, you sit down next to the oddly-dressed boy.

...Silence.

He was not talking to you, the only sound present was the clicks and taps of buttons. Daring to take a peek, you glance over to see exactly what caught his attention so.

A blank screen. There was nothing on the screen, no game loaded, yet the boy pressed the buttons as if his life was in danger, occasionally doing those small body tilts when one got too engrossed in a game.

Uh. Alright then... A pensive expression on your face and a scratch of the cheek. What now...?

A soft hum from the boy stole your attention from the fields. His eyes were on you once more, game now held lazily in one hand.

He stared at you yet again, trying to find something on your face.

"Er..." You drone out awkwardly, "Nice picnic...? Are you waiting for someone?" His lips purse at your question, before shaking his head in the negative.

A few more seconds of staring, his eyebrows perk up before nodding to himself, apparently he found what he wanted on you.

He leans over to the picnic basket, and fished out a crisp and scrumptious looking sandwich.

With both hands, he extends it to you in offering. You stare at the boy and at the food in his hands.

You don't really feel hungry, right now you'd rather rest your head and sleep your weakness away, but, well, it would be rude to refuse right?

Its just a sandwich, nothing strange about it. You gently take it out of his hands, and observe the snack. A mental shrug and you take a bite of the sandwich --

and immediately wolf the entire thing down because holy fucking shit that is good.

You freeze for a moment, embarrassment coursing through you as you realized how you might have looked to the kid.

Nothing. He's just staring at you again. Silently judging you maybe...?

He stares at the blanket, then he moves. Inching himself closer to you. Uh.

He reaches for the basket and pulls out a banana this time, one that he...ate? You're not sure what happened, one moment the banana was in his hands, the next, it was gone.

Okay. He pulls out another sandwich. He offers it to you. You take it from his hands, this time not immediately eating it, but making a questioning gesture at the boy first.

His brow furrows. He fumbles with his thumbs for a moment, before outstretching his arms with a hesitant but pleading expression.

Oh. Oh! A hug. Yeah, sure, hugs are nice. Sandwich in hand, you open your own arms and await a hug.

He hesitates, before inching himself to your embrace and -- woah holy shit, do you feel dizzy -- wrapped his arms around you.

He was warm and soft and apparently sleep-inducing as you felt the overwhelming urge to close your eyes and just sleep away.

You resist whatever force is pulling you to sleep for now, choosing to hazily pat his head and sneakily eat your sandwich. Yep. Still really good. What is in those sandwiches?

You feel him hum, and before you could ask what's going on, you feel him let go of the hug, and instead gently grip your neck.

Too woozy to resist, you let your head get pulled down to a soft cushion. Oh thank god, finally. The world stops being heavy for a moment, leaving you with the wave of fleeting nausea.

You realize now that your head was lying on his lap, and that he was now softly petting your head. Well this was, humiliating...

And kind of nice, actually.

You liked the silence. A momentary, mutual existence. You hadn't spoken to many people recently. That was fine, you think.

It doesn't matter much here, does it?

Here...

Where is here? You feel so tired now, the radiant warmth the boy exudes not helping.

It felt homely. Secure, in a way.

The persistence and dogged determination of life fell from your body like sheets of snow.

Energy drained from your body in waves with every pat on the head from him. The whiteness is coming again, creeping at the boundaries.

It was nice. Really nice. You're glad he's here.

Through blurry eyes, you stare at him. A solemn expression on his face as he stares back, he looked like he was about to cry.

It's going to be okay. Close your eyes, and rest.

The blankness arrived, and the journey ahead loomed like the darkness at the start of a tunnel.

Like that, your brief meeting concluded, without much aplomb, like the quiet start of a brand new story.

Amongst a field of grass another white tulip sprouts, a boy looming over it, scythe held steady in hand.

He was so very lonely here, but the arrival of a person also meant yet another loss.

With heavy dulling heart, he moves on, awaiting the next.

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Pub: 17 Dec 2021 09:40 UTC
Views: 236