ourstaticwaves
"Applied physics," he said.
"What, exactly, does that mean?"
"It means that you have no idea what I'm talking about. Look, the point is.. we can't be friends if we don't even have the same interests."
"Who made that a rule?"
"I did, Kayla."
"Well, I think that's a stupid rule."
"Rise and be all that you will," said the headmistress. Jenny climbed out of her bed and slowly got into her clothes, ready for another day of learning. She never even saw the man looking in from out the window. She turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"Perfect," the man from the window whispered. "Exactly what I've been waiting for."
The thorns, buried deep in his hands, were all she could see. "What did you do to yourself, Brody?"
"There was a bird, trapped in the thorny bushes. I had to rescue him, and I paid the price."
"I'm not going to be able to remove these."
"I know." She sat down next to him, letting go of his hands. "You have to save everyone, don't you?"
"I suppose," he whispers, unable to look at her. "I'm not trying to seem ungrateful... but you have to think of yourself. Someday, you're going to have to stop save everybody else. You'll have to save yourself instead."
"Just as long as I don't have to choose myself over you, because that is the one thing I could never do."
The silence that follows is warm, comfortable... they understand each other. Right now, anyway, that's all that matters.
"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it?" Wendy shook her head as she slammed the trunk of her car closed. "I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do about it."
Jenny grabbed her wrist.
"Wendy, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did." Wendy pulled her arm out of Jenny's grasp.
"I loved him. You're my sister and you took him from me. I can't believe you could betray me like that. Just stop it. Stop pretending like you regret it. Stop pretending like you're sorry. Let go. Let me go."
Wendy opened the car door and climbed inside. She only uttered one sentence before driving away.
"I hope you two are happy together."
All Jenny could do was watch as Wendy's car disappeared from view... and then she cried.
Sarah pooped open the bottle of champagne. "To a better year," she said softly, raising her glass.
"To fallen comrades," Henry added, looking down at the ground.
"And lost loves," Sarah whispered, with a pointed look to Henry. They both sipped their champagne and found themselves lost in the countdown.
5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
The alarm sounded, signaling that the mission had begun and Henry and Sarah only knew one thing that would stay true, one thing that they knew for certain.
That nothing would ever be the same.
A glimmer of hope, shining throughout the darkness. Anna walked through the cave, toward him. "You came," she whispered. "Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?"
"Maybe this is a sign. Maybe things will start to get better."
"Maybe, but I think you're being a little too optimistic."
She sighed, before throwing herself into his arms.
"A glimmer of hope is better than none at all."
He couldn't help but smile as he wrapped his arms around her, finally breathing for the first time in a while.
"I suppose you're right."
And they didn't say anything else for a long, long time.
Jane walked through her father's estate. The green grass crunched under her feet as she looked for the gardener. "Excuse me," she cried, her eyes finally catching sight of him. "Have you seen my brother?"
"No, Miss. Not since Tuesday."
"Oh. Thanks anyway." He nodded and Jane continued on her way. 'Where could he be?' she wondered hopelessly. It had been only a few hours since she'd seen him last, but she couldn't help but panic. He was only eight years old - he could get horribly lost out here in this maze!
She was afraid to keep looking, sure that she would find a frozen corpse somewhere, buried in the leaves. The wind was chilly, but that wasn't the reason the hair on her neck was standing up. As usual, what she expected to find wasn't what she found. Not at all.