Hey, rndmnwierd, I like the comparison of my story with a song that has an abrupt ending. Now I can say "I meant to do that" about the rushed feeling.
Hahaha!!
I couldn't end
What Needed to be Done and
Love x 2 - 1 happily, but because every story needs a sliver of sunshine (and because you all asked for a happy ending), I came up with this. It was quite spontaneous. I didn't intend to write it, but suddenly it was written and finished in front of me.
PerfectionIn a bright meadow far from Japan, far from Earth, far from any known world, two girls meet.
"What happened to you?" inquires one, eyeing the other's torn and bloody clothing curiously.
"Plane crash, I think..." comes the puzzled but calm response. "You?"
The first girl to speak opens up her arms in a wide gesture and takes a look at her own wet clothing.
"I got beaten up beside a river. I'm assuming I was pushed in," she says resignedly.
They both know why they're here. They both recognise each other, but they don't know each other since they've never met before.
"You're not her, are you," states the drowned victim.
"No. And you're not her," the plane crash victim says.
Somehow they know this.
"Where do you suppose this is?" Drowned asks, looking up at the clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight.
Plane Crash mimics the action and squints as the light from the sun hits her eyes.
"I don't know. A judgement period?"
Drowned nods in acknowledgement, but she doesn't agree. The truth is that Plane Crash doesn't believe it either. It's simply something to say.
The weather is so beautiful that they decide by silent, mutual agreement to begin strolling through the greenery, unaware of where they're headed.
"What day is it today?"
"October twenty-sixth," Plane Crash replies.
"Nah, it's already November."
They look at each other, another mutual, silent wave of agreement passing between them. So they come from different worlds or different times. It doesn't matter. Not here in this place where "world" has no meaning.
They walk quietly. They reach the end of the meadow and come upon an expansive beach that stretches on for an eternal length. The sand is the pure white kind found only in tropical vacation brochures, the sea a multitude of colours of green and blue shades. The steady progression of the shades, from the pale blue of the shoreline to the deep blues and greens of the water where sky and sea seem to meet and become one at the horizon, takes both girls' breath away. They stand at the invisible and impossibly sharp boundary line that divides meadow and sea, contemplating the myriad of colours they can see, perhaps seeing some of those colours for the first time in their lives.
"Beautiful," utters Drowned.
"Mmhm," agrees Plane Crash.
It seems that for twenty years they stand there taking in the scenery. Perhaps twenty years do pass. Who can say? Time has no meaning, no authority here.
"Do you think there are others here?" Plane Crash asks, breaking the silence.
Drowned tears her eyes away from the ocean view and looks behind at the never-ending meadow. Not a soul is in sight.
"There must be," she finally says with a confidence she has never felt before.
This place fills her with power. Good and positive energy that makes her think she can fly if she just tries. This is the kind of power that most people feel only in dreams.
"Think we should find them?
Drowned stays quiet for a long time, the question echoing in her head.
"Or we could get to know each other first. Explore this place first. I have a feeling we'll have plenty of time to find whoever else is here."
Plane Crash nods and lets the words roll around in her head like the waves she sees before her.
"Okay," she consents after five years of consideration. "Let's do that."
She holds her hand out to Drowned, who by this point has dried off in the pleasant heat. Drowned looks at the pale, outstretched hand, and without another thought, she grasps it in her own.
Smiling, the two cross the threshold and walk onto the silky soft sand of the beach. They walk and walk and walk until they agree to stop, not a word passing between them the whole way. They approach the water, kick off their shoes, and step in. It's delightfully warm, and they wade in further until their knees are submerged.
"Are we being reborn?" Plane Crash asks.
Drowned shrugs.
"Maybe we're getting a second chance."
"Second chance... maybe..." echoes Plane Crash.
"Maybe our worlds weren't perfect like this one. We're finally getting our break."
For a moment, Plane Crash remembers the person she's left behind far away in that other world she's come from. It's all a distant memory, though, and the person in front of her now is the same person as the one she knows, only completely different. Such a paradox, in this strange place of no rules, is completely sensible.
Drowned has the exact same thoughts.
"Let's forget everything and start anew," Plane Crash proposes.
Drowned grins.
"Nice to meet you," she says, extending her hand for a shake.
"Nice to meet you, too," Plane Crash replies, extending her own hand.
Drowned grabs it, yanks Plane Crash forward, and then with two hands, throws her into the water with a laugh.
As Plane Crash shrieks half in anger, half in amusement, her head goes under the water and she comes face to face with the world under the sea. She smiles in wonder. She likes it here.
Twisting around deftly with skill she's never had before, she hones in on Drowned's bare legs and reaches out to grab them in order to throw the girl off balance.
Just before she does this, she realises that maybe this is not a judgement period. Maybe this is just a perfect, eternal moment.
~End~