'Hey, Emir,' cooed Shane.
'Stop moving. I'm sketching your face,' hissed Emir as he popped his head out from behind the canvas. The ward reeked of bleach and medicine. Shane was slouching against several pillows in his bed, half-covered by a blanket. He smiled as Emir drafted the outline of his now gaunt face.
'Remember that story about a boy desperately trying to save his lover by going back in time?' asked Shane.
'And he didn't realise that his lover had been using the same tactics to save him,' continued Emir. 'They're both pathetic.'
'I don't think so. We all need something to cling to – some sort of faith. Do you know why they keep living? It's because they believe in that tiny possibility of being able to alter one's fate. This universe is boundless, Emir, and a small action might not amount to anything right now but if you repeat it enough times, each with a slight or almost invisible change, something will come out differently in the end.'
'What're you talking about?'
'I want to give you something, Emir,' said Shane. He giggled and stifled a cough. 'A gift of some sort. I hope it can help you when I'm not around.'
'What gift?' Emir held back his tears as he started colouring Shane's face, but his hand wouldn't stop shivering. He didn't want to imagine a life without Shane. He wouldn't dare to.
'Not now,' mumbled Shane. 'You'll receive it in due course, love.'
YOU ARE READING
Vanilla Dusk ✓
Romance⚠️ Warning: angst, tragedy, major character's death --- Elli returns the kiss passionately. Their very first and last official kiss. Everything is engulfed in a colossal mushroom cloud. All that remains is a dry, flat wasteland where life starts...
