Dying Wish

[23] Edge of the World With You

I read somewhere once about the link between senses and memories. How a song can take you back to a time or place in your life. Smells, too. For me, taste would always be my way back to Alice and our incredible summer. All the places we went and the foods we tried. From juicy Spanish porks to sweet Greek pastries. Each place burned one more beautiful memory into my brain.

We also tuck in the sights (us and our full stomachs). Ruins built by lost civilizations. Rivers where spirits dwelled. Temples forged by thousands of laborers. "Closed To the Public" were words we never had to accept, because she had the Death Coin. She said God gave it to her. But to me, she was a god. To be near her was breathtaking and beautiful.

Sometimes.

Other times it could be flat out miserable.

I'm talking about what happened in Cairo.

There, a giant prism of clay tried to pierce a clear blue sky. The great tomb of a robbed king. On that day, Alice climbed the small railings of an observatory. It was a familiar spot for clicking cameras; she had to fight her way to the front. But it was worth it. Of all the people gazing at the monuments, her smile was the brightest. She leaned over the boundary, desperate to get as close as possible.

"Huge, huh, Gray?" she said. "Gray? Where... Where'd you go?" She turned to find me, but I wasn't there. Her neck craned over the shoulders and faces of this crowd and once she spotted me, a nervous laugh found her. She climbed off the railing and left to collect me. Where was I? Across the street. Melting.

I attached my seated body to a giant building; the shade stretched far beyond my feet. I had my hands in my lap. My mouth was so dry. Cairo was hot, ok? Desert hot. August, desert hot. So what I wore harem pants and a white t-shirt. You can conceive why being in the sun didn't make me as giddy as Alice. I was intentionally trying to keep my distance from her. Nobody likes a sourpuss. Still, Alice stood over me. She had on white harem pants, a black crop top and a red scarf. She looked good. She looked real good.

"What's wrong, Gray?"

I lifted my sweaty face. I'm sure I looked demonic.

"Hot."

"And cranky. I thought you were having a good time."

"Did you?" I said. "Huh."

"We can leave," she said. "You don't have to be a baby." Those words made me roll my eyes. This was exactly what I was trying to avoid. She was having a good time. My melting was getting in the way of that. I looked at the bracelet.

"No," I said. My hands pushed off this cool wall; I staggered to my feet and added, "I want to get closer." She tried to tell me we didn't have to, but I insisted, "I want to. Let's do it." My hand reached for hers. Alice overcame her hesitation and our fingers linked. The explosion went off in my head.

We landed some 300 feet high on a slab of sizzling stone. I sat with my elbows planted on my knees. Alice had her back to me; she was too busy "oooing" and "ahhing" near the edge to pay me any attention. She could be like that sometimes, so cute and childlike. Honestly, that view made all this heat on my skin worth it.

There was also the sublime way the bracelet caught sunlight at this altitude. The jewel consisted of 20 small, hazel orbs snaked as one. I realized why Alice favored it, it was the same reason I did. It went so perfect with her eyes. I was glad she had it.

If only that gave me the courage to use the word. Saying it first. I was less confident than I was in July. No more, I told myself. Today was the day. I was going to say it here.

But...

"Uh-oh," Alice muttered. I hadn't heard that reaction in a while. Our last uh-oh moment was back in July. Our French toast breakfast in an English diner. After we stuffed our faces, we realized something. Actually, I realized something. Our hands went in our laps, we were so guilty.

That day...

"You know I don't have any money," she whispered. "What's your excuse?"

"My excuse?" I hissed. "This was your idea!"

"Shh!" Alice pressed her fingers to her lips. We were so screwed. She glanced over to the register. In fifteen seconds, we'd be washing dishes. "Ok, let's go." Her fingers slid across the table and we whooshed away. By the time the clerk returned with the check, we were laughing by the bridge.

We did this again today, over lentils and noodles. So criminal, I know, but it was worth it.

Cairo was the first time someone tried to catch us. The distant screech of whistles lifted my face. My feet went next to hers. Alice giggled to see how hard the ants tried to make this climb. Four. No, five. They shouted at the top of their lungs. Hard veins were bulging in their necks.

"They sound mad," I said. "What are they saying?"

"Oh, they're just telling us not to move," she said. "You ready?"

"Yeah," I said. I'd have to tell her later.

Her interlocked arms stretched over her head.

"But this was fun. We should— WOAH!"

4,600-year-old clay crumbled under her foot.

"ALICE!"

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE LOOOL

SORRY FOR THE SUPER SHORT START TO CHAPTER 10

MY EDITING SCHEDULE HAS BEEN OFF LATELY AND I NEED TO PACE MYSELF LOOL

BIGGER CHAPTER TOMORROW. PROMISE!