In Between The Stars

Promises

Sitting by him at the beach that only we know of, I realize that none of my days are void of Dylan anymore. Saying that he's growing on me would be like stating that the Sun is hot: understatement of the century.

The bizarre thing is that he's still not able to get past my gate. And the other bizarre thing is that I find Kriya jeering at me way more than often these days. This afternoon, she even tried to sit with us at lunch, before Trisha jumped up as if she carried a deadly infection and ushered us out of the cafeteria. I wonder what kind of evil plan is brewing in her mind.

"You ever think about sacrifice?" Dylan asks out of the blue, pulling all my thoughts back to him.

"Not really." I answer candidly.

"You know, some cells, in the human body? When they undergo a mutation or any other kind of defect, they put themselves through this process called death mechanism." He explains and I rest my chin on my knees and watch him amusedly. "So that it doesn't turn cancerous and affect the other cells around it. I mean, we think sacrifice is all about the big stuff, right? Like a man jumping in front a train to save his girl or whatever. But we never think of something as infinitesimal as a cell. It happens within you all the time and you're not even aware of it."

I gape at him and he turns away bashfully. We remain silent for a while.

"You do know that I love you, don't you?" He asks.

I slowly look up at him, his words haven't surprised me, but I am apologetic for what my reply will be. "I...I don't know if....."

"It doesn't matter..." He cuts me off with his thoughtful words. "...if you don't love me yet. I know that you will. Eventually."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"Because you're the only one who can." He says with a sad smile.

I don't know how to respond to that, so I get up and shamble towards the ocean. The colossal grey clouds concealing the brilliant stars roar like a ravenous demon. I let the warm water, now glowing in a lovely shade of lavender, wash upon my feet repeatedly.

As it begins to drizzle gently, I think about the clouds and the Earth: both always together and yet so obviously apart. The clouds which never stop reaching out to our world, and our world which can never hold any part of it back, somehow always letting it go in the end.

I think about this ceaseless love story of nature and my thoughts drift to my unresolved feelings for Dylan. And then everything happens at once.

A blinding white light surrounds me but is gone within a heartbeat. What follows is a cry of pain that rips at my heart and then is drowned by the loud clap of thunder.

I turn around and find Dylan lying limp on the ground, yards away from the spot where the lightning hit. I dash to him, cursing my damned legs for not moving fast enough and fall to my knees at his side. Most of the hair on his forehead and his t-shirt is severely singed, but other than that he looks okay. Except that he isn't breathing or moving in any way.

"No, no! No, you can't!" I whisper hysterically. "You can't leave me! Not now, baby. No, baby, don't!"

I throw my arms around his neck and even though I know that I should do something that'll help, I can't, I just can't. I can't think, I can't move an inch, I can do nothing but hope with every last ounce of my will that he'll be alright. Because I know that I can't survive the other option.

"I don't think I can die." I hear his murmured words which breathe life back into me. "Although this hurts like shit."

"Dylan, Dylan, Dylan!" I shriek and hug him tighter.

"I'm fine." He consoles as my tears of joy dampen his shirt. "I mean, I am Death."

As I lie there over him, holding him as if he's the most prized possession of my whole existence, I realize something.

"I love you." I sigh into his ear and as soon as the words fall out of my mouth, I feel connected to him, tied in a way that can never be undone.

"What?"

"I love you." I repeat and wipe my tears with the back of my hand. "I love you so much."

I feel his arms coil around my waist and he slowly lifts us up into a sitting position. "I've waited so long." He says and pulls me closer.

"What do we do now?" I ask him.

"We'll figure something out." He answers as I gaze into the golden pool of solemnity in his eyes. "We're gonna last." He promises.

I nod and bury my face in his shoulder. After a second's hesitation, I place a timid kiss on his neck. He chuckles and smoothly runs a hand through my hair.

Of course we're gonna last.