Convergent

Past, meet my friend, Present

Tobias

The wild, olive grass viciously moves back and forth, warning of an impending danger. The wind screams as it runs by me, cautioning of an inevitable disaster. I know what this is; I have been here a thousand times before. Thousands of times my feet have been planted on this very spot, yet I am still not prepared for what comes next. In an effort to escape this perpetual nightmare, my eyes painfully shut tight. Of course, like always, my escape route is faulty and does not work. And like always, I have to witness the upcoming events. When I finally congregate the courage to open my eyes, albeit slowly, I'm standing as still as if I was another tree in this place, my feet the roots, only this time, she's across from me, staring right at me. That gorgeous smile plastered on her face, . . . but, it won't be for long. "MOVE!!!!!!!!" I scream, wind drowning out my voice. She cocks her head, unable to hear. "What?!" she shouts, retaining her smile. "MOVE!!! RUN!!!" I screech. Her dark chocolate hair whips in front of her, forbidding her to read my lips. She leans back and shrugs then walks the direction opposite from me, beckoning me to follow. She can't hear me; and so, I sprint towards her, desperately clinging on to the hope that I can save her; that she'll be alive. Although I know full well the fate that awaits her at the end of all this. But, denial has infected me like a plague, so I continue to sprint. "MARGOT!!! MARGOT!!!! MARGOT!!!!!" I scream, but she does not turn back, just keeps ambling ahead. When I'm only a few feet away from her, she halts and turns to face me. Her eyes sparkle like the stars in the night sky. She's so close, I almost have in her in my grasp, and then, it starts. An invisible force pushes me away with the strength of an elephant and I fall on my back 20 feet away from her. As I scramble to my feet, I remind myself of a cockroach; so small and insignificant, yet they are the ones who always end up surviving the longest. She's baffled, and just as she tries to jog over to me, the black clouds shield the sun and thunder cackles as it scorches the land. I know what's next. "NO!!!!!!!!!!!" I run over to her, but I'm too late. Shots blare out like a fire alarm and as if she was a robot who was just deactivated, she collapses onto the grass. All the light has absconded from her eyes and they gleam darker than coal. "MARGOT!!!!" Now, not even I can hear my pleading screams over the roaring wind. I kneel down and scoop her up, praying to whatever entity inhabits the clouds to save her; to complete the mission I failed to do. But, cackling down at me, they don't. The thunder ceases, yet the clouds remain, water falling from them like spilled ink over us. The restless grass has now settled and ceases all movement, almost in somber. Like it has received a sore throat, the wind quiets and is no more. My own sorrows drown out the heavy rain's cries. "WAKE UP!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!" I cry, unsure if whether it's the tears or rain pouring down my cheeks. "WAKE UP!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!"

"Wake up!!! Wake up!!!" she yells, shaking me. My eyes flash open, adjusting to my new surroundings. Tris and I had fallen asleep in each other's arms, and now, she was waking me from, from something. What it was escaped my memory. I sigh and my head lands on the pillow with a thud. "You okay?" she asks, concern evident in her tone. I rapidly nod. "Yeah," I exhale. Sweat bathes my body, darkening my already black shirt. "Sit up straight," she requests, softly. "What?" I snap, accidentally. "Well, it's unlikely you fancy discussing what just happened so I need you to trust me, and sit up straight," she repeats. "Why should I trust you?" I snap. She grins. "You can only find out why if you do," she explains. Groaning, I do as she requests. She lifts my shirt over my head, my back exposed. Gently, she pushes me down so I'm laying on my stomach. Tris straddles my waist and her hands roam my back. Instinctively, I stiffen. She chuckles. "It's okay; relax." Exhausted, I do. Once she gets to work, I realize what she meant by this. She was giving me a back massage; and a good one too. "Your muscles are so tense," says Tris. I groan and she titters, bending down to kiss the top of my head before returning to the back massage. When she's finished, I feel more relaxed and at ease than I have in months. "Where'd you learn that?" I ask as she lays down beside me. "At Fadiso, there's this masseuse and in my free time, out of intrigue, I asked her to give me lessons. I'm at a basic level, truth be told, but I thought you might need one," she grins, exposing her teeth. A small and feeble one takes up my countenance before my eyes drop back to sleep. But just as they do, I remember what I dreamed about.