Evolution # 5

Evan and Lilly

 EVOLUTION #5

by Douglas R Sentz, Jr

Evan and Lily

I

Evan knew that this night would change everything. He felt it in the air that he was breathing. His steps were light and free as he walked under the K Street Bridge to meet Lily. They often enjoyed swimming together in the government funded safe swim channels.

The channels were built to keep the aquatic life environment safe from human interference. There were severe penalties to be assessed for swimming outside of the designated safe channels. Congo had also contributed to the building fund as part of their community outreach program. Although, Evan assumed, like his father, that there was a for profit motive for the company to assist, simply because, there always was for the largest publicly held company in the country.

As he approached the underpass, in the distance just below the skyline, he could see the city where he had spent his entire young life. On this night, with the sun setting low in the sky but not yet gone, the silhouette of the downtown appeared orange and gilded like an ancient biblical city of great importance. Evan thought about one of his favorite poems and mumbled to himself, "Nothing gold can stay," shook his head and laughed to himself at his own brand of biting sarcasm.

And as he made his way towards the boardwalk that led to the man made beach that fronted the north side of the channel, Evan searched through the crowds for his beloved Lily. He knew that she would likely be wearing her favorite summer dress that featured a large sunflower in full bloom stretching from her ankles up to her bosom. She had purchased the dress on their first trip together to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. She felt the dress made her feel somehow "taller, lankier" like her father's side of the family which she so adored. Evan didn't disagree with her thoughts, but he also had his own, more selfish reasons for loving the dress on her.

And then, as the Mr. Softee ice cream truck pulled away from a crowd of kids, he saw just ahead of him, her golden corn straw colored hair flowing down across her shoulders leading to the giant sunflower head that crowned just below the v-neck of her dress. He smiled widely when her eyes met his and he shouted, "Hey, Lover!" And, as they had years before established, she shouted in return, "Hey, Sexy!" Evan kissed her quickly, grabbed her hand and they ran together toward the water.

II

Evan's plan was for them to swim the channel's first half as normal and while at the mid-point rest area on the floating decks before they swim back to the beach, he would propose to her. His heart pounded rapidly as they entered the water and began the swim that would vault their lives into the next chapter. Evan was anxious to leave that city and that past and start their new life together somewhere else, anywhere else.

The channel stretched from the beachhead on the north limits of the city back to downtown, in total it stretched 1.4 miles, which for most humans the swim would take about 45 minutes one way. But the point for most that swam the channels on Friday nights, especially the couples, was not the pace, of course, but the journey and time spent together.

Evan and Lily would often stop every few minutes and stand in place so they could look up at the stars, dream about other places,other times and talk about their future lives. Evan would also notice the fence lines that rose above the water line surrounding the channel. The channels were built so that the base was only five feet below the water level during the summer months and they were built 25 feet wide. They had both heard stories of rebellious teens finding ways out of the gated channels into the open water and some dark versions of the stories that ended with the teens not returning from their "adventure." For Evan and Lilly, the channels provide all the freedom they needed in the water. In fact, they preferred the safety that the channels were built to provide and didn't want to cause any harm to the aquatic life that lived below where they now stood and conversed.

Evan began, "Tell me again about your perfect life."

Lily smiled and replied, "Me and you, anywhere, together, forever and always." She moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She repeated, "Me and you, anywhere, together, forever and always." She pressed her face to his and kissed him once and then again.

Evan smiled, kissed her back a third time and shouted, "I love this woman!" His voice echoed under the bridge and seemed to stretch halfway across the channel. Evan noticed the sun was now down and the moon's reflection stretched across the bay, rising and falling with the gentle bay waves. He moved his hand from her back to his pocket to feel for the ring, it was still there.

Evan looked out over Lily's right shoulder and could see the city skyline clearly. Without warning, he heard a loud boom like a firework launching into the air. He searched the skyline and could not believe what he now saw before him. Then a second louder boom quickly followed and in the blinks of two eyes, the city that he so despised, that he could not wait to leave, seemed completely on fire. And the fire began spreading from downtown out across the K Street Bridge and quickly towards them like a lightning bolt across the surface of the water.

Then a third loud boom and the 1.5 mile bridge above them exploded into hundreds of pieces, causing cars to plunge into the bay all around them. Instinctively, Evan grabbed Lily and pulled her under the water. He knew that he would need to find a way out into the open water quickly or they would not survive this night. With his left hand he held Lily's hand and pulled her down and with his right hand Evan felt around the base of the channel searching for an opening, a handle, anything to get the two of them out into open water. He was frantic to find a way out of that channel. Lily released his hand and began to search as well. Above them, they could see only the orange, golden lights of a raging fire. Evan began to feel light headed and Lilly seemed to be drifting away from him. He tried to scream her name and immediately his mouth filled with water. But they continued to drift apart and the water seemed to be getting darker and darker around Evan.

Evan was suddenly enveloped by an extreme calmness and closed his eyes. He felt himself drifting farther and farther away. Then, he felt as if he was being pulled farther down, deeper down with force. He spun his head around to see a human figure dragging him down through the floor of the channel and down into the open water. Evan felt so drowsy, so calm. He started to feel like he was dreaming and could feel the figure dragging him further and further down. And when he looked again at the figure, he saw a bright light just beyond the figure and in that light he saw what he believed to be the gills of a fish on both sides of its torso.