Blow Me Away

Darkness eclipsed the room, its rugged, pointed claws wrapped around his body and digging into his skin until it was all he was aware of. Moonlight shone in through the open window, a window he had opened in the hope that he would find her once more climbing through. The ethereal beauty did nothing to extinguish his despair because he had seen true beauty in her heart, and her heart and soul were laying six feet under the ground, untouchable by even a lover.

A tear dribbled down his cheek, and it tickled against his skin like poison. His brown hair was oily and limp from where he had ran his fingers through it, and his once-light crystalline eyes were now dull with anguish, as though they had been coated by a layer of powdered glass. She claimed his mind; her hands had dug their way into his heart and there was no way that it would be free again. Her name was like a whisper in his mind, and he could feel her presence at his fingertips but just out of reach.

He closed his eyes, becoming consumed by brown hair and vibrant orbs of green. Life flashed before his eyes but he couldn’t grab a hold of it. Love. It caressed him but disappeared. A shadow pulled down his consciousness and he slipped into blissful nothingness, a tear trailing down his hollowed cheek.

****

When he opened his eyes, he saw beauty. There were flowers everywhere, and it was making his heart race as though he was a child. She loved flowers. She loved life too, but that was stolen from her without a warning.

Pushing himself onto his feet, he looked around him, taking in the large, white marble walls that stood in his way. It didn’t occur to him to wonder where he was, because really, this place felt… right. In this place his heart seemed to be whole again, and any thought of her had been sucked away with the warm breeze that pressed against his skin.

“Kale?” His heart stopped as he spun around, his eyes widening when he saw her face. Her porcelain skin shone with a new brightness, and her moss-green eyes were sparkling with mirth. Her chocolate hair hung in cascading waves down her body, a white dress clinging to her figures that made her seem like an angel. A smile pulled at her rosy lips, and it made his entire body light up as though a flame had been ignited at his very core.

That was why he felt a sense of belonging. Because she was here, and everything was okay again.

He was running forward before he knew what he was doing, and she just stood there with a delighted grin on her heart-shaped lips. When he reached her he cupped her cheeks with his hands, lingering against the soft touch that brought warmth to his heart.

He pulled her face up to meet him, tears brimming in his eyes. His thumbs brushed against her cheeks, taking in every groove and curve of her features, ensuring her existence. Her eyes were the color of grass on a fresh spring’s day and they were lifting him up like arms, carrying him to a place of total euphoria.

He leaned down to push a desperate, hot kiss against her lips, claiming them once more as his own. Sparks coursed through him as he wrapped his arms around her hips, pulling her tighter against his body in desperation as his mouth curved around hers. Their noses were brushing together and her hands were clutching at his chest, a mixture of tears dribbling down their faces as groans left his lips.

“Katie,” he breathed, pulling away from her and admiring her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. Her eyes were darkened with passion and love, but clouded over by shards of glass as tears brewed in the corners. “I thought you were dead,” he whispered, his voice cracking with anguish. “Where is this place?”

With torn eyes, she took a step away from him. He reached out to grab her again but she dodged his arms, her eyes filled with pain as she turned away and reached down towards the garden. He watched her, a torn expression on his face and his heart burning to kiss her again and to have her in his arms.

When she turned back around, a dandelion was in her fingers. He smiled wistfully at the familiar sight, but when he lifted his eyes to her face and saw her despair the smile disappeared. “I love you, Kale,” she whispered, before she brought the flower to her lips and blew the seeds against his face.

The seeds swirled around him as her image began to disappear, and he let out a scream as he tried to grip onto it. “Katie!” he shouted as he watched her being pulled away from him, her beautiful green eyes darkening as a tear dribbled down her ivory cheek. “Katie!” Darkness was consuming him, his soul being pulled away from his sanctity.

“Katie!” It was a shout into an empty room, broken and desperate. His eyes snapped open, sweat dribbling down his skin as his chest heaved with his ragged breaths. His fingers were clenched in fists around his bed sheet, and his eyes searched frantically for her familiar figure. His four walls surrounded him, and a guttural cry left his lips as he collapsed against his pillow. A tear dribbled down his cheek, his forehead glistening with sweat.

It was a dream. Just a dream. She was still gone.

He curled his arms around his body, his lips still tingling with the thought of her touch. If it was a dream then he wanted to go back there. If it was a dream then he would find a way to stay asleep forever, because being asleep made him feel more alive than life.

The world around him looked dull and dreary. He closed his eyes and prayed for a place full of flowers and a girl with glistening eyes.

She had felt so real. He had felt so real. He rolled onto his side, tears glistening in his eyes. He reached out to wipe a tear away, and frowned when he felt something solid. Pulling his finger away, he brought it to his eyes.

It was a dandelion seed.