FLY FREE

• how it all begins •

We breathe as life unwinds, but do we live as we breathe?

As she masked her silent tears threatening to fall from her elegant dark orbs by covering them with her heavy eye-lids and a ruined smile placed on her lips, her heart still beating with hope while her mind declaring her to surrender to the darkness - she heard him.

And as she looked at him, for a moment all the insecurities flew, her scared heart seemed to heal, her mind screaming hope while her eyes - deep, very deep as if surrendering her purest innocence and darkest fears dived into his as she drunk in the madness within them.

Drinking in his site shamelessly, forgetting to lower her eye lids as per the stereotype to hide her interest, she had already set herself up for embarrassment as everyone other than her knew her state, maybe even better than she herself did.

Smiling to her, his cheeks flushed - not out of embarassment but the warmth of owning all of her attention to himself, making her forget the existing world she lived in until then, and enter into his. His heart swooned not with manly ego but with pride of having the opportunity to choose her.

As intentional coughs all around brought her back to the physical world, she stood up - her cheeks competing against his flushed ones, and hers winning effortlessly.

Again, she lowered her heavy eye-lids but this time her shyness happened to be the reason. Her mind seemed to yell at her foolish yearning yet beautiful heart while, her soul cherished what just transpired.

To say she felt a gush of relief would mean nothing, because what she felt was beyond explainable to her practical self as well as to the author hidden in her - who dwelled in a world full of unattainable fantasies and provoking ideals.

She knew there was no use in keeping her head so low, that at a point it seemed to roll off of her, so with all the courage she ever had and breaking through every restraint within, she held his gaze again and there she could see answers to the questions she never knew she owned, reality to the fictions she never had imagined and love for her she would never question.

With this, everyone around knew they would rather be left alone now than have themselves poked and prodded, teased and as their impatience was about to waver off, the elders intefered and decided to let them talk amongst themselves and get to know each other better.

As he followed her, she knew she would enter a whole new world - a world full of hope, a world full of her wishes being taken care of, her demands being followed silently without arguments, a world full of her choices being respected and options being open. A world where she wouldn't have to give in everytime for the sake of happiness, peace, love or for the fear of being threatened to loose what was dearly asked. And all of this, she knew the second he asked her to talk out - in the open, below the untameable sky, by the unstoppable nature where she could fly without being caged, instead of having himself and her cramped into her room - where all her choices were treated outrageous and
wishes - an excuse to escape.

She held on to her ground and yet felt she could fly and it was then she decided to steal a glance of his painfully magnetising face, getting caught red handed in the act - for he was already looking her way, with eyes beaming with pure innocence and a tamed desire. This scared her - not in a way where she felt unsafe, but to an extent where she questioned whether she would be able to reciprocate the intensity of these emotions.

Immediately, his eyes shone with mischief, lips played a heart throbbing smile and his heart swoon with all the love he never would've figured out he had if it wasn't for her. Redness crept on her face but her eyes betrayed her not wanting to get deprived of his site even for the slightest bit - turning greedy like they never had before. Her teeth tortured her lips which in return set the desire in his heart onto a flame while his eyes innocently conveyed how her beauty was to blame.

Both coming out of a trance, diverting their thoughts approached a bench - far away from the world - afterall they knew they needed no one but one another.

He decided to take the lead and as he was about to put his thought into action -

"I like you" - the words flew straight out of her lips without seeking her permission and now were dancing in the air which seemed the most melodious music to him, but nothing less to herself.

Her eyes shut momentarily but she knew better. He heard her - staright and clear. Trying to deny it would be lieing both to him and to herself.

For the first time - she decided to own up what she had just said right from her heart - without any fear or hesitation, without having to plan her words or mould her desires.

She slowly opened her eyes and all she could see was his deep dark mysterious orbs. She'd say she could get lost in them, poetically; but then again, she felt as if they were made for her. She could navigate her way through every emotion his eyes portrayed, and steal away every darkness they hid. But that wasn't all - dispalyed to her was his lips - stuck somehwere in between a goofy grin and a confident smirk.

Her heart rate would have escalated if it wasn't him. But with him evrything seemed so different - so easy, so crystal clear, so dreamy yet so true.

Such a fantasy playing out in reality.

Her eyes gleamed with hope while her heart danced with joy - for she knew he liked her too.

Not everything was meant to be declared out loud, sometimes things needed to be read just in silence and understood with patience.

While, she dreamt of a life with him; she heard his rusty yet luxurious voice -

"But, I don't"
And this, was all she could hear before everything seemed to be meaningless, felt fading off.

She froze, not knowing what to say or feel, after all her mind mocked he was still a stranger.

She wanted to look into his eyes to seek answers but feared this time she'd loose herself forever - being stuck in a maze.

Calming her raging heartbeats, silencing her tears threatening to fall she let a "okay" flash out before standing on her heels almost sprinting off, taking away from him.

She told herself -

she'd continue to breathe to stay alive.