Gales of Song, a Klance fic

Chapter 1

Stress builds like mildew in a shower drain. You can only carry so many responsibilities until your arms give out. They say to never look down at the abyss you are balancing over. One glance and you could fall, bringing all your progress with you.

Time is a constant race with life; some can keep up and there are those who can not. You never noticed the bodies floating in the creek next to you. You walk the path so far from the stream that there is no way you could fall in.

At first, you don't notice the cement under you melting. The cold mud you feel around the heels of your feet reminds you only of puddles on the pavement. Soon, you will notice how everyone around you moves faster than you. Your steps feel heavy, and you can no longer see your feet. You sink further down the longer you go on. Why would it matter? Everyone struggles every once in a while, or maybe you should have paid more attention when you began to rip your legs from the Earth. You move like time has left you behind; at first, you are happy for those reaching goals before you. Yet jealousy sets in when it's your turn to ride, and there is no room. Watching your friends and family having fun without you while your calves are being pulled into the ground. You know you shouldn't stop, life will not wait for you, but what are you fighting for? Why hang around? Is it others telling you, 'Don't worry, your time will come? ' You already know nothing waits for you at the end of the line. You will only be a cog in everyone else's machine.

As tempting as it seems, never look behind you. You'll only be reminded of the thousands of steps you've struggled through to be still stuck in the same muck. Even the lifeless swimmers seem to move faster than you. You know not to give in because giving up makes you weak, but you can't tell me you never laid awake in your bed wondering if dying is your destiny.

I think I'm stuck now, but I don't understand. I did everything you told me, so why am I still here? Where is my reward for all the pills I take and the drugs I give up?

Looking around, you'll see you're the only one stuck in the streets. You can no longer hear their laughs of glee echoing from the fog in front of you. Is this it? Were you just a lesson to be learned? What a waste. Perhaps laying in that river and freeing yourself isn't as bad as it seems. It's not like someone will come around and pull you out, you've already reached the end of your story. You'll be nothing but another funeral the people you knew must attend.

I stopped walking straight. That path was leading nowhere except disappointment. I'd gotten so close to the river that I could see my toes sticking out of the bank.

You've already grown so used to the rotting bodies passing you. It feels like the ice-cold ripples of the tide are reaching out for you. It's so comforting to see someone who cares.

Maybe I could get away if I just washed my feet to test it out. Perhaps if I only reach farther toward the moving water, I want to touch it.

It's so tempting you never expect to fall in.

The boy's inner thoughts continue to ring through his head. Keith was stressed to the point of feeling like he needed to rip his long black hair from his pale scalp. He has been attending classes in the city for several semesters, but even his friends could see him becoming physically drained by it all. His best friend Shiro, who attended school with him, suggested that Keith stay at his family's holiday cabin in the woods for a few days to destress. Long story short, Keith packed himself and his dog Kosmo into his old hand-me-down car and found himself driving deep into the woods, far from the stresses of society. There is no point waiting at home for a change; maybe a different scene would be good for him.

Keith was never one to share his thoughts. Deep down, he knew they were only lies construed by his insecurities. The same sorrowful tune has become dull to his ears.