Birds chirp. Water flows steadily. Sun warms my skin. Strands of grass tease my cheekbone. I let myself melt into the ground. I feel alive. I feel free. I feel... happy.
"Malory!" a young voice calls.
I jolt up. My irises contract at the sudden intrusion of light. I'm in the grassy streets of my neighbourhood. A blond boy beams down at me. I blink a couple times to get used to the brightness of the sun. The sky is bluer than ever.
"Follow me," the child says and grasps my hand in his small one.
I scramble to my feet and follow him but halt once I catch a clear glimpse of his face.
"Amell?" He smiles up at me in response and pulls me further, up to the river.
I marvel at the sight. Trees, plants, flowers, birds. I watch as two black birds hop from branch to branch together. I kneel on the lichen and immerse my hands in the clear water. It's warm. Child Amell sits cross-legged next to me.
"It's pretty here," he says.
"It is."
The two birds flutter their wings and fly away together. I cup water in my hands and gulp it. Satisfied, I lay down.
"I think you're pretty too."
I chuckle and close my eyes to fully enjoy the moment.
"Thank you. Give yourself a couple years and you won't look too bad either."
"Oh, really?" a mellow voice I know too well asks from the other side of the river.
I spring up. There he is. Amell. My Amell. I rush into the water, clothes drenched in a second, to reach him. He traverses the river as well and we meet in the middle. I watch him. The rich blue eyes, the freckles, the pale yet thick eyebrows, the slight dark circles under his eyes. It's him. I refrain from touching him. He mirrors me in my reticence.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Am I not allowed here?"
"No, it's just..." I dig my teeth into my lower lip.
"She led me here," he explains and a small girl peeks out from behind a tree trunk.
Child Malory, of course. I don't fully understand why we're here but I don't mind. Things are better when he is here. I am better.
"Where are we?" Amell asks.
"At the river." He rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, I kind of noticed." He motions down to his soaked pants with a laugh.
I giggle and grant him a better answer:
"We're in my head. I've been here a couple times but I don't know why you are. It doesn't make sense."
Amell hums disapprovingly.
"I think it does. It makes perfect sense. You... Me... It just makes sense, you know."
"I know." I look away, still nibbling on my lip.
A splash of fresh water splatters on my face. My eyes tip to lock deep into his. They gleam playfully. I gasp and scoop up water with my hands, pushing it towards him. The water licks up to his chest. His shirt clings tight against his skin. He flings me off the ground and crouches down so water submerges both of us up to the shoulders. I tighten my grip around his shoulders and he doesn't let go.
"Is this a dream?" he asks, hardly concealing his smile.
"I think it might," I reply, praying for it to never end.
That night, I had my first dream.
YOU ARE READING
The Day Earth Died
ActionAt 16, Malory has been tending to her blind mother, Elizabeth, for as long as she can remember. When resources grow thin, she, in hopes of fleeing her past, pretends to be a man to enroll in the Recruitment, working for the government. She befriends...
