From Hate Flourishes Love

Fists-in-law

🅩🅐🅝🅓🅔🅡

No one will ever truly understand the internal battles that had tortured me. For three years I was but a shell of a man who had convinced himself that the loneliness he lived in was a choice and not the prison he had locked his doubts, regrets, and eventually himself.

Yet, life gave me my greatest joy and the reason I had to free myself from that prison — Kai wasn't just the love of my life or just my passion but the
very personification of my joy.

I can't stop it.
I promise to never stop reminding myself how falling in love with him sailed my life in the direction of healing, growth, and redemption.

Kai had given me a purpose to live my life again to its fullest. Even if right now that purpose was watered-down down to finding him seashells.

"You've to like this one," I pick up the shell that washed in the waves."It has the same color as your skin."

"No," he pouts."And don't compare my skin to that wishy-washy shell you put no effort into finding."

"But, it does. See," I say, showing him the spirals of deep brown honey hues that colored otherwise white seashells.

He scoffs at the shell ."You're so rude. It doesn't," he sounds unimpressed.

"You've no taste." I pocket the shell."It is a gorgeous color even more so on the things I love."

He considers me for a moment, "I am so happy to hear that I am above the shell on the list of things you love."

I laugh, catching him in my arms so I can hold him tight against my chest. I bury my face in his head, smelling the sea salt that's still in his curls from our swim. I close my lips to his shoulder to leave a hickey there since the last one is already fading.

He escapes the kiss as he bows down to pick up a scallop-shaped shell.

"Ouch," he winces as the sharp edge of the shell pricks him.

"Kai," I say frightened by the blood that trickles from the tip of his finger.

I grasp his arm, pulling him up from the sand, forcing him to let me see his finger.

"It's a small cut," Kai could always tell when I was about to overreact."Don't worry."

Kai might have not felt the pain of his cut but I did, as if the sharp edge of the shell had pierced my skin instead.

I snatch the horrid thing out of his hand and toss it far into the ocean.

"Zander," he groans."I liked that one."

"I hated it," I tell him."I can't bear the sight of anything that hurts you."

"I didn't I say it was a small cut?" he asks."Please, don't let it sour our last day here."

He tips himself against my chest and places his arms around my waist. He looks up at me, pouting."Kiss me," he whispers sharply.

I lean myself into the direction of my lips but he pushes me away and runs.

"Get back, here." I holler at him."You can't order me to kiss you and run."

"I just did," he teases, walking back first into the waves.

"I want that kiss," I rush into the water after him.

"Catch me first," he teases.

I reach after him but he scoops up a handful of water, splashing it at me, his laughter mingling with the sound of the waves crashing. I retaliate with a splash of my own but he ducks and dodges it.