Korte queer verhalen

Feathers of the In-Between

Orgineel gepost op Reedsy met behulp van prompt #239 Fabulism: Start your story with it raining... anything but rain (ex. flowers, cutlery, seashells, running shoes).

-_~_-

She walks toward me, while I keep walking forward, toward her. We close the distance step by step. When I'm a few steps away from her, I already feel the warmth in my chest spreading to my face.
"Hey," she says.
"Hi," I smile back.
"Ready to get our well-deserved bubble tea?"
"Always."

When I see the crinkles of her eyes and the smile that she has never shown to anyone but me, I feel something soft touching my bare arms. Within minutes there's white everywhere. Little feathers fall from the sky into her curly brown hair. She looks up and lets out a sigh and a laugh follows which promises something.

"I only ever had thoughts about experiencing this one day. Come, let me show you something." One look at me and she reaches her hand to fold it slowly into mine. For a second there's something I could only describe as discomfort in her eyes, but it disappears as quickly as it came. I try to give her the most encouraging smile I can give her, somehow knowing this meet-up will be different. Full of surprises and promises. Curiosity and excitement tingle in my fingers as I let my expectations fall on the backseat.
"Where are we going?"
"Let me surprise you."

We step away from the sidewalk onto a gravel road. The sound of our footsteps breaks the silence. The silence isn't weighing on us, it rests lightly on our shoulders while we're following the route. It pleases me to know we're both here, wherever here must be.

The path is in the middle of two different forests. It divides them into two parts that are equally as imposing. Trees so green and gigantic I should have felt so small. But it comforts me in some way. To know they keep an affectionate eye on us. The left forest feels like a place where it's always sunny and warm and the right one is where cold air is settled in clouds and stars.

Lilac feathers follow the white ones. In an instant, we're surrounded by color. Pink feathers land on her shoulders to stay there comfortably until they are washed away. Blue feathers stick out of her hair like a crown.

My whole body wants to touch her. Ruffle through her hair. Perfect the blue feathers there.
I wonder how I must look, while she keeps sneaking glances at me in a way like I'm the only thing in the world.

"Let me show you the In-Between. You must have heard of it before." When I don't show any sign of recognition, she sighs exaggeratedly.
"Come on, you must have heard stories of lovers who came here to escape the real world, right? Only when it rains feathers, portals beyond time will appear."

I'm going through every millimeter of my mind, to find the crumbs she wants me to recall. The feathers guide us to a smaller path that is further and further away from the inhabited world. When I do remember the details of the story that she wanted me to find, I act like I'm still looking for words. Just to let her tell me about it all over again. She is great at telling stories.

"Lovers like the two nereids you told me about, right?"
"Yes, exactly. Alcina and Kassiani who once were best friends, found out they were lovers instead. When they found out about their feelings for each other, they knew they couldn't act on them, because their parents wouldn't ever allow them to be together. So, they crossed a whole ocean, thus betraying their parents.

"After searching for weeks on end, they found someone who could transport them to a world they never heard anything about. It transformed their bodies into things they had only read about in books. A world where day and night were different things."
"Like here?" I ask somewhat surprised.

"Yes, darling. They wandered through grasslands full of flowers until their feet felt like part of the roots of the hundreds of trees that were grounded there. They ran through the trees with only fireflies that shimmered above the paths they took without ever looking back."