Several Ways to Die Trying

Several Ways to Die Trying - Chapter Two

[Liam]

            There she was, once again; literally speaking, the girl of my dreams. A thing of natural beauty, just sitting there surrounded by pure blue water.

            She was dressed in white; everything there seemed to be white. She was a pearl drenched in white satin floating across a river of pure gleaming sapphires, and she still remained the most glowing gem of them all.

            As gracefully as an elegant swan, she turned toward me and I finally stole a glance at her emerald green eyes. Her hair and her eyes were a timeless combination similar to that of chocolate and mint. The soft, rich darkness melted perfectly into the strong, bold freshness to make something worth cherishing; and I did cherish its delicacy, as if I had longed for it all my life.

            My footsteps echoed endlessly as I took precisely seventeen steps toward her and stood with my hand on her soft shoulder. A thousand white orchids blossomed from the sapphires rippling along the ground. As fluid as the waters of the gemstone river, the girl picked up the one closest to her and pressed it to her nose. The colour of the orchid was identical to that of the dress she was wearing; which was a classier version of what seemed to be a strapless wedding dress. The train of white fabric evanesced into the remaining orchid field.

            Her face filled with sudden glee as she filled her nostrils with the sweet fragrance of the freshly picked flower. It instantly became apparent that she adored the enchanting scent. I could imagine it wrapping her up into a fleeced force field, protecting from anything, from me, from everything.

            As if noticing me for the first time, she held the orchid to my face. Its coloured stigma tickled my cheek in a feather-like fashion. I was affixed by the strong perfumey aroma emanating from it bright yet fragile core. The job of the core was to attract the bees with its incense and bold innards so that it could reproduce, so that it can grace the world with it beautiful sugary smell some more. A sweet smell for an extraordinarily sweet smell, I thought to myself whilst I pressed my lips to her warm peachy forehead.

            I would never been this romantic in reality. To me, my dreams were private and I was absolutely certain that no one else was experiencing this dream. I could be who I wanted to be here, without anyone thinking differently of me. In this moment, I thought to myself, I’d feel something I’ll never get the chance to in reality, and so I kissed her cold pink lips as passionately as the dream would let me. I was experiencing something more magical than I could ever have assumed anything to be. I closed my eyes and enjoyed what was left of this moment, as knowing my luck I would wake up shortly.

            Instead of waking up, I felt the ground shake between us. My lips tore away from hers erratically as I felt the floor break apart underneath our feet. It was ripping from that one chance, just like in reality. I was beginning to doubt my place in this world. I didn’t have long left, I knew that then, I know it now. I’d be gone soon so I had to make the most of the moments that I still had.

            The sky swirled black and red above our heads; I strained to try and grab the girl. I stretched out as far as I could, but the crack in the world was widening. I could no longer reach her. The girl’s face was filled with determination and desperation, a look that seemed extraordinarily familiar.

            Streams of boiled lava swelled around us, burning us without even coming into contact with it. Slivers of crackling fire began to burst up through the floor.

            And that is when it dawned on me.

            “Fire girl,” I whispered before waking up out of my nightmare.