Beyond the Boundaries

14

14 - The Ripples of the Ocean

"How'd you find me?" Mako asked his best friend.

"You always came to this spot when you were angry at me. I wasn't expecting any different, but kind of, actually." Milo responded, walking out of the shadows. "It's been a few days. Have you been visiting this place, waiting for me?"

"No, I haven't. Don't just assume things you don't know." Mako faltered.

Milo and Mako now sat next to each other on the swings. It was a park which had been completely abandoned years ago. It had gotten so dirty that Luke Novak wanted to declare it as part of the Penurious side, maybe get a helicopter or crane to move it over. But a protest was held, with Milo leading it, to save the park. Thousands, maybe even millions of memories were made at that park, and the park just aged alongside the memories. Let it crumble naturally, just as the life and death cycle took human lifes naturally.

"Why did you turn this way? I never thought I'd say this to my best friend, but you're reminding me so much of Luke Novak. Tsk, that monster. Thought you hated him." Mako sighed.

"You've seen a person change. I know I have." Milo glared at Mako. "I know we're done for, right?"

"Words can't express the hate I feel towards you." Mako chastised.

"Don't worry, you've said enough." Milo chided.

Mako jumped off the swings, almost losing his balance but managing to land on his feet. He heard the crunch of some wood chips as he landed hard.

"So? What did you come here for?" Mako had gotten impatient with Milo, and knew he was here for something. Rather it was to apologize or to ask a favor—Mako didn't care. Why shouldn't he, after everything that Milo has done, it's just been a mess. Life is already bad as is—out of everybody in the world, Mako wouldn't be expecting his best friend to make it even worse.

"I may be living my final days. I mean, you know how seriously the Utopia Council takes betrayal." Milo let out a dry laugh. Mako looked back at him, his expression the entire opposite.

Mako smiled, too. "How can you still muster a smile right now?" Mako asked, tears clouding his vision.

"I've tried all my life to make people happy. Because I know the world we live in is only temporary, and far from perfect. Why not make the best of life, instead of wasting it on being depressed? I know how hard it is to live life that way, so I've chosen a more... Better, route. I mean, I've always cheered you up when you feel down. Despite how much it seems like I don't care about what's beyond life, that's my biggest fear." Milo admitted. "Because I won't be there to cheer anybody up. I try to limit how many friends I have... To limit the amount of people that'll cry when I'm not here anymore."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

Mako turned around to his friend and ran to embrace him. It was the tightest and warmest hug anybody could give. Mako sobbed in his friend's arms, digging his fingers into Milo's back. The loudest Mako had ever cried before, with the thought of knowing if he'd ever see his friend again.

After the long hug, Mako let go and grabbed Milo's hand. "Come on, I know a place."

Mako ran as fast as he could—which wasn't as fast as Milo—laughing and smiling. They both ran off the property of the park, and instead of wood chips, now it was grass beneath their feet. Next thing Milo knew, they were running down a hill filled with tropical plants and trees—a place in Utopia Milo had never seen before.

A place so priceless, so natural, that you would think it came from the real world.

The beach.

The beach stretched out before them like it was another world untouched by anything Utopia. The sand was like a soft, golden blanket, warm beneath their feet, shining as if diamonds covered the surface. Waves crashed along the shore, their creamy white edges reflecting off the artificial sun.

The water seemingly shimmered with colors of turquoise and emerald, so clear that Milo could see rocks and shells scattered beneath the surface.

Palm trees danced gently in the breeze, while the air carried the salty smell of the ocean with the sweet scent of the tropical plants they had just run by. The sound of waves crashing against the shore was peaceful—something so rare in a world like this.

The entire scene seemed to glow, as if it were a message of perfection coming to life, a glimpse of something beyond the artificial perfection of Utopia.

Milo slowed down, catching his breath from the incomprehensible sight he had to behold.

"Mako..." he murmured. "What... What is this? This can't be real." And yet as Milo clenched his toes in the sand, he knew it was. It was real, and it was beautiful.

"Well? Come on!" Mako insisted, holding his best friend's hand and racing into the water. They played and splashed each other in the water—Mako's plan had worked! He had finally gotten his friend to forget about anything sad. It's the least he could do, for all those times Milo has gotten him out of a rabbit hole that he found impossible to escape.

Milo had proved to Mako that if you work hard enough, anything that you think of can be accomplished. "Impossible" itself is "I'm possible."

Goodbye, Milo. Mako thought to himself, drowning his tears in the natural water. But not yet.