Barcarolle

Andante Cantabile

Barcarolle

They met by sheer luck. He showed her what the world was truly like and they developed a bond that would last forever. But of course, fate intervened.

~

Andante Cantabile

Let us go to the shore;

there the waves will kiss our legs.

With mysterious sadness

the stars will shine down on us.

-Aleksey Pleshcheyev

~

The boat rocks back and forth, allowing me a glimpse of the vast blue waves lying beyond through the window in the side every once in a while. I had purposely let this boat drift by itself, away from any visible sign of life. Off in the distance I can just barely make out the tops of the hills where my home is. Was…

I lie down in the small boat, closing my eyes. Remembering back to a time when things were dull and monotonous, when I remained detached to the world and the struggles within it. But then he had come along. Like a whirlwind that changed everything. He had opened my eyes to what was happening beyond the walls of the safe haven I once called home. But by the time I truly understood what he was trying to tell me, I had lost everything…

~

The boy strolled along the beach, allowing the gentle waves to lap at his feet, darkening the otherwise white sand beneath them. The sky and ocean were both a startling shade of blue, swirling together near the horizon until you couldn't tell which was which. The clouds blew slowly across the sky, sometimes dimming the rays of the sun, allowing only a few to peek through, but never for long enough to completely block out the light.

This was always his favorite kind of weather. Where the clouds and sun would tease each other, both grappling for dominance over the other, but letting it go good-naturedly once it was in their grasp. The specks of light that appeared and disappeared made him truly appreciate the balance of the world—the light and dark. For that, he was almost grateful that his parents sent him here, to what used to be their summer home before the Resistance started. But he enjoyed the peace here. The last time he had been here was when he was very young, maybe around six or seven years old. It was much too long ago.

As he continued along his way, gently treading through the water that barely at his ankles, he saw that the number of houses on the cliff side dwindled. But as he continued on, a villa appeared from the haze of sun mixed with mist. There was a natural path through the bushes that led up the cliff side up to a small veranda behind the villa.

As he trailed his eyes along the path, following it up the cliff, he noticed a figure standing there. She was leaning on the railing, a wistful expression on her face, while the wind gently ruffled her hair and blew billows around her light dress. She was leaning on the edge of the railing, eyes locked onto something in the distance. He followed her gaze, only to flinch back from the glare of the sun on the horizon. All of a sudden a voice drifted down to him. "Hey."

He looked up. The girl was looking down at him with a curious look on her face. He raised an arm in greeting, a little unsure of what he was supposed to do. "Why don't you come up?" she called down to him. "It'll be easier to talk instead of yelling at each other. You might have to do a little bushwhacking to get up, but it shouldn't be too hard…I hope…" she trailed off a little uncertainly.

Seeing as he had nothing better to do, he acquiesced, following the path that his eyes had traced out earlier. She raised her eyebrows, noting the way he went. "I didn't even notice you could go that way. It seems so obvious now, though."