Without Flight

Part 1: Dale September 22nd

The sun was beating down my back, sweat sliding down my forehead like a slithering snake. Each wipe seemed futile as the heat kept coming and I knew that it was showing no signs of stopping for a few hours at least. I still had two more miles to walk to the clearing. But by then my feet were starting to swell and a subtle limp was starting to set in.

The heat does funny things to you. Some say it makes men angry or even worse lazy. The sun didn't do any of those things to me that day; it just reminded me of her. Her pearl skin and clear eyes. The indents of her on her face when she would force herself to laugh at my pathetic attempts at humor. It reminded me of the day that I met her and how hot it was then. She bumped into me as I was carrying a ton of books that I had hauled back from the university. She kept apologizing and I kept saying it was all right. She smiled at me as she helped slide my books back into their pile. I don't remember a word she said after that. I just knew I had to know her.

I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind. Those memories didn't matter any more. They would soon be gone. Snuffed out and without thought as though they had never even been in existence. Memories are a funny thing. I wondered about them. Where do they go when they are forgotten or when we die? Are they buried into the ground or do they disintegrate like dust and get carried off by the wind?

I tried to move my wrists, as they were getting sore. The handcuffs clasped on them didn't leave much room for comfort. I lifted both my hands in unison to wipe my brow again as I heard the guard behind me tell me to speed things up.

When we got to the clearing I could see a crowd cheering my imminent doom. For a world so technologically advanced I couldn't believe we still held on to such archaic traditions. But then again my crime seemed archaic to them and so it was deemed a fitting punishment. I glared off into the crowd trying to shield out the sun that was piercing my eyes. Each one of them had my fate in their hands. Jagged rocks of all different sizes just waiting to be thrown. Their faces were emotionless and stiff. In a few minutes they would hurl those stones at me in harmony, each one quickly and quietly snuffing out my memories of Sarah.