Elements of Freedom

Chapter Six [Part Two]

Air

I couldn't help but acknowledge the strange sensation that kept arising in my stomach, the constant racing of my heart and the permanent sweating of my palms. What was this? I couldn't quite put my finger on this feeling, and it's strangeness was driving me to the point of despair. Whenever she spoke with her silk tones and her caramel words, my heart felt like it was jumping out of my chest. The feeling was alien and terrifying. It was like nothing I had experienced before. I was so used to hateful, angry, and painful feelings coursing through my body, but this was something different. It wasn't a feeling that would force me to scream from rage, neither did it seem to be a feeling that would cause me to think terrible things. It was a feeling that made me feel as if I were walking on a cloud. Like I were skipping among the softest of lambs, and bathing in chocolate milk.

Wait. That didn't even sound like me. Not that I knew who me was, but even so, I had never thought things like that before. I'd never even seen a real cloud, lamb or even chocolate milk.

"Hey? Do you perhaps... umm... want to maybe go and explore or something? I mean, it's okay if you want to... errr.. Stay here... if you want... I... yeah." Her stuttered and hesitant query cut through my panicked thoughts. I couldn't believe how she came across at first to be so confident and strong, when now, she appeared just as scared and new as I was to this world.

"Sure." I smiled at her, waiting to see hers in return.

-

The clouds above us were dancing across the sky, disappearing and then reappearing as if by magic. They were nothing like I had imagined them to be, they looked so warm and comfortable, when previously I had imagined them to be black smoke like objects dominating the blue blanket above the ground. I looked over to her, she seemed just as inquisitive as I did about the floating white fluffs in the reddening sky.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Her eyes had removed their fixated gaze from the clouds and they were now set onto me. I felt a rush of heat race through my body within seconds.
I looked at her, I mean, I really looked at her. She was beautiful. She may have been the first female I had seen in my life, but she needed only ever be the first.

"Yes, it really is." I realized that I was staring at her, not just staring, but creepily staring. Like, stalker scary. How'd I know what a stalker is? Well, you may not learn what a cloud or what the world is like in the lab, but the Labcoat pricks seem to enjoy telling you all the horrible things that inhabit the earth. Just to add to the nightmares.

"How old do you think you are?" Her voice sounded quiet and shaky. 

“I wish I knew.” She frowned at me.

“Why does it matter?"

"I used to sit on the floor and try to mark off each day on the bottom of my bed. I would watch the sun set, and the sun rise. It matters because… it just does.” Her eyes seemed to drift to the ground as I spoke.

"I'm sorry." I brushed my hand over hers. Her warmth was overwhelming, it sent shocks of electricity along my skin.

I lifted my hands and sent gusts of fierce wind through the trees that were arching over our heads.