64 Damn Prompts

Sky

“You know, one may say that the sun is one of the most beautiful things out there, but I don’t think that’s true.”

“Who said that?”

“Who hasn’t?”

“Lots of people.”

Phil rolled his eyes, despite knowing that given the fact that they were both lying on their back Dan couldn’t see his face. “What I was trying to say before you rudely interrupted me, is that the most beautiful thing out there is definitely the sky after sunset, when it’s snowing and you can’t really see anything besides the snowflakes that are slowly edging closer to your face before either falling down next to you or melting onto your face.”

They were quiet for a few minutes.

They weren’t in a rush, Dan felt no hurry to reply. He took his time to think of an answer. “But the atmosphere and situation has to be right for it to be the most beautiful thing ever. That’s why you don’t understand the sun thing; you haven’t seen the sun during the perfect situation. Everyone has their own favourite, most beautiful thing, because they’ve witnessed that thing at the perfect time in the perfect situation.”

“What’s the perfect situation for the night sky when it’s snowing then?” Phil asked.

“Depends who you’re asking.”

“I’m asking you.”

“I’d say it’s when you’re with the one you love. When you’re lying on the beach past midnight, with the hills blocking out the sounds coming from the outside world. When you’ve just had the perfect day and you’re tired and worn out and all you want to do is just lay there and watch the snow fall down. Someone else might say that it’s when you’re sitting in your favourite chair next to the window looking out at a busy and lively city, where the only sense of peace and quiet is to be found above the city, up in the sky. When you look up at the sky and you watch the snow fall down. You can still hear the cars and people in the streets below you, but those sounds fade away when you look up at the sky and just focus lazily on the snow falling down and decorating the usually busy city, as if to cover it in a cosy blanket in an attempt to give it some peace.”

Phil sighed and Dan felt him put his hand over his. Phil’s hands were cold, but Dan’s undoubtedly were too. Lying on the beach with the temperature a few degrees below zero and the snow falling from the sky like the endless flow would never stop was probably not something a doctor would recommend doing. It wasn’t something anyone would recommend doing. But who cared about anyone or anything else when you were doing just that?

Who could even think about what anyone else thought of them when they were lying on the beach with the person they loved most next to them in a peaceful silence?

The sky was endless, it was everywhere Dan looked, as long as he kept lying in the sand. As soon as he’d get up, his point of view would change and he would be reminded of the fact that there was in fact something beside the endless sky, the snow and Phil.

But even if he couldn’t see them, they were still there.

He could go on with his life, step back into the craziness and fuss of his world, but the snow would still quietly be falling onto this beach and melting into the soft white sand.

The sky would still be endless.

Phil would still be there next to him.