novels. { on hold }

v: beautiful nature

"hey, that's my seat!"

ezra looked up quickly only to see a tall girl with hair the color of autumn leaves.

"i'm just kidding," alex said finally, laughing and sliding into the seat beside ezra.

"oh, yeah," ezra said awkwardly. he flipped his notebook closed and rested the pen on top of it. he had never been all that comfortable with people reading his writing, especially when it was raw and unedited. there was still a good twenty minutes before the start of class, but ezra liked to get there early enough to secure his favorite spot in the back left corner of the lecture hall.

"so have you started your short story yet?" she asked him interestedly.

ezra shook his head. it was due in less than a week. a nagging voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he could not afford to skip this assignment; he'd skipped far too many already. the past weekend had not been kind to him, though. his thoughts were too jittery to form a coherent sentence, let alone a story that amounted to anything more than the equivalent of a threadbare blanket.

"me neither," alex said guiltily. "i'm running out of ideas, to be honest. the city's rather ugly, you know? there's not much inspiration to be found in these filthy streets."

ezra completely disagreed with her. the putrid smell of the streets and the sirens that rang out in the icy air of the night were what fueled him. his words were dark, he knew, but the toughness of the city lit his heart on fire and made his fingers itch for the click of his keyboard keys.

"i don't know," ezra said carefully. "there is a certain beauty in the melancholy of it all."

the hall was filling with cacophony, and the expiration date of this conversation was nearing. ezra knew that he should refrain from saying anything too messed up if he wanted there to be another one.

"i guess." alex had a dubious look on her freckled face. "i prefer nature, though. glistening streams and towering trees. the open sky above me. it's the only place i feel like i can really breathe."

her eyes were bright but distant, lips curved into a soft smile.

ezra understood her love of the outdoors. he used to harbor similar feelings. in his early days at uni, he had wanted to study law and eventually get a job as an environmental lawyer. working for the nrdc was his dream. but then he grew up and lost his ignorance and, along with it, his will to fight. he realized that the malevolence in the world was much too strong and that it was simply too late; surrendering to it was the only viable option.

"nature is beautiful," he said softly, half to alex and half to himself, as the professor entered the room.

ezra spent the whole two hour lecture with an earbud in one ear, risking glances at alex when she wasn't looking.

she reminded him of nature.