Bloom

Interminable

She pulls my hand and guides me to the door, slinging her coat over her shoulder. The door is cast open, but I hesitate at the entrance. She turns and raises an eyebrow.

"My, um, mother said I couldn't really, um... leave." I can just feel myself go red.

"Nonsense silly, we're not really leaving."

"We're not?"

"Well, our presence will still be here. Isn't that enough?"

I laugh. "Let's hope so."

I let her pull me out, only to be assaulted by a mass amount of snow. The chill beats through my jacket and my boots slush in the snow. Isadora shrugs on her coat, not seeming to even feel the cold. 

"Aren't you freezing?" I ask, eyeing her thin attire. Then I blush furiously at the thought.

"Yes, but does it really matter?"

"It will if you get hypothermia."

"Ha ha."

We trudge on without another word. But it's a comfortable silence. Her tiny frame sometimes gets pushed back by the howling wind, but she pushes forward. Ginger hair flaming wildly, she guides me knowingly through the vast blanket of white. In no time, we're along the edge of the forest, as we were not to long ago. but she doesn't stop there. Isadora continues right through it, as though the darkness doesn't faze her. Still gripping her hand, I square my shoulders and refuse to let a bunch of wood scare me. Slowly, the tree's trunks grow thicker and the branches above grow denser. The snow stops falling here, lost in translation above. After about twenty minutes of fathomless walking, she pulls to an abrupt halt. She releases my fingers, which feel like ice blocks despite the gloves. I glance around at out settings. Age-old oaks stretch their limbs towards the sky, connecting along the way with the others. Above our heads, the sky isn't visible because of their connection. We stand in a clearing, where wildflowers burst from their roots to flourish in the cold. The wind is still here, and the only sound is that of the trees breathing. And there, in the midst of all of it, is her. She's shrugged off her coat, despite the ever-present chill, and stands with her eyes closed and face tilted to the absent clouds. 

"Where are we?" I ask, voice hoarse from inactivity.

"The End of the World." She says softly. "The Start of Nowhere."

She turns to face me, and blinks. Her luminescent blue eyes shine at me, varying shades of blue inviting me to come closer and peer into their depths. 

"H-How did you find this place?" My breath plumes before me.

"I was wandering one day. I often come here when I'm lonely."

She beckons me closer, and I come to her. Snowflakes litter her hair and eyelashes, and her porcelain skin radiates cold energy. I lightly skim her cheek, and she breathes quietly.

"Isadora." She looks up at me. "There's no need to return to this place anymore."

She raises an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"I'm here, you'll never be lonely now if I can help it."

She laughs. "If only you knew."