|| a featured story || Aurora never planned on spending her final month alive falling in love. When she meets Gus, a curious boy who is all too eager to waste away the days with her, she finds herself trading in her month of solitude for a month wit...
"i fell in love at the seaside." - the kooks ____________________________
TO AURORA's dismay, and slight disappointment, the boy didn't even flinch at her announcement. He simply continued to watch sand slip through the cracks of his fingers without so much as raising an eyebrow.
"Then this is part of your bucket list," he concluded, his eyes latching onto hers momentarily.
She pursed her lips in frustration. "I just told you that I'm dying. What, no apologies? No questions?" Aurora was used to the unnecessary remorse, and the boy's lack of it caught her off guard.
He chuckled. "You don't seem like someone who cares much for apologies."
"You say that with the confidence of someone who knows me," Aurora countered, her eyebrows raised.
The sun reflected off his eyes and she leaned in ever so slightly to get a better look at the stranger's mismatched irises.
"I just witnessed you jump off a cliff without hesitation," he shrugged, the wind blowing his curls off his forehead. "That tells me you're," he lifted a finger, "impulsive. Fearless. Potentially crazy but definitely awesome."
And despite herself, Aurora felt her heart lurch in her chest. Maybe it was because of his words, or maybe it was because of the way his eyes watched her with a burning curiosity. Either way, her smile widened.
"Is it a bucket list?" the boy asked when she still hadn't responded.
Aurora shook her head thoughtfully. "No. There's no definite list of what I'd like to accomplish. More of a spontaneous bucket ...," she searched for the right word, "adventure. I'm seeing where my interests take me."
He chewed on his lip thoughtfully, pondering her words. "Have your interests given you any indication of what you'd like to do next?"
Aurora grinned as she leaned forward. "Kiss a stranger."
The boy's eyes widened, caught off guard, before he laughed and nudged her foot again. "Do I still fit the role of a stranger?"
"Of course. I don't know anything about you."
"If I tell you who I am, then you can't kiss me. So," he mimicked zipping his lips shut and throwing the key into the ocean.
"That was lame," Aurora teased, tilting her head backwards to feel the sun warm her skin. "What's your name?"
"I don't know your name, either," he pointed out, rightfully so.
"Yes, but I just jumped off a cliff so I'm sticking with the whole mysterious-badass vibe."
The boy's grin grew impossibly wider. "Then I guess we remain as strangers."
Aurora sat up and brushed the sand off her clothing. With a quick step, she took a seat on the sand beside the boy and eyed him curiously. With their newfound proximity, Aurora couldn't seem to stop staring at his mesmerizing, mismatched eyes.
"You're staring," the boy said, flicking her knee.
"Your eyes are wonderful." When she spoke, her words were breathless.
"Heterochromia."
"What?" she asked, her eyebrows drawing together in the middle. The boy's grin grew at her adorable confusion.
"It's when someone's eyes are different colours," he explained, pointing at his left eye.
Aurora leaned in even closer to study his eyes. The boy stilled, frozen in spot as her gaze shifted from eye to eye. Noticing their close proximity and his slight hesitation, Aurora leaned backwards, distancing herself from him.
"Sorry," she said. "I've never seen that before."
The boy shrugged, used to the frenzy his eyes caused. "Back to that bucket list..."
Right, Aurora thought. "Kissing a stranger," she clarified.
The boys eyes danced with amusement as he watched her carefully. "Are you really going to kiss me?"
"Are you really going to deny the wish of a dying girl?"
His face split into a smile. "How do I know you're actually dying? Maybe this is all some act just to kiss the guy with the wonderful eyes."
Aurora gave him an incredulous look. "Right, because I'd so fake my own impending death just to kiss you." Her voice dripped heavily with sarcasm which only made his smile grow.
"I like you, mystery girl," he concluded, giving Aurora a name of his own. "It's not everyday you meet someone while they're falling into the sky."
"Tell me, then. Why were you standing up there watching me?"
And as the boy watched her, he had no solid answer. But there was something about the way her eyes glistened in the sun that made him thankful he managed to stumble upon that cliff after all.
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