One Shots

Prompt Three

Bastille - Pompeii

Taking a staggering breath of rich air, she looked down at what was below her; Vast, lush valleys of green grass, towering trees, winding trails. It was overwhelming in the best possible way. The vibrant colors and fresh air was something she missed a lot. She was standing on top of a mountain, a scenery she had learned to love. It was her way of getting away from things, taking a breath, getting a reality check.

She closed her eyes to bask in this moment. It was all too often that she let herself get caught up in things that didn't matter like the boy that didn't text her back when she thought he liked him, or when it rained a day after she got her hair done or the time she missed her little brother's first soccer game to go to a party that she ended up hating anyways. 

There was always something urgent she was worrying about; Whether it was grades, friends, family, or past mistakes that would come back to bite her in the ass. And of course there was always time and how she was always waiting for something. She was always waiting for summer, or for spring break, or for happiness or for the perfect moment to do something. 

"Oh, where do we begin? The rubble of our sins.." As the familiar lyrics played throughout her mind, a spark of realization shot through her mind. Here in this moment, she realized nothing mattered. This was now, the present. It demanded to be felt and there was nothing like it, but that didn't mean everything was permanent. The materialism of the present, even if it was made up of terrible moments, wouldn't matter in twenty years. 

The soft lull of the wind buzzed in her ear as her eyes were faced with the blackness of her eyelids. She pictured herself, just one girl, standing on top of the moutain. She felt on top of the world, safe. Her shut eyes were spiritual in a way. Often, many people forget to stop and smell the roses. She could close her eyes to the truth as reoccuring as she pleased, but every time she did, she had to realize that she was closing her eyes to the truth of human destruction to the planet, it would continue and she would just be in a state of escapism about her destiny hence the blackening of her vision. She could close her eyes to the truth and nothing changes in her day to day life if she could just be optimistic-- it just wouldn't exist in her state of awareness. 

"How am I going to be an optimist about this?" As the steady, familiar beat vibrated in her mind, she let her eyelids flutter open. The song had always been one of her favorites. Though she got the point about the city of pompeii, certain messages shined through to her. There was hope, humanity could change things, do good for all the bad things they had done. 

Otherwise, "we were caught up and lost in all our voices in your pose as the dust settled around us" and just continue as the way things had been going before. The possibility of humanity not changing their ways frightened her frankly. 

Turning her attention back to the vast landscape of valleys and trails in front of her, she exhaled her breath softly. And then she woke up.