How To Save A Life:
Step one, find a beautiful girl in need. Help her realize she doesn't need you there, not as much as she wants you there.
Step Two, never leave her side. Make sure you talk her through everything and never let her shut you out...
"This place is insane" I gasp as we reach the bottom of the stairs. The water comes up to my waist as we walk into the water.
After days me whining that we haven't gone to the underground rivers here in Mexico yet, Anthony finally took me. Partially to shut me up and partially because he wanted to come as much as I did. He would never admit it, but he did.
So we finally got on our swim suits and made our way down to the underground rivers. They were a lot different than the river back in Chicago, that's for sure. The water was pretty empty of people considering it was the beginning of November and most people who are tourists are at home working until they get a break for the holidays. But I liked how empty it was, it was a little eerie, but it was relaxing. No kids screaming or couples fighting. Just the sounds of nature, as it should be.
"I think is the second most beautiful thing I have ever seen" Anthony claims as he looks around.
"What're the first" I wonder.
"You" he smiles and I start to blush. I don't care what all we go through. That never gets old.
We make our way through the under ground caverns and float around atop the water. If you look up all you see is sediment and if you look down the water was so clear you could see the bottom of the river bank. It was a lot cooler in here than it was out in the Mexico sun, but it felt nice. Like a cool shower after a long workout.
"Isn't it amazing that places like this exist" I ask as I run my finger over the side of the walls that encased is underground. The bumpy texture was unusual but still quite relaxing.
"It really is. The fact that this is all natural is so impressive" he admits.
"Amazing what happens when you just let things be the way they're supposed to be" I insist.
"Yeah. No man could make this if he tried" he agrees. "I bet you would love to paint this though" he admits.
"It could never do it justice" I insist.
"You could probably make it better" he insists.
"And how would I do that" I wonder.
"I don't know. I always think you can't get any better and you always do. And this place has nothing on you" he insists.
"If you keep complimenting me like this I'm going to permanently turn red" I pout and he starts to smile.
"I think it's cute when you blush" he says as he pulls me against him. My body sticks to his as we just look around us. Thankful for where we were able to go after having to fight to get here.
We come up on a huge hole above us where water fell from. It was something unlike I've ever seen before.
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"How is this real" I gasp as we swim into the little dead end. There wasn't anyone around, just Anthony, me and the water.
"I don't have a answer to that" he admits.
"That's a first" I joke and he sends a playful splash my way. I send one back and we mess around until he wraps his arms around me so we could no longer splash each other.
"Are you done" he teases and I laugh.
"Yeah" I assure him and he lets me go.
We stand near the middle of the little watering hole and look up. Just above us was so many people going about their lives while we relaxed just beneath them.
"I could have gone my life never knowing that this place existed, it's crazy to think about what could have been" I admit.
"Well life is like a blank canvas. Each day you wake up and you can paint whatever it is you want, and you will never know what to paint until you do it. Kind of like you would have never come to this place if you didn't want to leave the comfort of home" Anthony says.
"Look at you using art metaphors. I'm so proud of you" I tease.
"Hey! I listen. We are like canvases and the world is the paint" he claims and I laugh.
"Not exactly" I smile.
"Really" he asks.
"I guess for some people they're the canvas. But I don't want to be the canvas. I don't want to be blank, nothing but white and written off or across. I don't want to be made and I don't want people to look at me and think about what could have been if someone would have put time or effort into me. Maybe be painted me as something different.
I would rather be the paint. Colorful and endless possibilities. I can make the canvas into whatever it is my heart desires. Then when I want something different I can paint over it and make a new destiny. I can mix things up for a change in my point of view and if I ever mess up I know there's still a chance for me to make it into something beautiful" I explain.
He stops swilling around and stares at me. It falls silent to where all you could hear was the water from the small waterfall hitting the surface and the wind whipping through the trees above us. He grows a big smile on his face as he pulls me close.
"For me I think I'm the canvas and you're the paint" he claims.
"You are no canvas Anthony, I can promise you that much. The MLB, this world, that is your canvas. You are the bright colors that make this old league something people enjoy again. You got players looking themselves in the mirror and asking what more they could do to be better both on the field and off of it. People are scared of you, there's also people who look up to you and just want to be you. There is no shortage of colors that you have that would turn the whitest canvas into a rainbow" I insist.
He quickly puts his lips to mine and the wind and the water disappears. For a moment time stops, there's no water moving or sounds around us. It was just him and I in the middle of nowhere basically. And like a paint brush to the canvas he was giving me another painting to keep in my heart and keep there forever.
